Saint Joe’s Defeats Mount Saint Mary’s at Hagan Arena

By: Ethan Hennessy

Philadelphia Pennsylvania

The early afternoon tip was not a problem for the Saint Joseph Hawks as they jumped all over Mount Saint Mary’s early starting the game up 14-2. Mount Saint Mary’s head coach Dan Engelstad said after the game “This is becoming a trend unfortunately we have gotten off to a couple of slow starts in our first few games here. I don’t know if it is lack of focus or nerves… it started on the first play we got them to miss a shot, and we boxed out and they got an offensive rebound and an easy three to start the game and that’s something that w talked about as being a key for us. That is something we talked about as being a key for us, and we’re not doing what we practice at a high level yet, and that’s why we’re searching to find an identity as a basketball team.”

Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, the opening offensive rebound was a bad omen for how the rest of the afternoon went. The Mountaineers got outrebounded 31-15 total and 13-9 on the offensive glass.

“They had 13 offensive rebounds, and if you are going to win a basketball game that is way too much” – Mount Saint Mary’s Coach Dan Engelstad

On the flip side for the Hawks. Taylor Funk led the way with 18 points Ejike Obinna was asserting his presence down low with 16 points and 15 rebounds. The student section was packed and provided a real spark for SJU.

On a personal note, as someone who has carved out his niche in CBI and CIT bracketology, it was cool to meet the godfather of bracketology Joe Lunardi who in addition to his work for ESPN calls the Saint Joe games on the radio.