Saint Joseph's claims 2014 Atlantic 10 Title, Hawks Outlast VCU 65-61 - Mar 17, 2014
Langston Galloway (6'2''-G-91) scored 19 points and hit yet another huge 3-pointer, and Saint Joseph's beat No. 23 VCU 65-61 on Sunday to win its first Atlantic 10 tournament title since 1997. The fourth-seeded Hawks (24-9) arrived in Brooklyn on the NCAA tournament bubble. They all but clinched an at-large berth with a win over fellow bubble team Dayton in Friday's quarterfinals on Galloway's go-ahead 3, then made that moot by capturing the conference's automatic bid. The second-seeded Rams (26-8) have reached the A-10 tourney finals in both years in the league but lost both times. Fellow senior Ronald Roberts (6'8''-F-91) had 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting and 11 rebounds for Saint Joseph's. Rob Brandenberg (6'2''-G-92) led VCU with 18 points, but Galloway got just enough separation on him to hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with more than two minutes left. Briante Weber (6'2''-PG-92) missed a 3 on the other end, and the Hawks broke down the Rams' pressure for Roberts' dunk on a pass from Deandre Bembry (6'6''-F) for a 59-54 lead. Bembry, a freshman, had a brilliant defensive game and a horrific offensive outing in Saturday's semifinals. But against VCU's ''Havoc'' full-court press, he kept his poise, scoring 13 points with eight assists and just two turnovers. Halil Kanacevic (6'8''-F-91), the third senior starter for Saint Joseph's, won tournament MVP honors after another all-around performance. The forward from nearby Staten Island had 11 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. The Rams can wear down opponents with their press, and the Hawks aren't deep. Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli kept his starters in the entire second half, yet they never wilted. All five starters played at least 37 minutes, with Galloway and Kanacevic going the full 40. For all of the Hawks' success in 19 seasons under Martelli, they had won only one A-10 tourney title under the coach before Sunday, and that came 17 years ago.
Courtesy of Atlantic 10
Atlantic 10 Tournament Final: Saint Joseph's - VCU 65-61
Atlantic 10 Tournament Semifinals: VCU - George Washington 74-55 Saint Joseph's - St. Bonaventure 67-48
All-Atlantic 10 1st Team 2014
Williams
Galloway
Evans
Jett
Graham
All-Tournament MVP:
Halil Kanacevic (6'8''-F-91) of St.Joseph's Player of the Year:
Jordair Jett (6'1''-G-91) of St.Louis Defensive Player of the Year:
Briante Weber (6'2''-PG-92) of VCU Co-Rookie of the Year:
Deandre Bembry (6'6''-F) of St.Joseph's Co-Rookie of the Year:
E.C. Matthews (6'5''-G-95) of Rhode Island Most Improved Player of the Year:
Kevin Larsen (6'10''-F-93) of G.Washington Sixth Man of the Year:
Melvin Johnson (6'3''-G) of VCU Coach of the Year:
Jim Crews of St.Louis
Martelli
