Saint Joseph's players huddle during the second half of Wednesday's game against George Mason at Barclays Center. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
March 13, 2024
Big5Hoops.com
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – In March, the equipment manager lurks like the Grim Reaper.
I’ve known a lot of equipment managers, and every single one I’ve met has been a nice person. Fun people with whom to have a chat or share a beverage.
So, this is nothing against them.
In March, though, you don’t go near equipment managers if you’re a basketball player. Unlike what your elementary school principal told you, run, don’t walk, past the equipment room. Look the other way when you see the equipment manager. Avoid equipment managers at all costs.
It’s their job to collect the uniforms. In Fairfax, Virginia on Thursday, some very nice person will enter the Patriots men’s basketball locker room and collect the jerseys from George Mason’s men’s basketball players.
Saint Joseph’s players, on the other hand, get to keep theirs for at least one more day.
The Hawks played like they didn’t want to turn in those crimson and gray jerseys in one of their best performances since December, beating George Mason 64-57 here at the Barclays Center on Wednesday.
Ninth-seeded St. Joe’s advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals against No. 1 Richmond at 11:30 a.m.
“It’s the time of year that nobody wants to go home,” said Cam Brown, who had 14 of his 16 points in the second half.
Brown, who is out of eligibility, will not only see his season end when the equipment manager comes calling but his career on Hawk Hill as well. Clearly, he wanted to delay that a little longer.
With St. Joe’s struggling offensively after halftime, it was Brown who hit one big 3-pointer after another or got to the basket for a key three-point play.
“Guys are going to fight for their season and make plays,” he said.
In the first half, it was Lynn Greer III, Rasheer Fleming and Xzayvier Brown who exerted their wills on the contest. They helped St. Joe’s lead by as many as 13 in the opening 20 minutes before settling into a comfy 33-24 advantage at the break.
“Really just try to play as hard as we can, be as fundamental as we can and be the best Hawks we can,” Greer said of the mentality.
St. Joe’s built its lead to as much as 18 points in the second half before Mason slowly whittled away at the advantage. The Hawks were clinging to a three-point margin in the waning seconds when Xzayvier Brown drove and missed on a layup attempt. But Fleming hauled down a huge offensive rebound, then made both free throws with 10 seconds remaining to clinch the victory for the Hawks (20-12).
“I have no doubt he can get those offensive rebounds because he’s not thinking, ‘I want this shot,’” St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange said. “He’s just thinking, ‘How do I be united and help the team right now?’”
Now, the Hawks shift their focus to a Richmond team that they just played a week ago in Virginia, losing 73-66 without Greer (hip).
Lange sees a team playing united, one that had to learn how to deal with heightened expectations that came with success in the nonconference schedule, featuring a win at Villanova and a victory in the first-ever Big 5 Classic Championship game, and players going in and out of the lineup with minor nicks and bumps during the A-10 portion of their schedule.
At times, this Hawks team has looked like an A-10 title contender. At others, they seemed to be headed to a first-round conference tourney exit.
Now, they are in the quarterfinals, still alive, still looking again like a dangerous team that can make a deep run here in Brooklyn.
And still doing everything they can to keep their equipment manager away.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Big5Hoops.com is his second website dedicated to Philadelphia college basketball. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages.