11/17/09, Worcester Telegram: Holy Cross tops St. Joe’s

Nov 18, 2009

Effort is there, but Crusaders still lose

 

By Aaron Bracy SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

PHILADELPHIA —  Sean Kearney knows all about this city’s fighting spirit.

So the first-year Holy Cross basketball coach, a product of nearby Cardinal O’Hara High in Springfield, Pa., was pleased with his Crusaders’ resilience during last night’s 69-67 loss to St. Joseph’s at Hagan Arena.

Unfortunately for Kearney and Holy Cross, it was St. Joe’s freshman Carl Jones who put on a display — 18 points, including 12 of the Hawks’ last 14 — that drew comparisons to a legendary Philly fighter.

“(Jones) has a swagger that you would swear Bernard Hopkins just walked into the room,” Hawks coach Phil Martelli said of his 6-foot freshman guard.

Despite Jones’ heroics, Kearney was proud of his squad.

“Our guys put themselves in a great position in a tough environment against a good team to win a game,” Kearney said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t pull it out.”

After taking an early lead, the Crusaders (0-2) battled from behind for most of the evening. The Hawks (2-0) stretched their 37-31 halftime lead to 51-43 with 12:15 left.

Holy Cross got as close as three points five times before Devin Brown, who led the Crusaders with 17 points off the bench, nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing to finally tie it at 63 with 2:26 left.

“Tying the game late like that was great for our morale,” Brown said. “It picked us up in a time we needed it, and at that time, we felt like we were going to win the game.”

The teams then traded baskets, and it was tied at 65 before Jones made a pair of free throws with 1:38 left to make it 67-65 St. Joe’s. Brown then missed from close range, and after a St. Joe’s miss on the ensuing possession, R.J. Evans couldn’t convert a contested shot from 6 feet with 21 seconds remaining that would have evened it again.

Next, Jones was fouled and made both to put the game out of reach.

Evans netted 16 for Holy Cross, while Andrew Keister, playing an hour’s drive from his Galloway, N.J., home, had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The result wasn’t what Kearney was looking for in his second game, but the effort was.

“We continued to fight back,” he said. “I was really proud of their effort and wish it got rewarded with a win. I felt great because our guys believed all night long they were going to win the game.”

Kearney also was warmed by the postgame reception he received from many well-wishers, including his high school coach and St. Joe’s alum Bud Gardler. Ironically, Martelli was an assistant under Gardler and coached Kearney.

“Overall, I was fortunate to be a part of Philly basketball, a nice chance for me to come back here and coach in this building,” said Kearney, who also had stints as an assistant at nearby Delaware and Philadelphia University. “I feel like hell right now because we’re 0-2, but I do know there’s been improvement from our first game, and I think this helps us down the road.”

Kearney will be looking for his first victory Friday when the Crusaders return home against Loyola (Ill.). He wants the Crusaders, who outrebounded St. Joe’s, 50-33, to display the same tenacity on the boards while improving their defensive discipline. Holy Cross sent the Hawks to the line 23 times, resulting in 16 points, while the visitors were 5 of 8 from the stripe.

“The things we did on the backboard were very encouraging,” he said. “We have to do some things better with the ball and keep teams off the foul line. We have to be more disciplined and not make it so hard on ourselves.”

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