With Saint Joseph’s on the verge of winning its 2014-15 season opener, a Philly native stole the win away from them.
Mustafaa Jones, a Neumann Goretti grad, drilled an off-balance three-pointer in the final seconds to lift Fairleigh Dickinson to a stunning 58-57 victory over St. Joe’s at Hagan Arena on Friday night.
With only two key players back from last year’s Atlantic 10 championship team, the Hawks predictably struggled for most of Friday’s game.
But with the game tied at 51, those two players -- senior point guard Chris Wilson and sophomore swingman DeAndre Bembry -- drained back-to-back three-pointers from almost the same spot on the floor to put the Hawks on the verge of being victorious.
The Knights, however, rallied behind a pair of baskets from another Philly native -- Xavier Harris -- and Jones’ go-ahead three-pointer. And when Wilson’s halfcourt attempt at the buzzer missed, the visitors celebrated in the middle of the Hagan Arena court while the home fans went home unhappy.
Big men on campus
Jones led the Knights with 13 points and Matt MacDonald added 12.
Isiah Miles and Wilson each scored 12 points for the Hawks, with Miles grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. After a scoreless first half, West Virginia transfer Aaron Brown had nine points in the second half, including seven straight at one point.
Inside the box score
• The Hawks went just 5 for 20 (25 percent) from three-point range.
• St. Joe’s dominated the boards, 44-28.
• St. Joe’s had as many turnovers as it had assists (16).
First half
The Hawks led most of the way and took a 22-15 lead after senior Evan Maschmeyer provided a spark off the bench with a transition assist and three-pointer. But from there, Fairleigh Dickinson had a 13-3 run to close the half and take a 28-25 lead into halftime.
St. Joe’s shot just 34.5 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three-point range before the break.
Local ties
In addition to Jones and Harris being from Philly, FDU freshman Darian Anderson (10 points) is also the brother of former Villanova guard Dwayne Anderson, who’s now an assistant at Penn State.
Pregame festitivies
Before the game, St. Joe’s showed a video tribute of last year’s memorable win over VCU in the Atlantic 10 tournament game, and then unveiled the championship banner.
The team also held a moment of silence for legendary coach Jack Ramsay, who died earlier this year. The Hawks will wear patches commemorating Ramsay on their uniforms all season.
Up next
St. Joe’s makes the short trip to the DAC to face city rival Drexel on Monday. Fairleigh Dickinson has its home opener against FDU Florham the same day.