NEW YORK -- They handled the havoc. Now bring on the madness.
St. Joe’s captured the Atlantic 10 tournament title and an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament with Sunday afternoon’s 65-61 win over No. 23 VCU at the Barclays Center.
The Hawks (24-9, 11-5 Atlantic 10) came into the conference tournament sitting squarely on the bubble before rolling to their first NCAA tourney berth since 2008 and their third A-10 crown in program history.
Turning point
St. Joe’s was able to weather storm after storm from VCU in the second half.
With the game tied at 54 and 2:32 on the clock, Langston Galloway went to his beloved step-back jumper and drilled a three-pointer to give St. Joe’s an edge. The Hawks widened that margin on the next possession when they were able to break through the Rams' vaunted "Havoc" defense and DeAndre’ Bembry rifled a pass to Ronald Roberts Jr. for a one-handed flush.
Game over. Time to go dancing.
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Big men on campus
Halil Kanacevic was all over the court for St. Joe’s yet again. He finished the game with 11 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.
Roberts notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Galloway led St. Joe's with 19 points.
Rob Brandenburg carried the offensive load for VCU. The senior guard scored 18 points.
Treveon Graham added 15 points and nine rebounds for VCU.
Inside the box score
• The Hawks turned the ball over 12 times in the game.
• The Rams shot just 36.9 percent from the field. The Hawks connected on 48.0 percent of the their shots.
• The officials let both teams play physical. The game had a combined 35 free throws with most of those coming in the end on intentional fouls.
• Sunday’s offensive display was a far cry from last season’s A-10 tournament when VCU eliminated St. Joe’s in the quarterfinals with an 82-79 win.
Series stuff
The win was the Hawks' second of the season over the Rams, as they evened the all-time series at three games apiece.
Head coach Phil Martelli also improved his personal mark against VCU to 2-2.
When was the last time …
The Hawks claimed their third ever Atlantic 10 tournament title. The previous two came in 1997 and 1986.
What’s next?
St. Joe’s will now head over to a local hotel to watch the selection show and find out just where -- and not if -- the Hawks will be for the NCAA tournament.