Having grown up just five blocks from Hagan Arena, Mustafaa Jones has hoisted up countless shots in the Saint Joseph’s University basketball gym.
The one he hit Friday night was easily the best.
In what turned into a pinch-yourself homecoming for the Philadelphia native, Jones buried an off-balance three-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to send Fairleigh Dickinson to an improbable 58-57 win over St. Joe’s in Friday night’s season opener (see Instant Replay).
“I grew up here,” an exuberant Jones said after the game. “This is my gym just as much as theirs.”
Because of how much he works out at Hagan Arena over the summers, Jones has become friends with a few St. Joe’s players.
They might not want to be friends with him anymore after his game-winning shot reminded them how much work needs to be done for them to get anywhere close to the level they were at during last season’s Atlantic 10 championship-winning season.
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“I’m sure that’s great for him to come back to his hometown and hit a shot like that,” St. Joe’s senior point guard Chris Wilson said. “But it’s not good for us.”
One of just two key players back from last year’s team, Wilson had his share of struggles, like everyone else on the new-look Hawks. But with the game tied at 51, both he and fellow returner DeAndre Bembry came up big by drilling back-to-back three-pointers.
That should have been enough of a cushion to give the Hawks the non-conference win. But after Wilson’s trey put the Hawks up four with a minute left, Philly native Xavier Harris made his second straight basket to get the Knights within two, setting the stage for Jones to put the dagger in.
“Any time there’s a big play, I know the ball’s going to be in me or [Bembry’s] hands,” Wilson said. “But we didn’t do it on the defensive end. And one of those times was me. I got beat defensively one time late. In the last four, five minutes, we just didn’t play defense you’ve got to play to win games. That’s really the main thing.”
There were other problems for the Hawks, too. Against FDU’s zone, the Hawks shot poorly from three-point range (25 percent) and committed 16 turnovers -- a few of which head coach Phil Martelli said were “inexplicable.”
And Bembry, the reigning Atlantic 10 co-Rookie of the Year and the Hawks’ first sophomore captain since 1937, didn’t get his season off on the right foot, scoring just eight points on 3 for 10 shooting.
“DeAndre has a lot of responsibility, and he’ll be the first to admit that he needs to do more,” Martelli said. “He made mental mistakes that you don’t normally see of a player of his intellect and ability. Everyone in the room has to take it on their chest and we have to dramatically improve tomorrow.”
Despite the struggles the Hawks had against a Farleigh Dickinson squad that came into the season ranked 310th out of 351 Division I teams in the Pomeroy ratings, there were some positive signs, as well.
Trying to fill the void left behind by graduated frontcourt stars Ronald Roberts and Halil Kanacevic, junior forward Isaiah Miles looked positively beastly at times with 12 points and 14 rebounds. And West Virginia transfer Aaron Brown looked like he could turn into a very valuable sixth man, scoring all nine of his points in the second half.
But the Hawks simply made too mistakes, even on the final play when they had another foul to give but let Jones get off a shot -- albeit a very tough one. For that, Bembry took the blame.
“I didn’t want to take a chance and foul him while he took a three,” Bembry said. “I just tried to get as close as possible as I could. And he just made a shot over me.”
A few lockers over, Wilson came to Bembry’s defense on the game-winning basket.
“DeAndre played pretty good defense,” the St. Joe’s point guard said. “I was standing right under the basket and I couldn’t even see Mustafaa when he pulled up, so I know Dre was all over him. He just hit a tough shot. At this level, that’s what happens. Guys hit tough shots.”
And it’s a tough shot Jones will remember for the rest of his life.
“I couldn’t have dreamt this when I was coming to camp here,” the breathless Philly kid said. “Playing here in front of a home crowd, I’m speechless right now.”