The Hawk will never die. That is the motto St. Joe’s fans live by. Although the Hawk lives on, their season does not.
The Hawks have been playing on borrowed time throughout the past week. With a 9-21 record coming into the A-10 Tournament, not many people could have seen this coming. Yet the Hawks knocked off the four seed George Washington and five seed Duquesne.
Another A-10 Cinderella, the ninth seeded Dayton Flyers, were also underrated coming into the tournament. After defeating top seeded Xavier yesterday, they rode the momentum into today’s game and now, into the final.
Dayton were paced by Chris Wright who put up an impressive double double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Wright put on a show with his Andre Iguodala like quickness and athleticism.
After jumping to an early 6-2 lead, the Flyers cruised through most of the game, holding off various St. Joe’s runs. Chris Johnson led all scorers with 19 points for the Flyers.
St. Joe’s went on a 5-0 run late in the second half making the fans from nearby Philadelphia rise to their feet. It was unfortunately too little too late.
St. Joe’s can hold their heads high. After a dismal regular season their young group finally put it together. The future looks bright for the Hawks as they return the majority of their squad next year.
The reigning NIT Champion Dayton Flyers will now take on the winner of the Temple/Richmond game in the A-10 final tomorrow at 1pm.