Feb. 14, 2009

 

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PHILADELPHIA - Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA/Prep Charter) reached the 20-point mark for the tenth time this season and the Explorers held a commanding 18-5 turnover advantage to topple Saint Joseph's for the second straight year. The Explorers (14-10, 5-5) overcame an early 12-point deficit to take control of the game by halftime, and never relinquished the lead in the second half.

Three other Explorers added double figures, as Kimmani Barrett (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) hit 17 and added five big offensive rebounds, Jerrell Williams (Paterson, NJ/Northfield Mount Hermon) scored 12 and Ruben Guillandeaux (Brooklyn, NY/St. Patrick's) chipped in 11 second-half points.

Darren Govens led the Hawks (14-10, 7-3) with 21 and Idris Hilliard scored 20. Ahmad Nivins registered a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Turnovers were the statistic of the game, as the Explorers turned over a season-low five balls and forced 18 Hawk miscues.

The Explorers pushed their five-point halftime lead to 10 with 13:27 remaining in the game, but the Hawks launched a 9-2 run to pull within three at 9:27 on a tip-in by Nivins.

Guillandeaux nailed a three to spark an Explorer run back to a 10-point lead with 1:26 remaining. The Hawks trimmed that lead in half with 20 seconds to go, but the Explorers lead was too much to overcome.

The Explorers led 35-30 at the half after charging back from a 20-8 deficit at the 12:33 mark. The Hawks built their 12-point lead on cold shooting, as the Explorers only hit 27.3 percent from the field in the first five minutes of play. That was the largest lead the Hawks would enjoy though.

Williams scored four points in a one-minute span, including a crowd-pleasing dunk, to cut the lead to seven. Barrett tipped in a shot from Guillandeaux at 8:59, Green hit a free throw and Paul Johnson (Washington, DC/Gonzaga) made a lay-up to make it a two-point game at 8:07.

Green then hit two consecutive treys to put the Explorers on top 25-22 at 6:09, before Nivins hit two free throws and Govens hit a three to put the Hawks back on top 27-25. That was the final lead the Hawks saw the rest of the game.