By Darren Sands
PHILADELPHIA – He stood at mid-court and spoke emotionally about how Tom Pecora, his head coach, made him a better man, and how he would remember this, his last game in blue, gold and white. Michael Radziejewski played his last game for the Pride last night as the season culminated with Pride losing, 53-44, in the first round of the NIT to perennial A-10 power Saint Joseph’s University (SJU).
The Pride finished the season 21-9, marking just the 16th the program has reached 20 wins.
SJU got an emotional lift with news that John Bryant, who had been suffering from a broken arm after a Temple University player intentionally threw him to the ground, was cleared to play by team doctors. Bryant was in the starting lineup and received a huge ovation as his name was announced.
SJU coach Phil Martelli had no idea earlier in the day that he would play, but the crowd’s reaction to his return was pivotal. It was Temple coach John Chaney who gave his player the instruction to “send a message” to SJU and ended up breaking Bryant’s arm in the process.
Given the excitement in SJU at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, neither team came out especially hot. At one point in the first half, the Pride and Saint Joseph’s shot 4-for-13 and 4-for-15, respectively.
Pride sophomore guard Loren Stokes was asked to defend Hawks’ guard Pat Carroll first, and responded by blocking a floater in the paint, but fouled Carroll as he attempted a three-pointer in the next sequence. Pride players rotated defending Carroll, the A-10 Co-Player of the Year. Carroll was 0-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half, as the Pride surprisingly switched to a 2-3 zone after the first timeout. Adrian Uter picked up two quick fouls, both guarding Dwayne Jones.
“It didn’t seem like they were calling it on our end, but that’s basketball. They had the homecourt advantage and you just have to play through it,” said Uter, who played only six minutes. Dwayne Jones, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds, was more than enough to handle for Wendell Gibson and Uter.
The score was 20-19 at halftime, but the Pride ended the final 30 seconds of the first half with a spark. Stokes drove the lane and dished to Adrian Uter for an emphatic dunk to bring the Pride to within one.
On the next sequence, Carlos Rivera stole the ball and passed it to guard Gibran Washington for an easy lay-up as time expired. It was two of the Pride’s eight fast-break points.
The Pride had won 46 straight games when it held opponents to under 60 points. The last time it failed to win when doing so was in the NIT in 1999, when the Pride faced Rutgers in the first round. The Pride kept up the defensive intensity, but someone woke up Carroll.
Carroll’s first three-pointer could not have come at a more opportune time. He tied the ballgame at 30 with exactly 11:00 to go. Dwayne Lee then stole the ball and scored a lay-up in the open court. That basket gave the Hawks their first lead of the second half.
Dwayne Lee tied the score at 37 with a three-pointer and Jones was fouled by freshman guard Antoine Agudio on a lay-up that put the Hawks up three after the free throw.
Pride center Wendell Gibson went to the line and knocked down a crucial one-and-one chance at the line, to bring the Pride within one.
Then Carroll, who was ice cold in the first half, hit a three-pointer to put the Hawks up by four. Carroll finished with a team-high 16 that included two huge three-pointers that either tied the game or put them ahead.
The Pride trailed, 47-41, at 2:04 when Agudio went to the line and made one of two free throws. The ball was up for grabs after a Lee miss and one referee said it was out on the Hawks, but Michael Stephens reversed the call.
Saint Joseph’s turned the ball over and Agudio had a lay-up to bring the Pride to within three with under a minute to go. Agudio tried to bring the Pride back within two with a three-point attempt on which he tried to draw a foul on John Bryant, but the basket didn’t draw iron, and the Hawks recovered.
Carroll knocked down two free throws to put the Hawks up five. Dwayne Jones’s dunk with 14 seconds to go was the last straw, which put Saint Joseph’s up by seven. The Hawks hit all four free-throw attempts down the stretch.
Antione Agudio has been a leading figure on the Pride. (Photo Courtesy Athletic Dept.)