Just when it looked like Phil Martelli’s magic might be wearing off, his No. 12 seed St. Joseph’s Hawks have climbed back into their match-up with the No. 9 seed Dayton Flyers after trailing by 11 midway through the first half of this 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinal game.
In an unlikely battle of Davids, Dayton has been led by the Duo Chris, as guard Chris Johnson has scored nine points and burly forward Chris Wright has filled the halftime stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Martelli and his Hawks should be happy to be down just four points, as they shot a woeful 31 percent (9-29 field goals) in the first half, a number that was actually much worse before the iron became a little less unkind for St. Joseph's late in the half. The Hawks have been lead by the guard tandem of Charoy Bentley and Langston Galloway in the first half, with the duo combing for 15 of St. Josephs' 24 first half points.