Back on Feb. 3, St. Bonaventure ended St. Joe's seven-game win streak behind a career-high 31 points from sophomore guard Jaylen Adams.
On Feb. 20, it was high-scoring Davidson guard Jack Gibbs who poured in 35 points in a win over the Hawks.
Earlier this week, it was St. Bonaventure again, but this time it was guard Marcus Posley who posted a Division I-high for this season with 47 points.
On Saturday night at Hagan Arena, it was perimeter defense that haunted St. Joe's once again in a 78-70 loss to Duquesne that could damage the Hawks' chances for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament (see Instant Replay).
Seniors Micah Mason and Derrick Colter lit up St. Joe's for a combined 46 points on 17 of 32 shooting from the field. Mason scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the second half.
"They kinda moved the ball and put the ball where they wanted," head coach Phil Martelli said. "Shot comfortably.
"(Mason) got comfortable, got going and that was the result. He put it on us."
The Dukes shot 11 of 27 from three with their starting guard duo hitting 8 of 17 from long distance.
DeAndre' Bembry put the Hawks' poor perimeter defense on himself. The do-it-all forward prides himself in his defense and was not happy with the big games from Mason and Colter.
"Obviously the guards have just been scoring whenever they want to," Bembry said. "That's starting off with me. I gotta be better on defense. That's really it. I'm not really worried about offense. Just gotta get some stops."
Bembry struggled from the field, going 5 of 13 for 11 points, but stuffed the stat sheet as usual with seven rebounds and six assists.
As a team, St. Joe's couldn't get into a rhythm offensively. The Hawks shot 35 percent from the field overall and hit just nine of the 36 threes they attempted. On senior day, seniors Isaiah Miles (21 points) and Aaron Brown (20 points) shined. Especially Miles, who at one point tied the game in the second half at 56 with a layup off a fastbreak.
Not only was the bucket big in the context of the game, but it was also Miles' 1,000th career point. The Atlantic 10 and Big 5 Player of the Year candidate was proud of his personal achievement, but it was overshadowed by his disappointment over the loss.
"Being in front of my family and friends my last time at Hawk Hill is a great feeling but I wish we could've pulled out the 'W'," Miles said. "A group effort is definitely more important than my individual accolades but I'm honored to be in that 1,000-point club."
Miles struggled early with foul trouble. After picking up his second foul at 12:55 in the first half, Miles sat with St. Joe's out to a 19-14 lead. Duquesne used an 8-0 run to take the lead and took a 40-36 advantage into the half.
It was the Dukes' zone defense that gave the Hawks trouble, causing them to take (and miss) a ton of threes with their best three-pointer shooter watching from the sidelines.
"I thought we would start strong," Martelli said. "I thought we did start strong offensively. We didn't start strong defensively and then when we hit a lull against that zone, they kept coming.
"These are basketball issues. Gotta be better perimeter defenders and we gotta have somebody shooting the ball with confidence other than Isaiah."
St. Joe's has now lost two straight in what has otherwise been a terrific season. The Hawks' 24 wins are tied for the fourth most in the school's history. St. Joe's will be the fourth seed in the conference tournament and play Friday, March 11, at 2:30 p.m.
Bembry wasn't concerned with his team's confidence or mindset after Saturday night's loss. He knows there's still more basketball to play.
"We know we're still a good team," Bembry said. "It's on to the next one. It's wins and losses. We lost one that we shouldn't have and all we can do is prepare for the next one."
The two straight losses will certainly hurt the Hawks' chances for an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. But winning the A-10 Tournament won't leave them at the mercy of the selection committee.
If the Hawks plan on winning the conference championship, they'll have to fix their mistakes before their opening game Friday in Brooklyn.
"We need to identify these Achilles' heels and we need to wrap them up sooner rather than later," Martelli said. "Because there's not a lot of 'laters' left."