Saint Joseph's certainly got its Italy tour off on the right note.
The Hawks started Tuesday with a visit to the Vatican before earning an 88-65 win over the All-Stars Dream Team. The game was the first of four matchups for St. Joe's against international competition on its tour of Italy that runs from Aug. 11 through Aug. 21.
The Hawks went with a starting lineup of guards Chris Wilson and Langston Galloway with Daryus Quarles, Ronald Roberts and Halil Kanacevic in the frontcourt.
Roberts led four Hawks to finish in double-figuring scoring with 15 points. Galloway and freshman DeAndre Bembry scored 14 points each, while Wilson added 10.
St. Joe's jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter behind eight points apiece from Roberts and Galloway. The Hawks took an eight-point advantage into halftime before pushing that lead to 68-55 after three frames and rolling to the win.
“I thought that we had a group effort,” Hawks head coach Phil Martelli said. “We tried to balance minutes and see certain guys. What I’m very interested in is making sure the players do a self-evaluation. It’s less about them individually than us collectively, so as we go forward how can they help us. I thought our defense rotations were good. There’s plenty to go on but that’s why it’s August.”
The Hawks next take the court on Aug. 17 in Florence against Padova Select.