The St. Joseph’s Prep Hawks won their Catholic League opener Tuesday night against Cardinal O’Hara. In a very low scoring game, which had a final score of 39-16, the Hawks found ways to pull away in the second half.
SJP wins their 2015 PCL opener 39-16 over O'Hara - Photos by Jack Raynor
The game started out rough for both teams - not one player was consistently making shots from either lineup, resulting in a halftime score of 12-7 in favor of the Hawks. O’Hara’s struggles were caused by a combination of poor offensive play and, in contrast, some good defense on the Hawks’ part. The Prep’s guards, namely sophomore Kyle Thompson, played exceptionally well, rarely allowing an open perimeter shot. St. Joe’s two senior big men, Chris Montie and Pete Geyhardt, combined for three blocks in the opening minutes, sparking stellar defensive play from the rest of the team.
After the half, the Hawks were scoring much more consistently, and were able to pull away for a 23-point win. This game was certainly a confidence builder for the Hawks moving forward. The team managed to pick up an early PCL win and with it proved that they are capable of shutting a team down with their defense.
Next up for the Hawks are two non-league games versus Abington and Salesianum on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 respectively. Catholic League play picks up again on Friday Jan. 8 against Archbishop Wood. The Hawks look to pick up some league wins and confidence before playing two very good teams in Neumann Goretti (1/24) and Roman Catholic (1/29) who they will most likely have to play if they make a deep run into the playoffs.
O’Hara is scheduled to play Malvern Prep on Dec. 31 before picking back up in league play on Jan. 3 vs. Neumann Goretti.
