Through it all, the old Hawk never stopped flapping its tired wings.
The Saint Joseph’s mascot and its traditional routine were about the only measures of consistency on a night the school’s men’s basketball team saw just how tough graduation can be to a still-budding program.
While Kansas University ran up, down and around its competition Tuesday in a 91-51 victory, the St. Joe’s mascot stayed in the southwest corner of Allen Fieldhouse, flapping its wings nonstop through the entire game — because, traditionally, that’s what the Hawk does.
From last season to this season, the busy wings were about the only thing that stayed the same at the tiny Jesuit school in Philadelphia.
The team sure didn’t.
KU rolled to a 40-point victory Tuesday, the first regular-season loss for St. Joe’s since March 5, 2003, against Xavier. The Hawks went 27-0 in the regular season last year, but there was no evidence that such a magical season concluded only eight months ago.
Seemed more like eight decades.
“We brought boys,” Hawks coach Phil Martelli said, “to play against men.”
The worst loss in Martelli’s 10-year tenure may have shown how much the Hawks already miss Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, two standouts who propelled the Hawks to a 30-2 record and Elite Eight appearance just last March.
Nelson was named consensus national player of the year last season after averaging 20.6 points per game. He and West were selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
Tuesday showed, though, that St. Joe’s was a mere shadow of its still-recent past. The top returning scorer, Pat Carroll, was out because of a shoulder injury. The leading scorer Tuesday was Dwayne Lee, with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting. The Hawks had more turnovers (17) than field goals (16).
“It’s rough,” forward Dwayne Jones said of the night-and-day difference. “I guess everyone expected us to drop off. But it’s still just one game.”
The next is Saturday against Davidson, followed by less-intense matchups throughout the season against teams like Old Dominion, Fordham, La Salle and St. Bonaventure.
Asked if anything positive could be taken out of Tuesday’s blowout, Martelli paused for a second, then came up with the best answer he could muster.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s over.”
Surely, the mascot’s worn-out wings couldn’t agree more.
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