St. Joseph's at VCU

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What to watch: On Saturday, sophomore point guard Lamarr Kimble (15.5 ppg., 4.5 apg.) suffered a season-ending fracture in his left foot during the Hawks 87-76 home loss to Massachusetts. On Dec. 30, the Hawks lost point guard Shavar Newkirk (20.3 ppg.) to a season-ending knee injury. Junior forward James Demery (13.2 ppg.) and freshman forward Charlie Brown (12.5 ppg.) are the Hawks remaining double-figure scorers. Martilli says 6-6 freshman Nick Robinson will get the start at point guard. . . .

VCU is in a first-place tie with Dayton and has won six in a row following Saturday's 74-60 victory over visiting Davidson as senior point guard JeQuan Lewis scored a season-high 27 points. ..This was the 11th consecutive season that VCU has accumulated 20 wins.

 

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Season-ending injury to Lamarr Kimble leaves St. Joe's lacking at point guard


SAINT JOSEPH'S had a two point guard lineup that was working pretty well during the non-conference season. Then, on Dec. 30, Shavar Newkirk tore his ACL on the final play of the first half in the Atlantic 10 opener against George Washington. He was declared out for the season. Saturday at Hagan Arena against Massachusetts, the other point guard, Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble, fractured the fifth metatarsal of his left foot. His season is over as the injury will require surgery and two months recovery time.

"We're obviously disappointed for 'Fresh,' " St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said. "We'll certainly miss his on-the-court skills and do expect, as Shavar has done, that he will continue to be prominent in a leadership role. Speaking for the program, we're all disappointed but not discouraged. Our challenge now is to exemplify 'the Hawk will never die' spirit."

The Hawk may not die, but it is severely injured. Newkirk, a junior, was averaging 20.3 points. Kimble, a sophomore, was averaging 15.5 points. There is no other point guard on the roster.

Kimble is actually the fourth SJU player declared out for the season. Sophomore Pierfrancesco Oliva, who started for the 2016 A-10 champs, was declared out over the summer because of a chronic knee condition that required surgery. Freshman forward Lorenzo Edwards underwent shoulder surgery in January. And junior forward James Demery missed 10 games after suffering a stress fracture in his foot in the season opener.

SJU (10-14, 3-9 A-10) plays Tuesday evening at VCU, not exactly the place you want to be without a point guard.

Serious injuries have not been a real issue for Martelli during his head-coaching tenure. Other than Delonte West's stress fracture in 2003, which probably cost the Hawks a conference title and an extended NCAA run, the Hawks have been pretty lucky - until now. First Oliva and Edwards. Then, Newkirk. Now, Kimble.