PHILADELPHIA — In its 45 years of playing Division I basketball, Illinois State had never crossed paths with Saint Joseph’s.
The two teams finally shared the floor for the first time Saturday afternoon at Hagan Arena, and the hometown Hawks showed no brotherly love to the visiting Redbirds.
Saint Joseph’s poked holes in Illinois State’s zone defense by drilling an uncharacteristic 15 3-pointers and the Redbirds fell behind by as much as 32 points in a 79-65 nonconference loss.
The Hawks (8-2) entered the game shooting a paltry 26 percent from 3-point range.
“We wanted to force contested jumpers,” said Illinois State coach Dan Muller.