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NEW YORK -- With two Jesuit schools in St. Joe’s and Xavier locked in a nail-biter of a game, there certainly was some prayer going around inside the Barclays Center on Thursday night.

“I do think that everybody should know this. I left a ticket for the pope,” St. Joe’s head coach Phil Martelli said. “He’s a Jesuit and these are two Jesuit schools. I don’t know if he was here, but I did leave a ticket for Pope Francis.”

Whether he actually pulled the stunt or not, Martelli can smile just knowing that his team will now have to worry about tickets for another game.

Langston Galloway sank a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to give St. Joe’s the lead and a Xavier shot at point-blank range bounced out at the buzzer in the Hawks’ thrilling 58-57 win in their Atlantic 10 tournament opener (see Instant Replay).

The 10th-seeded Hawks (18-12) will now face No. 2 Virginia Commonwealth (24-7) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

“I asked them to do one thing, to empty their tanks, so when they put their head on their pillow at night they can say, ‘I gave it everything that I had,’” Martelli said. “ And if we’re not good enough, we’re not good enough. But by act of God, the ball doesn’t go in.”

It sure was close.

St. Joe’s was down a point with just under 14 seconds on the clock when Galloway was able to drive to the rim and get fouled with 1.4 ticks remaining. He rattled in the first free throw before a Xavier (17-14) timeout. After the brief break, Galloway calmly sank the second freebie to give the Hawks the lead.

On the ensuing inbounds play, Xavier’s Justin Martin heaved a pass that ricocheted off the backboard and dropped right into the hands of teammate Isaiah Philmore. However, Philmore could not convert his shot from underneath the basket.

Which was more nerve-racking: Galloway at the line or Xavier’s last-second chance?

“Definitely the inbounds pass,” said St. Joe’s forward Halil Kanacevic, who could only watch from the sidelines after fouling out. “I have full confidence that Langston would make those free throws. He’s a great shooter, so I wasn’t scared about that.

“It’s been a year where those plays have not gone our way. It’s finally gone our way, which is great.”

Galloway insisted there were no jitters on his end during those game-winning free throws.

“Just take my time, relax and shoot the free throws like I’ve been practicing all week,” he said after finishing with a team-high 14 points.

While it was simple repetition that gave the Hawks the win, it was basic hustle that put them in that position in the first place.

St. Joe’s allowed a three-point lead at intermission to slip away early in the second half. The Hawks appeared sluggish after the break and quickly found themselves down eight, mainly from the damage of Xavier’s Travis Taylor (16 points) and Brad Redford (14 points).

Following a timeout -- and some likely choice words from Martelli -- SJU came roaring back. Kanacevic sparked the outburst with a three-pointer before hitting a pair of free throws. Then Ronald Roberts threw down a dunk, and Kanacevic and Carl Jones hit back-to-back threes.

In all, the Hawks put together a 12-0 run that got them back ahead on the scoreboard and in position to claim the victory.

“I didn’t think that there would be runs in this game,” Martelli said. “I thought this was going to be a possession game, and at halftime I brought up a couple of possessions that we gave away. ... But we stayed with it.”

“I scored but Ron made two great passes to me,” said Kanacevic, who finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. “I got a good swing from, I’m not sure who it was on the wing for the three-point shot. I was in the right place, right time. Teammates had confidence in me that I was going to make the shots.”

Confidence is only a piece of what the Hawks will need if they want to knock off 25th-ranked VCU on Friday night and advance in the tourney.

St. Joe’s played VCU tough during a 92-86 road loss in overtime back on Jan. 17 and is itching to get another crack at the Rams.

“It’s definitely big. We definitely don’t want the season to end, so bring on tomorrow,” Galloway said.

VCU will be ready to bring its best. Head coach Shaka Smart and his Rams had a first-round bye and were sitting in the stands during the Hawks’ win on Thursday. That means the Rams will be well-rested when they try to unleash their “havoc” defense on the Hawks.

“Well, to prepare for them we’re going down to Times Square and we’re going to have them run around and try not to get hit by a car,” Martelli joked. “I don’t know any other way to put it to you. That’s what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be like crossing the street in Times Square and we just have to hope that we don’t get hit by a car.

“We have to really, really avoid the knockout punch. Their style, their swagger is that they’re going to come for our throat right now. As soon as we get back to the hotel and they eat and they go back to their rooms, this one’s over.”