Saint Joseph's Lynn Greer III handed out a career-high 11 assists and added 13 points as the Hawks held off Penn in their Big 5 opener, 69-61, on Friday evening at Hagan Arena.

How It Happened
• Saint Joseph's jumped out to an early six-point lead as Greer III found Rasheer Fleming for a basket to make it 12-6.
• The Quakers responded with a 9-1 run to take their first lead of the game, 15-13, on a George Smith bucket at 10:21.
• Using a 7-0 run, the Hawks retook the lead, 20-15, on an alley-oop dunk from Greer III to Fleming.
• Ahead 20-18, Saint Joseph's ended the half on a 13-2 run to extend its lead to 33-20 after 20 minutes.
• A three-pointer by Xzayvier Brown gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game, 52-33, with 12:00 to play.
• Down 19, Penn battled back behind a 19-2 run to make it a two-point contest, 54-52, on a three-pointer by Clark Slajchert at 6:29.
• Up two with under four minutes to play, Saint Joseph's edged ahead 63-59 on an offensive rebound and putback by Fleming.
• Following a defensive stop, Greer III made it 65-59 in favor of the Haws on a driving layup.
• Saint Joseph's defense limited the Quakers two just two made free throws over the final three minutes as the Hawks improved to 55-37 all-time versus Penn.

Inside The Boxscore
• Greer III collected his fourth career double-double, handing out a game-high 11 assists and tying for the team-high in points with 13.
• His previous career-high for assists was nine, coming against Saint Louis on December 31, 2022.
• Erik Reynolds II was the only other Hawk in double figures, finishing the night with 13 points.
• Making his collegiate debut, Christ Essandoko grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and added nine points, an assist, a block and a steal.

Up Next
The Hawks host Stonehill on Tuesday in St. Joe's opening game of the Wildcat Challenge. Game time is set for 7 p.m.