PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team topped the 80-point mark for the fifth time this season as the Hawks downed the American University Eagles 84-57 on Wednesday night.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Rasheer Fleming recorded his third double-double of the season, accumulating the needed stats for the feat with 40 seconds in the first half. He ended the day with 26 points and 11 boards, adding four steals and three blocks.
• Erik Reynolds II netted 23 on 8-of-13 shooting and tied a season-high with six assists.
• Derek Simpson delivered 15 points with five dimes and five rebounds in the contest.
• Making his first career start, Dasear Haskins reached double figures for the second time this year, tallying 10 with a block.
• For the game, St. Joe's shot 60.4 percent. It is the first time since March 13, 2016 that SJU has topped 60 percent shooting and just the ninth time it has happened since 2005.  

 



HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a hot start for the Hawks, who opened a 9-2 lead less than three minutes in as SJU began the game 4-for-5 from the floor.
• Not stopping there, after a pair of AU free throws, St. Joe's scored nine in row, pushing out to an 18-4 advantage. Fleming had six points and six rebounds in the initial seven minutes and Saint Joseph's held the Eagles to 1-for-10 shooting in the stretch.
• The lead swelled to as many as 19 at 30-11 just past the midway mark of the stanza. The Eagles began to find their rhythm from the floor as the teams traded baskets for the next several minutes.
• American trimmed the edge to 37-25 with 2:59 remaining, but SJU closed the half on a 7-1 spurt to take a 44-26 lead at intermission.
• Early in the second half, the Eagles made back-to-back threes to dent the Hawks lead. Saint Joseph's thwarted any thoughts of a comeback, using a 13-3 run in a span of 3:13, going up 59-35 just past the five-minute mark of the frame.
• The Hawks extended the lead out as far as 37 before a last run by American created the final score.

UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's makes the short trip over to University City to take on Virginia Tech in the Holiday Hoop Fest at the Palestra on Saturday, December 21. Tipoff is scheduled for noon with the game to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.