RICHMOND, Va. – Saint Joseph's Erik Reynolds II and Xzayvier Brown combined for 42 points, but VCU held off a late flurry by the Hawks for a 73-69 win on Sunday afternoon at Siegel Center.

Inside The Boxscore
• In a defensive start to the contest, VCU held an early 7-4 lead on Toibu Lawal basket 4:37 into the contest.
• Behind a combined six points from Christ Essandoko and Xzayvier Brown, the Hawks opened a 10-7 advantage.
• A fastbreak layup by Lynn Greer III capped an 8-0 run for St. Joe's as they extended their lead to 18-9.
• A three-pointer by Xzayvier Brown put the Hawks up 23-14, but the Rams scored five straight as a free throw by Lawal made it 23-18.
• A pair of free throws from Xzayvier Brown with five seconds left gave the Hawks a 27-21 edge at halftime.
• Opening the second half on a 16-2 run, VCU took a 37-29 lead on a Max Shulga three-pointer less than six minutes into the period.
• A three-pointer by Xzayvier Brown and a basket inside from Essandoko brought Saint Joseph's to within 37-34.
• The Rams pushed ahead by six, but a three-pointer from Reynolds II made it a two-point game, 42-40.
• Ahead 45-43, VCU scored seven straight points as a basket by Lawal made it 52-43 with 7:15 to play.
• The fourth three-pointer of the half for Reynolds II made it 52-48.
• The Rams answered back as they extended their lead to 61-51 on a three-pointer by Joe Bamisile at 3:29.
• Saint Joseph's continued to fight as three free throws by Reynolds II brought the Hawks to within 65-60 with 1:19 left.
• A three-pointer by Rasheer Fleming got the Hawks to within three, 69-66.
• Bamisile put the Rams ahead 71-66 on a basket, but a three-pointer by Xzayvier Brown cut the VCU lead to 71-69 with :10.9 to go.
• Shulga connected on two free throws with :09.8 remaining to make it a two-possession game, 73-69.
• Saint Joseph's quickly advanced the ball, but a shot by Xzayvier Brown missed its mark as the Rams dibbled out the clock.

Inside The Boxscore
• Reynolds II scored all 21 points in the second half, finishing the day 6-10 from distance and 3-3 from the line.
• Xzayvier Brown was 6-9 from the field, including 5-8 from behind the arc and 4-5 from the foul line, for 21 points and added six rebounds and three assists.
• Brown and Reynolds II accounted for 11 of the Hawks' 12 three-pointers.
• Essandoko added seven points and six rebounds.
• Fleming finished with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.
• Greer III scored six points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out three assists.
• St. Joe's shot 48.3 percent in the second half (14-29) after shooting 29.6 percent (8-27) in the first half.

Up Next
The Hawks return home to host Fordham on Saturday, March 2, at 12:30 p.m.