DAYTON, Ohio – Trailing by as many as 19 in the first half, the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team made a furious second half rally, cutting it to a one possession game, but the Dayton Flyers held on for a 77-72 win on Friday night.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Erik Reynolds II netted 21 in the game, connecting on four three-pointers, giving him 312 in his career. He also had five rebounds.
• Xzayvier Brown scored 18 with five assists.
• Rasheer Fleming led the team with seven rebounds, also tallying 13.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a rough start for the Hawks as early turnovers and cold shooting say Dayton open a 12-2 lead less than five minutes into the game. The lead ballooned to 25-6 before SJU scored five in a row.
• With St. Joe's trailing 32-13 at the 7:10 mark, Reynolds kicked into gear, scoring eight in a row, slicing the Flyer lead to 32-21 in under three minutes.
• The teams traded baskets through the waning moments of the frame with Simpson hitting a buzzer-beating three, to make the score 39-26 at intermission.
• UD scored the first bucket of the second half, but the Hawks continued to show resilience, slicing the lead to 45-38 on a three-pointer by Fleming five minutes into the stanza.
• Continuing to battle, Saint Joseph's cut further into the lead as a pair of free throws from Brown cut the edge to five midway through the frame.
• St. Joe's continued to go toe-to-toe with Dayton, not letting the lead extend past nine. Threes in the final 91 seconds from Reynolds and Brown Pulled the Hawks to a single bucket at 73-70 with 17.3 seconds remaining.

 
UP NEXT
The Hawks return home to take on the Duquesne Dukes on Wednesday, January 29. Tipoff from Hagan Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.