ST. LOUIS – The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team placed three players in double figure scoring, but the Hawks were upended by the Saint Louis Billikens, 73-57 on Friday night.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Erik Reynolds II scored 11. His first basket, a three-pointer at the 15:22 mark of the first half, moved him into fourth place on the St. Joe's career scoring list, finishing the game with 1,856 points.
• Rasheer Fleming recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 caroms.
• Justice Ajogbor netted eight with five rebounds. All of his scoring and four of his boards came in the second half.
• Xzayvier Brown chipped in with 11 points.
• Derek Simpson scored six with three rebounds and four steals.
• Shawn Simmons II contributed some good minutes off the bench in the first half with two points and four rebounds.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A slow start from the field for the Hawks combined with an 8-for-13 opening for the Billikens saw Saint Louis take a 18-8 lead at the 13:36 mark, forcing a St. Joe's timeout.
• From there, SJU picked up the defense, forcing three consecutive misses and six turnovers in a span of 5:29 as the Hawks used a 14-2 run to take their first lead of the night.
• Saint Louis battled back, scoring nine of the next 11 points. Saint Joseph's went on a brief run before a buzzer-beater for the Billikens saw SJU trail 36-29 at intermission.
• Trailing by 12 five minutes into the second stanza, the Hawks went on a 14-4 spurt with six of the points scored by Ajogbor, cutting the lead to 49-47 with 8:39 remaining, forcing a Saint Louis timeout.
• SJU kept the game within five points for the next couple of minutes, but an 8-2 Billikens run. Saw SLU take a 63-52 lead into the final media timeout, helping lead to the final score.

 
UP NEXT
The Hawks remain on the road, traveling to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne on Wednesday, January 8. Tipoff from UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game broadcast on ESPN+.