TRENTON, N.J. – In front of 100+ members of family and friends, Deuce Jones II was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Deborah Heart and Lung Center Jersey Jam as the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team downed the Princeton Tigers, 60-58 on Sunday afternoon.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Jones netted 17 points and had a season-high nine rebounds.
• Derek Simpson scored 13 points and pulled in five boards.
• Austin Williford tallied seven with three boards and two steals.
• Justice Ajogbor blocked two shots.
• SJU held a 35-26 advantage on the glass.
• Eight of the nine St. Joe's players who appeared in the game scored.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams played strong defense to start the game before the Tigers got hot from beyond the arc and opened a 14-5 lead. SJU battled back, using an 8-0 run to slice the advantage to 14-13 midway through the opening half.
• Continuing the run, St. Joe's scored seven in a row following a Princeton bucket, taking a 20-16 lead on a Glover-Toscano trey at the 7:24 mark. The Hawks did not let go of the lead through the remainder of the stanza, taking a 30-25 lead at the break.
• Beginning the second half, SJU added to the lead with a free throw, but back-to-back three-pointers by the Tigers knotted the contest at 31-31, just over two minutes into the frame.
• The game remained a tightly matched affair as the half wore on with neither team holding more than a five-point lead into the final four minutes until Jones found Simpson on a backdoor cut with 3:30 remaining, giving the Hawks a 58-52 lead.
• Leading by two with seven seconds left, Saint Joseph's forced the Tigers into a half court heave at the buzzer that missed to the left, allowing SJU to hold on.

 
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will compete in the Big 5 Classic on Saturday, December 6, facing either Temple or Villanova. Tipoff from Xfinity Mobile Arena is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. with the game to air on NBC Sports Philadelphia.