Game Info: Saturday, November 8, 2025 - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Hagan Arena - Hawk Hill, Philadelphia
Tickets | TV: ESPN+ | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | Drexel Game Notes

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Opening Tip
The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team begins Big 5 pod play, hosting the Drexel Dragons on Saturday, November 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. with the game to air on ESPN+.

Big 5     
Saturday marks Saint Joseph's first game in Philadelphia Big 5 play for the 2025 season. This year is the 70th season of the Big 5. St. Joe's is 135-123 in the Big 5 with 22 titles and 11 shared championships. The Hawks are 6-0 in the current Big 5 format of pod play that leads into the Big 5 Classic. Saturday is the first time SJU faces Drexel in a Big 5 game. Saint Joseph's also plays Penn in Big 5 pod play at The Palestra on November 17.

It's What He Does    
For the third time in his four stops, Steve Donahue won his first game at a new school. Previously, he defeated Saint Francis Brooklyn with Boston College and Robert Morris with Penn. His only loss in his first game in a new place was at Cornell when the Big Red fell to the defending national champions, No. 3 Michigan State.

Welcome To Hawk Hill    
Several players had impressive debuts for the Hawks in their first games with St. Joe's. Jaiden Glover-Toscano wowed the Hagan Arena faithful with 23 points and nine rebounds. He was 8-for-11 from the floor in the game. Freshman Austin Williford logged 20 minutes of action, tallying eight along with four rebounds, a block, and a steal.

Welcome (Back) To Hawk Hill    
It wasn't just new players who had an impact on Monday night's game. Steven Solano, in his first action since November 22, 2024, recorded six points and four rebounds. Following a redshirt season last year, Khaafiq Myers played eight minutes, scoring three points and grabbing three rebounds, adding a steal.

Scoring On All Levels    
SJU connected on 21-of-41 shots (58.5 percent) from two-point range against the Leopards on Monday. Last season, the Hawks only had 12 games at that percentage or higher on two-point field goal attempts. Overall, St. Joe's hit 52.8 percent inside the arc a year ago. Additionally, the team was 10-for-14 from inside the restricted area.

Home Sweet Hagan    
Playing at home has been a positive thing for St. Joe's throughout the building's history with a .632 winning percentage. The games have been particularly good since the beginning of the 2023-24 season with the Hawks going 28-8 (.778). The 27 victories from 2023-25 are the most in a two-year stretch since the building was renovated and renamed Hagan Arena in 2009.

Towering Over The Competition...    
With Justice Ajogbor (6'10"), Jaden Smith (6'11") and Steven Solano (7'0"), the Hawks' roster is loaded with height. Only eight opponents for St. Joe's have three or more players who are 6'10" or taller, led by five on Duquesne's roster. Three teams – Princeton, Coppin State and Rutgers-Camden – do not have a player on their squad that is taller than 6'9".

...Most of the Time    
Drexel is one of the handful of teams that Saint Joseph's plays that can match and even exceed its height. The Dragons have a pair of players listed at 7'1" in Ralph Akuta and Martin de Laporterie. It is the first time SJU has faced a team with two seven-footers since playing Kentucky on November 20, 2023.

We Love The 80s    
St. Joe's dropped 85 points on Lafayette on Monday night. It is the 13th time the program has scored 85 or more against a Division I team in the opener. The highest total is 103, accomplished twice, against Morgan State on December 4, 1992 and versus Western Carolina on November 17, 2000. Saint Joseph's posted its highest scoring output in a season opener since recording 91 points in a 96-91 overtime loss at Auburn on November 26, 2020. The team scored 80+ in a game 11 times last year, going 10-1 in those contests.

Scouting Report    
Drexel enters Saturday 1-0, following a 93-59 win against Division III Widener on Monday. The Dragons were picked 10th out of 13 teams in the Coastal Athletic Association preseason poll.

Leading the way for Drexel is Preseason Honorable Mention All-CAA guard Shane Blakeney, who averaged 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds while appearing in all 33 games for DU last year.

In Monday's contest, Josh Reed led the Dragons with 17 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Garfield Turner scored 14 and Victor Panov had six points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Despite roster turnover, Drexel went 18-15 last season, its third consecutive year with at least 17 wins. It is also the fifth straight season the Dragons have finished with a winning record.

Zach Spiker is in his 10th season at the helm of Drexel and his 17th year overall as a collegiate head coach. Taking over a team that won just six games the year before his arrival, he has steadily built the Dragons into a perennial contender in the CAA and took his team to the 2021 NCAA tournament.

All-Time Series    
Saint Joseph's holds a 47-11 all-time series lead against Drexel in a matchup that is more than a century old and dates back to the 1919-20 season. The Dragons have made strides in recent games, winning two in a row against the Hawks. SJU downed Drexel, 75-65, for its 1,000th program win on March 6, 1982 at The Palestra in the East Coast Conference tournament.

Last Time Against Drexel    
Despite a second half effort that saw Saint Joseph's shoot better than 50 percent from the floor, the Hawks were downed by the Dragons, 78-75, on November 17, 2021. Jordan Hall led the Hawks across the board with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Taylor Funk scored 18 with Erik Reynolds II delivering 13. Trailing by seven with 7:48 to go in the game, SJU was able to tie the contest at 66-66 when Funk was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank all his free throws. Drexel took the lead with 32 seconds remaining and hit four shots from the line down the stretch to hold on.

For Starters    
The Hawks are 84-29 in season-opening games. St. Joe's has won its last three openers, against Lafayette (2023, 2025) and Navy (2024). SJU won 32 consecutive games to start its season from 1950 through 1982.

Preseason Props    
Saint Joseph's placed two players on Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference teams. Deuce Jones II is a Preseason First Team selection and Justice Ajogbor is a Preseason All-Defensive Team honoree. As a team, the Hawks were voted seventh in the preseason poll.

Next Up    
Saint Joseph's plays the first of three consecutive road games, starting with a trip to Blacksburg, Va. on November 12, facing Virginia Tech. Tipoff from Cassell Coliseum is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., with the game airing on ACCNX.