PHILADELPHIA - Deuce Jones II scored a career-high 29 points as the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team downed the Drexel Dragons, 76-65, on Saturday afternoon in a Big 5 contest.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Jones netted his total on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. He also connected on 12-of-13 shots from the free throw line.
• Dasear Haskins tied his career-best with 15 points and pulled in six rebounds.
• Anthony Finkley scored 13, 12 of them coming in the second half.
• Derek Simpson had another strong overall game, tallying eight points and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. He also came away with three steals.
• As a team, Saint Joseph's shot 26-for-30 at the free throw line.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The two teams traded shots early in the game. An early spurt from Jones helped the Hawks open a 20-14 lead, but a 12-2 run by Drexel pushed the Dragons up 26-22 approaching the under-eight media timeout.
• Through the remainder of the half, the teams played evenly on the scoreboard with the Hawks staying in the game at the free throw line, going 9-for-11 from the stripe in the first half.
• Moving the ball inside to start the second half, St. Joe's continued to get to the line, going 7-for-8 in the opening four minutes of the frame. SJU tied the game on a steal and score and then used the free throw line to go up 43-42 at the 16:02 mark.
• The Dragons took a 51-50 lead on a triple with 11:16 remaining, but an 8-2 run for Saint Joseph's, capped by a step-back three from Jones gave SJU a 58-53 lead with under eight to play.
• Once more, the Dragons came back, tying the game at 60-60 with just less than six minutes remaining. Undaunted, the Hawks started to pull away again on a three-pointer by Finkley off an offensive rebound and dish from Jones.
• On top 70-62, SJU took any last thoughts of another Drexel rally away as Justice Ajogbor blocked a layup attempt to force a shot clock violation. On the ensuing possession, Finkley faked a drive and when his defender broke to the rim, the junior stepped back just beyond the charity stripe and delivered a bucket that helped put the game out of reach.

 
UP NEXT
St. Joe's has its first road test of the season, traveling to Blacksburg, Va., facing Virginia Tech on Wednesday, November 12. Tipoff from Cassell Coliseum is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game airing on ACCNX.