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Saint Joseph's University

Saint Joseph's Hawks
Saint Joseph's Hawks
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Greg Carroccio/Sideline Photos

Men's Basketball Readies for Wednesday Night Showdown Against the Bonnies

2/25/2025 2:52:00 PM

Game Info: Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Hagan Arena - Philadelphia, Pa.
Tickets | TV: Peacock | Listen: sjuhawks.comLive Stats: sjuhawks.comSaint Joseph's Game Notes | St. Bonaventure Game Notes

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Opening Tip
The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team has a tough test, hosting St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, February 26. Tipoff from Hagan Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game broadcast on Peacock.

On The Precipice    
With his 25 points against Richmond on Saturday Erik Reynolds II is potentially within single-game  range of the Saint Joseph's all-time scoring record. He needs 28 points to pass former National Player of the Year Jameer Nelson (2000-04) to become the career scoring leader at SJU. Nelson netted 2,094 points in his Saint Joseph's career. The Temple Hills, Md. product also dropped a career-high seven three-pointers against the Spiders, giving him 334 in his career, leaving him 10 shy of breaking Langston Galloway's (2011-14) program record.

Total Package    
Rasheer Fleming has been the rare player who is able to shoot from a high percentage, both overall and from distance. He is currently eighth in overall field goal percentage in the A-10 at 55.9 percent from the floor (min. 3.0 FGM/GM). The junior is also third in the conference in three-point percentage at 43.6 percent. Within the Atlantic 10, he is the only player in the top-10 of the conference in field goal percentage to have hit more than 14 shots from beyond the arc.

From A Broader Perspective    
Fleming isn't just leading the way in percentage from a conference perspective, he's also part of a select group nationally. Among players who have met the NCAA FG percentage standards of 5.0 FGM/GM and have played in 75 percent of team games, he leads Division I among players who have made more than half of their shots and at least 50 threes on the year. There are only 12 players nationally who meet that criteria.

Three-Point Display    
The Hawks as a team put on a shooting display, connecting on 15 shots from beyond the arc against Richmond. It is the third time this season SJU has made 15 or more threes in a game. As a team, Saint Joseph's connected at a 45.5 percent rate from three-point range, its fifth highest total of the season. Erik Reynolds II set a career-high with seven treys while Rasheer Fleming tied a personal best with four.

Trees Making Threes    
In a category normally dominated by guards, both Fleming and Anthony Finkley have been among the best in the A-10 from beyond the arc this season, an impressive feat given their height. As mentioned earlier, Fleming (6'9") is third in the conference in three-point percentage. Finkley (6'7") is close behind in fourth at 42.9 percent. The pair are among just 47 players nationally who are 6'7" or taller and average at least one trey made per game while shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc. SJU is one of three teams along with Bradley and Stonehill to have two players on that list.

Put Away The Whistles    
The Hawks and Bonnies have been among the best in the country at not fouling the opposition with SBU leading the A-10 at 13.3 infractions a night. St. Joe's is second in the conference with 14.4 per game. Both teams rank in the top-25 nationally in fewest fouls per game. Nor surprisingly, SBU and SJU are in the top-three of the Atlantic 10 in opponent free throw attempts. St. Bonaventure has surrendered 380 while the Saint Joseph's has allowed 431. Both marks are top-40 in the nation.

The Big Three    
One look at their scoring averages makes it clear how important Erik Reynolds II, Rasheer Fleming and Xzayvier Brown are to the St. Joe's offense, but a bit of a deeper look reveals just how special the trio has been. Each of them has scored in double figures at least 43 times in their careers, making SJU the only school in the A-10 with three players who have at least 40 such games. At 104 games with 10+ points, Reynolds is one of two players in the conference to reach the feat 100 or more times.   

Scouting Report    
St. Bonaventure enters play 19-9 overall and is 7-8 in the Atlantic 10 following a 70-63 win against Duquesne on Saturday. The Bonnies were picked 10th in the conference preseason poll.

Leading the offense for SBU is Melvin Council Jr. at 14.4 points per game. Chance Moore scores 13.2 and Noel Brown nets 12.4. Lajae Jones rounds out a quartet of layers in double figures at 10.9 an outing. Moore tops the squad in rebounding at 6.8 a game. Council has dished 116 assists

The Bonnies have done an excellent job this season in holding down the opposing offense, ranking 17th nationally at 64.3 points per game allowed, though that number has elevated to 68.3 in A-10 play. One reason for the ability to keep teams from putting points on the board is the turnover department. St. Bonaventure only gives the ball up 10.7 times a game while forcing 12.4 opposition miscues a night.

Despite four players in double figures, scoring can be difficult for SBU at times, ranking 13th in the conference and 285th nationally at 69.8 points per game. After the starting lineup, there aren't too many offensive contributions for the Bonnies who are third from the bottom in Division I at just 9.75 bench points per game.

St. Bonaventure also doesn't take too many shots beyond the arc or at the free throw line, sitting last and second to last in the Atlantic 10 in those categories, respectively.

Mark Schmidt is in his 18th season as the head coach of the Bonnies with a record of 321-235 in Olean. He has guided his teams to six 20-win seasons and three NCAA tournament appearances.

All-Time Series    
Wednesday is the 86th all-time matchup between the Hawks and St. Bonaventure. SJU holds a 51-34 advantage, but the Bonnies have made major inroads in recent years, winning 10 in a row in the series. The Hawks are looking for their first win against St. Bonaventure since January 6, 2018.

Last Time Against St. Bonaventure    
Five players scored in double figures, but St. Bonaventure shot 58 percent from the field as the Bonnies claimed a 91-72 win at the Reilly Center on January 26, 2024. Cameron Brown led the Hawks with 16 points. Christ Essandoko added 14 with a team-leading seven rebounds. Three more players, incluing Erik Reynolds II and Rasheer Fleming, tallied 12 apiece. It was a close game at the half as SBU held just a 45-41 lead at the break. In the second stanza, the Bonnies shot 60 percent to pull away.

ER II-K    
With his three-pointer 19 seconds into the second half against La Salle, Erik Reynolds II became the second player in Saint Joseph's men's basketball history to reach 2,000 career points. In the process, he also passed Galloway (2011-14) for second on the Hawks' scoring list, ending the night with 2,012 points. Reynolds is the 14th active Division I player to reach the milestone. He is one of two current A-10 players (Gibson Jimerson - Saint Louis) and one of two active Big 5 players (Jamal Mashburn Jr. - Temple) to have scored 2,000 points.

Up Next    
SJU heads north to the Bronx to take on Fordham on Saturday, March 1. Tipoff from Rose Hill Gym is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. with the game to be broadcast on USA Network.
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