Game Info: Friday, February 7, 2025 - 9:00 p.m.
Location: Hagan Arena - Philadelphia, Pa.
Tickets | TV: ESPNU | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | Saint Louis Game Notes

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Opening Tip
The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team returns home for an A-10 Friday Night Showcase game, hosting the Saint Louis Billikens on February 7. Tipoff from Hagan Arena is at 9:00 p.m. with the game on ESPNU.

Leading The Way    
Justice Ajogbor currently leads the nation with multiple blocked shots in 11 consecutive games. He rejected a season-high five shots against Loyola Chicago on Saturday. In the 11 games, he has 35 blocks, which is the fourth-highest total in the nation during the span. The Benin City, Nigeria native now leads the Atlantic 10 in total swats with 47 and is tied for the conference best at 2.14 blocks per game.

Keeping It 100
With his scoring output against Loyola Chicago, Erik Reynolds II posted his 99th career game in double digit scoring. With one more such contest, he would become the 10th active player to reach 10+ points in 100 career games. Along with Tucker DeVries of West Virginia, he would be one of two on that list to accomplish the feat in four seasons.

A Return To Form    
In the last six games, Reynolds has seen a return to numbers closer to his career averages, posting 17.5 points per contest. During the most recent three games, the scoring has been even better, netting 19.3 an outing with 20+ point efforts against Dayton and Duquesne. The stretch has moved him to 1,965 career points, the 16th most among active Division I players. He is 20 points shy of Bernard Blunt (1990-95) for third on the SJU career scoring list and 26 away from Langston Galloway (2011-14). His 315 three-pointers are 10th for active players and 28 behind Galloway's program standard of 343.

Total Package    
It's not just scoring that has separated Reynolds from his peers. The Temple Hills, Md. native is one of 14 active D-I players with at least 1,800 points, 300 rebounds and 300 assists. He is one of three players to have achieved the feat in four years at the same school (Wade Taylor IV - Texas A&M; Kameron Jones - Marquette). Among the 14 players on the list, Reynolds has done it in the fewest games with 120. Zeke Mayo is next closest with 124 games between South Dakota State and Kansas.

The Buck Stops Here    
The Hawks have done a good job this season of rebounding after a tough game. Saint Joseph's is 7-1 this season following a loss. It is 4-0 in home games after a setback.

Toeing The Line    
SJU has seen a major uptick in free throw attempts in its last two games, combining to try 59 shots at the charity stripe against Duquesne and Loyola Chicago. Despite ranking second in the A-10 and sitting in the top-75 nationally in free throw percentage, getting to the line hasn't been a major part of the Hawk offense this season, as they are ninth in the conference at 14.1 makes per game. Against Duquesne, the St. Joe's hit 29 from 15 feet away, nearly doubling its season average for attempts as well of 18.6, shooting 35 times. St. Joe's excelled down the stretch, connecting on 13-of-14 at the free throw line in the final 2:14. The 29 makes are the most in a game since knocking down 36 against Illinois-Chicago on November 28, 2018. Saint Joseph's is shooting 83.3 percent (60-for-72) at the stripe in its last three contests.

Double Trouble    
With 12 points and 13 rebounds at Loyola, Rasheer Fleming notched his eighth double-double of the season. The total is tied with Rafael Castro of George Washington for the Atlantic 10 lead and is 28th nationally. It was also Fleming's nine game this season with 10 or more rebounds. He leads the A-10 at 9.2 boards a game.

Scouting report    
Saint Louis enters play 14-9 overall and is 7-3 in the Atlantic 10 following an 73-71 win at UMass on Tuesday that saw SLU scoring the final seven points of the game in just 37 seconds. The Billikens were picked fourth in the A-10 preseason poll.

A trio of preseason All-Conference selections lead the offense for Saint Louis. Gibson Jimerson tops the team at 17.6 points per game. Indiana State transfers Robbie Avila and Isaiah Swope come in at 16.6 and 16.5 an outing respectively. Kalu Anya is second in the the Atlantic 10 at 9.0 rebounds a night. Swope has 104 assists.

The Billikens can shoot well, ranking second in the conference and in the top-50 nationally in field goal percentage at 47.7 and lead the A-10 in effective field goal percentage. SLU is also one of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the country, making 9.3 treys an outing in 27.2 attempts, both second in the league.

The shooting needs to be good for Saint Louis as they average 7.3 overall field goal attempts per game fewer than its opponents. In part, this is due to ranking in the bottom-75 in NCAA Division I in turnovers forced per game at 10.8 and sitting at 336th in offensive rebounds a contest at under eight a night.

Josh Schertz is in his first season with the Billikens and his 18th year as a collegiate head coach overall. He comes to Saint Louis from Indiana State where he guided the Sycamores to a 32-7 record last season and the championship game of the NIT.

All-Time Series    
Friday is the 24th matchup between the Hawks and Billikens. Saint Louis holds a 18-5 series edge. The Hawks are 3-6 against SLU at Hagan Arena, but won the most recent matchup on Hawk Hill, an 87-86 victory on Valentine's Day last year.

Last Time Against Saint 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 January 3, 2025. Rasheer Fleming recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 caroms 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. Justice Ajogbor netted eight with five rebounds. All of his scoring and four of his boards came in the second half.

Up Next    
St. Joe's takes to the court again on Wednesday, February 12 when it hosts city rival La Salle. Tipoff from Hagan Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game on ESPN+.