WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bolstered by its supporting cast, the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team ground out a 73-68 win in overtime against the Dayton Flyers in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Championship on Friday night.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Erik Reynolds II led the Hawks with 21 points and pulled in a season-high tying seven rebounds.
- Xzayvier Brown had 20 points and seven boards and was 8-for-8 from the line.
- Justice Ajogbor delivered a career-high seven blocks, the fourth-highest total ever in an A-10 tournament game. He also scored six and had five caroms.
- Derek Simpson scored 11 and had four boards. He was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
- Simpson combined with Dasear Haskins to net 16 off the bench, contributing six boards and three steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After getting off to a slow start, hitting two of their first 10 shots, the Hawks got a lift off the bench from Dasear Haskins. He came away with a steal and dunk and then followed with a right-wing three as SJU went on a 7-0 run to go up 12-10 at the 11:32 mark.
- The teams traded baskets as Dayton evened the contest at 14-14 before a 9-0 St. Joe's run was capped by a Simpson trey, pushing the Hawks on top 23-14 with just less than six minutes remaining in the half.
- Unrelenting, Saint Joseph's extended the lead to as many as 15 on a three-pointer by Reynolds. The defense was big part of the equation as Dayton opened the half 5-for-26 from the floor. The Flyers eventually scored eight of the final 10 points of the frame, but the Hawks still led 33-24 at intermission.
- While the Hawks shot well to open the second, Dayton was on fire, closing the gap to 46-43 with 11:47 to play.
- The Flyers continued to press the play and eventually took a 60-56 lead. Brown stepped up and calmly deposited four in a row at the line in the final 14 seconds as the Hawks were able to force five more minutes of basketball.
- In the extra session, St. Joe's never trailed as a layup by Reynolds and a pair of free throws from Rasheer Fleming put SJU on top.
- Saint Joseph's went 8-for-10 at the line in the extra period.
UP NEXT
It is a short turnaround for the Hawks who take on second seeded George Mason in the A-10 Championship semifinals on Saturday, March 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. with the game to air ono CBS Sports Network.