Game Info: March 15, 2025 - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Capital One Arena - Washington, D.C.
Tickets | TV: CBS Sports Network | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | George Mason Game Notes

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Opening Tip
The Saint Joseph's men's basketball continues its postseason run with a semifinal matchup in the A-10 Championship against No. 2 seed George Mason. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. with the game on CBSSN.

Hawks In The A-10 Tournament    
Saint Joseph's has competed in the Atlantic 10 Championship in every season of the event, winning four times, in 1986, 1997, 2014 and 2016. The Hawks also advanced to the championship game in 2005, 2006 and 2008. SJU is 48-37 all-time in the A-10 tournament. A full history of Saint Joseph's in the A-10 tournament begins on page 13 of these notes.

What's Five More Minutes?    
If history is any indicator, Saint Joseph's is quote fine going to overtime in the conference tournament. With Friday's victory, SJU is now 9-0 in overtime in the Atlantic-10 Championship. It had been a while since the last extra session for St. Joe's in the A-10 tourney with the most recent one coming on March 11, 2011 as the 12th-seeded Hawks beat No. 4 Duquesne 93-90.

Protecting The Paint    
Of all the impressive defensive performances he has turned in this season, Friday may have been the best for Justice Ajogbor. The Benin City, Nigeria native blocked a career-high  seven shots against Dayton, six of them coming in the first half. It is tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in Atlantic 10 Championship history. As a team, SJU turned aside 10 Flyers' shots, the fourth game with double digit blocks this year. When it achieved the feat against Navy in the season opener, it was the first time SJU had turned away 10+ opponent shots in a game since January 12, 2013 at Duquesne.

Swat Team    
Ajogbor has had help in the rejecting opposition shots as Rasheer Fleming has turned aside 53 of his own. The duo rank sixth and 37th in NCAA Division I in total blocks, respectively and are first and fourth in the conference. The Hawks are one of two teams in the nation to have a pair of players with 50+ blocks each, matching Lamar for the top spot. It is also the first time St. Joe's has two players in a season with 50 or more swats since 2011-12 when C.J. Aiken had 120 and Halil Kanecevic knocked away 58.

Bright Lights Don't Faze Him    
For all of his impressive performances throughout his career, Erik Reynolds II has been at his best in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. He leads all active A-10 players at 17.4 points per game in conference championship play and is second in total points with 157. From a national perspective, he is tied for the 13th most points in conference tournament games in NCAA Division I and is fifth on that list in PPG. The Temple Hills, Md. product has two of his career 30-point games in the A-10 Championship. His 34-point effort against George Washington in 2023 was the most in an Atlantic 10 tournament game since 2018 and he is one of two players with multiple games of 30+ in the conference championship since 2005 (Peyton Aldridge - Davidson).

Turning The Tide    
With its win on Friday, the Hawks have now won multiple games in each of the last two A-10 Championships. They also have a win in three consecutive years and four of the last five. They are 6-2 in conference postseason play since the start of the 2023 tournament. Prior to the run, SJU was 3-6 after winning its second title in three years in 2016. Billy Lange is now 7-5 as the head coach of Saint Joseph's in the A-10 Tournament and is one of two coaches with a winning record in the event.

Lucky Number 6    
The number six seed has been a good place to be in recent history in the Atlantic 10 Championship. With the Hawks win on Thursday, the No. 6 seed has won a game in six of the last seven tournaments. In three of the last five tournaments that were played to completion, the sixth seed has won three times. Saint Louis claimed the title from the spot in 2019, Richmond turned the trick in 2022 and Duquesne achieved the feat last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.

So You're Saying There's A Chance    
Winning four games in four days to take home a conference tournament is a tough task, but not impossible. Since 2017, 22 teams across NCAA Division I have accomplished it, an average of 2.75 per season. Last year, three teams were successful, including Duquesne in the A-10. New Mexico and NC State were the other two. NC State became the second team to win five games in five days in their run to the ACC crown. The most in any season since 2017 was in 2021 when five teams won four games in four days to earn a title.

Scouting Report    
George Mason enters play 25-7 overall and went 15-3 in the A-10. The Patriots reached the semifinals with an 80-65 win against No. 7 George Washington.

Leading the offense for GM is Jalen Haynes at 13.8 points per game, followed closely by Darius Maddox at 13.5. Brayden O'Connor presents a third scoring option, tallying 9.7 a contest. Haynes tops the team at 7.1 rebounds a game. O'Connor has dished 92 assists while K.D. Johnson has 80 dimes.

A devastating defense for the Patriots has given opponents fits this season. George Mason is 12th in the country in scoring defense, surrendering just 63.1 points per game. It is third in field goal percentage defense (37.9) and 20th in three-point percentage defense (30.7).

GMU has also been stellar in winning the close games this season going 7-1 in conference play in games decided by five points or less.

One area where the Patriots have not excelled this season is holding on to the ball, ranking 14th in the A-10 and 284th nationally at 13.0 turnovers a game.

Tony Skinn is in his second season as the head coach at his alma mater and has posted 20-win seasons in each of his campaigns.

All-Time Series    
Saturday is the 19th matchup all-time between the Hawks and Patriots with George Mason holding a 11-7 series lead. All but one of the matchups between St. Joe's and GMU have come since the Patriots joined the Atlantic 10 for the 2013-14 season. The only other game between the schools in men's basketball was a 73-64 Saint Joseph's win in the Opening Round of the 2002 NIT.

Last Time Against George Mason    
A furious second half comeback and a missed shot at the buzzer from the Hawks allowed George Mason to escape with a 58-57 win on February 15, 2025. Xzayvier Brown led SJU with 19 points, adding four rebounds and three steals. Erik Reynolds II had 11 in the game.

Up Next    
The winner between Saint Joseph's and George Mason will face the victor between VCU and Loyola Chicago in the Atlantic 10 Championship game on Sunday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m.