PHILADELPHIA –
Xzayvier Brown scored the 1,000th point of his career, but the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team was upended in the First Round of the NIT, 69-65 by the UAB Blazers on Wednesday night.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Brown netted 21 in the game and added four steals.
- Anthony Finkley was in double figures for the sixth time in seven games, scoring 12 and pulled in a season-high tying eight boards.
- Derek Simpson scored 11 in the contest.
- Justice Ajogbor set a career-high with eight blocks, one shy of the single-game NIT record. He also added a season-high tying 10 rebounds.
- Erik Reynolds II capped his career with 2,175 points and 350 three-pointers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a slow start offensively, the Hawks began to find their footing, going on a 16-8 run, opening a 16-12 lead at the 11:16 mark of the first half.
- SJU stayed in the game with a strong defensive effort that included three blocks in the first 4:10 of the game.
- Neither team held more than a five-point lead throughout the half. UAB poked ahead 32-29 with two minutes remaining, but a jumper by Reynolds and a pair of free throws by Shawn Simmons II allowed St. Joe's to take a 33-32 lead into the break.
- The Blazers quickly took a lead in the first possession of the second on an old-fashioned three-point play, but the Hawks responded with a 12-2 run, taking their largest lead of the night to that juncture at 44-37.
- SJU extended the lead to 49-41 on a layup by Brown, but UAB battled back, scoring seven in a row to force a Hawks' timeout.
- Down the stretch, Saint Joseph's saw several shots rim out as the Blazers were able to pull ahead and hang on.
The Hawks finish the season 22-13. They competed in a national postseason tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013 and 2014.
