PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team could not overcome a tough shooting second half as the Hawks were downed by the Fordham Rams, 68-64, on Tuesday night.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Austin Williford turned in a career-high 19 points, going 4-for-6 from three-point range.
• Derek Simpson had 11 points and four assists.
• Jaiden Glover-Toscano and Dasear Haskins each netted 10.
• Anthony Finkley grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and matched Simpson with four assists.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a struggle from the floor for both teams early on. The Hawks found their rhythm first, using a 13-4 run to open a 15-9 lead at the 12:36 mark of the first half.
• The Rams hung around, but thanks to some excellent shooting from distance, St. Joe's was able to methodically extend the lead thanks to nine first half three-pointers. SJU extended the lead to as many as 15 before taking a 42-32 lead into the break. Williford hit four of the treys.
• Fordham came out with the jump in the second half, starting on an 8-1 run, clipping the lead to 43-40 in less than three minutes.
• After seeing its lead trimmed to a point, a drive to the basket by Simpson gave the Hawks their first bucket of the second half and ignited a 6-0 run that pushed the lead back to 51-44. Fordham responded immediately, scoring 12 of the next 14 points and taking its first lead since three minutes into the contest.
• From that point, the Hawks were always within two possessions of the Rams, but could not retake the lead in the closing moments.

 
UP NEXT
With Tuesday's game concluding a stretch of three games in seven days, the Hawks get a break as they do not play again until February 18 when they travel to St. Bonaventure. Tipoff from the Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game to air on ESPN+.