OLEAN, N.Y. – The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team placed five players in double figures as the Hawks won their first game at St. Bonaventure since 2014 with a 71-65 win against the Bonnies on Wednesday night.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Derek Simpson led SJU with 23 points and seven assists, going 7-for-7 at the free throw line.
• Austin Williford scored 14, connecting on four three-pointers.
• Justice Ajogbor posted a season-high 12 points with nine rebounds and a personal best five assists. He also had four blocks, passing Alexandre Sazonov for seventh on the St. Joe's career list.
• Jaiden Glover-Toscano scored 11. Dasear Haskins netted 10.
• It was the first win for the Hawks at the Reilly Center since beating St. Bonaventure 83-74 on March 1, 2014.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Hawks got off to a slow start, starting 2-for-8 from the floor. St. Joe's found its rhythm, going on a 12-4 run with all of the points scored from deep, including a pair of threes from Williford as the Hawks went up 16-12 at the 11:39 mark.
• Saint Joseph's took a 26-19 lead on a free throw by Finkley with 4:21 remaining, but in the back-and-forth half, the Bonnies reeled off 11 points in a row. SJU stopped the spurt with a driving layup by Simpson and trailed 30-28 at the break.
• Continuing to be a game of runs, Saint Joseph's opened the second half on a 12-3 spurt forcing a St. Bonaventure timeout less than four minutes into the frame.
• Each time the Hawks began to pull away, SBU rallied, using a 14-2 run to take a 58-55 lead with six minutes to go. Undeterred, SJU responded with a 13-4 jaunt, opening a 71-62 lead on a Simpson free throw with under a minute remaining. St. Joe's held on down the stretch to pick up a key conference victory.

 
UP NEXT
St. Joe's makes its final appearance on national television during the regular season, hosting the Loyola Chicago Ramblers on Saturday, February 21. Tipoff from Hagan Arena is scheduled for noon with the game to air on ESPNU.