Multiple Contributions As the Hawks Down the Bonnies 75 – 64
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 2/26/2025 –
Saint Joseph’s now own a three-game winning streak, and got their first win over St. Bonaventure since January 6, 2018 with a 75 – 64 victory at the Hagan Arena. Many players contributed, and in many ways. Guard Xzayvier Brown led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds to post his fourth double-double of the season. He has scored in double figures in all 28 games this season.
And the Hawks did it with Erik Reynolds II scoring just 8 points. He may have note scored heavily, but did distribute dishing a season-most 6 assists and played good defense. Reynolds II continues to contribute in any way possible.
“This is the best basketball he’s ever played in terms of his defense, decision making and pick and roles, driving the ball more,” said Saint Joseph’s Coach Billy Lange about Reynolds II. “When he plays like he did tonight in those other areas, it shows the impact he can still have.”
“And the other guys are gaining confidence.”
A Back and Forth Game
It was a fast paced game and free flowing. St. Bonaventure had the better of it in the first half. Then St. Joe’s put on a run to tie the game at 35 going into intermission. The Hawks pulled ahead early in the second half, but the lead did not last.
Then Saint Joseph’s capitalized on two distinct runs. The first was a 10 – 1 run to take 53 – 46 lead with just under 13 minutes to play. Just a minute later the Hawks went on a 10 – 2 run to stretch the lead to 12 with 8:39 on the clock.
“Coming in at halftime we were proud we fought back, but we knew we had better basketball to play,” said Brown. “It showed in the first couple of minutes of the of second half. Right in the middle was the time we began to pull away.”
With 3:52 remaining Derek Simpson drained a three pointer and was fouled. The four-point play resulted in the largest lead of the game at 71- 54.
What the Numbers Say
St. Joe’s had seven of eight players in the scoring column. Rasheer Fleming scored 19 points and added 6 rebounds. Simpson added 11 points and 4 assists. Anthony Finkley and Justice Ajobor each had 6 points with Ajobor getting 7 caroms.
The Hawks won the battle of the boards 41 – 31.
St. Bonaventure had three players in double figures. Melvin Council, Jr. had a team-high 18 points and 8 rebounds to go along with a team-best 4 assists. Noel Brown scored 13 points with 8 boards. Lajae Jones added 14 points.
Up Next
Saint Joseph’s (18 – 10, 9 – 6) is in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Atlantic 10 with Dayton and Saint Louis. The top four seeds get the double bye to the quarterfinals at the conference tournament. They play at Fordham next on Saturday.
“This is an important stretch going into March,” Brown said. “You’re trying to play your best basketball. We’ve been learning from wins and losses trying to put our best foot forward going into March.”
Written By; Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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