Saint Joseph's and Duquesne tip off at Hagan Arena on January 29, 2025. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
January 30, 2025
PHILADELPHIA – Entering Wednesday’s game against Duquesne, Saint Joseph’s was not a very hard team to figure out.
Make the three-pointer and the Hawks had a pretty good chance to win.
Miss the three-pointer and the Hawks had a pretty good chance to lose.
But St. Joe’s showed a different style against the Dukes, getting inside the paint, getting to the free throw line, getting more easy points than from beyond 20 feet, 9 inches, in the 76-72 victory over the Dukes.
Consider that the Hawks (13-8 overall, 4-4 Atlantic 10) entered play taking 40 percent of all field goals from beyond the arc. Against Duquesne, St. Joe’s shot just 34 percent of its field goals from three-point range.
Consider that the Hawks entered averaging just 17.8 free throw attempts. Against Duquesne, St. Joe’s shot 35 foul shots, making 29. Both the attempts and makes were season highs.
Consider that the Hawks entered averaging 39.4 percent from three-point range in games that they won and 27.2 percent from the arc in games that they lost. As mentioned, make the 3 and win; miss the 3 and lose. Against Duquesne, St. Joe’s shot its second-worst percentage of the season from long range, going 3 of 16 (18.8 percent), and still claimed victory.
“That’s not how we want to play,” Lange said of the fewer-than-normal three-point tries. “But we love to shoot free throws and get layups and dunks. I thought our guys did a great job of getting in the paint, cutting, and drawing fouls. If we have to win that way, we have to win that way.”
St. Joe’s offense is predicated on freeing three-point shooters by using ball screens and drives to the basket that require defenders to help, allowing guards to pass out to open shooters. But with the Dukes switching defenders on ball screens, the Hawks’ guards did not find open shooters as normal. The mid-range and driving game were there, and St. Joe’s took advantage.
Also, the Hawks have been putting more emphasis on playing this way anyway, as the long range shots have just not fallen at a high percentage this season with consistency.
“We’ve been making that a more focal point in practice,” said Erik Reynolds II, who led St. Joe’s with 20 points. “The more we move, the more driving lanes that are available. (Lange) would say just attack space. More we attack space, the more openings there are for each other.”
It was clear early that Reynolds was trying to play a different game against Duquesne. On his first field goal attempt early in the contest, he passed on a three-point try, got past his man and put up an elbow jumper. It rimmed out, but the soft rebound was easily corralled by Rasheer Fleming, who put it back for a score. Often, missed three-pointers result in long rebounds that don’t allow the Hawks’ talented bigs, Fleming and Justice Ajogbor, to track the caroms.
Reynolds continued playing that way throughout and ended up with season highs in both free throws made (8) and attempts (10). Getting to the line is a good place for Reynolds, who is hitting 88.3 percent from the foul line on the season.
“Something I’m trying to get back to, something I really used to do a lot,” Reynolds said of playing more of a midrange game.
It was a different style but, Reynolds said, a fun one, a style that is less reliant on the vagaries of shooting and more so on attacking space and scoring in other ways.
“It’s also fun when we’re moving and cutting, making teams turn their heads and stuff like that, emphasizing back cuts a lot, keep slashing out of corners,” Reynolds said. “The more space we create for each other, the better we’re going to be as a team.”
The victory placed St. Joe’s into a five-way tie for fourth place in the crowded middle pack of the Atlantic 10. The top four teams in the conference earn a coveted double-bye in the conference tournament, which will be the Hawks’ ticket to their first NCAA tournament since 2016 with a victory. In spite of St. Joe’s ups and downs this season, Reynolds is still feeling good about the team’s chances.
“Sky’s the limit for this team,” he said. “We have a lot of potential to do great things.”
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–Fordham 88, La Salle 72: At Glaser Arena, the short-handed Explorers, playing without leading rebounder Demetrius Lilley (foot) for the second straight game, fell behind early and never recovered. Fordham (10-11, 2-6 A-10) took a 16-point first-half lead on the way to victory.
Rookie Deuce Jones had 24 points to pace the Explorers (11-10, 3-5).
–Temple 90, Charlotte 89, 2OT: At the Liacouras Center, Temple improved to 9-0 on its home court by eking out the win over Charlotte. Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored a career-high 34 points and hit the tiebreaking free throw, making the second attempt after missing the first, with two seconds left in the extra session to propel the Owls to 13-8 overall, 5-3 in the American.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.