Saint Joseph's and UMass tip off at Hagan Arena on Tuesday. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
December 31, 2025
PHILADELPHIA–Saint Joseph’s Billy Lange was sorry for the first-half technical he received. The whiteboard he smashed at halftime? Not so much.
Incensed with UMass’s 14 offensive rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, Lange burst into the home locker room, wrote 14 on the whiteboard, and then slammed it into the ground for effect. The old, too-small board shattered into pieces.
The Hawks’ Atlantic 10 hopes didn’t splinter, though, as the players took heed to Lange’s message, held the Minutemen to two offensive boards after the break and ended the calendar year with not flawless but very good 81-72 victory at Hagan Arena on Tuesday afternoon.
This game was won for many reasons and not just a crappy, old writing board that, Lange said, was well past its prime. But the aggressiveness, intensity, and fortitude required for conference play that the Hawks showed after halftime certainly helped.
Breaking the board worked.
“We need a new one anyway,” Lange said. “It can barely fit the starting lineup of the other team.There were 14 offensive rebounds. It doesn’t matter what we do if that’s not better. There’s no adjustment for that.”
Lange has spoken repeatedly about how much he loves the Hawks, how they are of high character and of high faith. Sometimes, though, you need to throw out Mr. Nice Guy. That’s kind of how it works in any league game and particularly against any Frank Martin-coached team.
“We have tough guys,” Lange said. “We have aggressive guys. They just don’t do it externally all the time. So I’ve learned that through this season that my type of leadership is you’re going to show me what you need, and then I’m going to give the group what it needs.
“They needed a whiteboard thrown on the ground. I wasn’t really trying to break it. It’s so old and it’s not one of the better quality ones. It didn’t take much. But we gave up two (offensive rebounds) in the second half. We’ll live with that. Most important thing to me is I thought we played like pit bulls.”
With the rebounding message clearly made and fixed, the Hawks slowly pulled away from the Minutemen after halftime, overcoming foul trouble to Rasheer Fleming, Xzayvier Brown’s minutes limit as he recovers from a strained hamstring, and Erik Reynolds II leaving briefly after turning an ankle.
“He came in hot,” St. Joe’s Anthony Finkley said of Lange at halftime. “It was like, ‘Alright, bet. And just handle that in the second half.’”
The Hawks did just that.
St. Joe’s advantage reached as many as 10 points, 64-54, on a Dasear Haskins three-pointer with 7 minutes, 26 seconds to play. And the Hawks held on down the stretch, getting contributions from just about everyone and helped by late foul trouble to Philly’s Rashool Diggins, who was marvelous in scoring 33 points.
Fleming led St. Joe’s with 16 points but fouled out with 3:50 left. Fleming has improved defensively but still has a habit to jump before the offensive player leaves his feet, leaving the Hawks’ big many vulnerable to creating contact. It is something that he’ll need to improve for St. Joe’s to reach the pinnacle of the A-10.
Reynolds had 14; Haskins, Finkley, and Brown scored 11; and Justice Ajogbor contributed nine points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, and just the toughness for which Lange was looking.
The joyous Hawks returned afterward to the locker room, where more yelling could be heard. Only this time, with the poor, old whiteboard crumpled under the players’ feet, it was screams of joy.
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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.