St. Joseph’s coach Billy Lange has always been big on his teams shooting three-pointers. But that approach has been one of high risk, high reward for the Hawks this season.
When the threes are going in, St. Joe’s likely is coming out on top. But they haven’t consistently done that.
Of the games in which Hawks are shooting above 30.5% from beyond the arc, they’ve won all but two, and one of those losses was in overtime. When shooting below 30.5% from three, they’ve lost all but two. But they pulled out a 76-72 win over Duquesne on Wednesday night.
Despite going 3-for-16 from the perimeter, St. Joe’s (13-8, 4-4 Atlantic 10) earned a victory that broke from its typical framework. The 18.8% clip marked the second-lowest three-point percentage for the Hawks this season.
So what made the Hawks’ win against the Dukes different? For starters, their defense. St. Joe’s had five blocks, four by center Justice Ajogbor and one by forward Rasheer Fleming. The Hawks had six steals with one by Fleming, one by Erik Reynolds II, and two each by Anthony Finkley and Xzayvier Brown. St. Joe’s scored 17 points off 10 Dukes turnovers.
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Brown also grabbed nine of the Hawks’ 27 defensive rebounds.
The Hawks committed 16 turnovers, but their defense held the Dukes (9-12, 4-4) to 14 points off them.
The Hawks had to adapt to going cold from deep and find new ways to score. They leaned on rebounding and driving to the basket and scored 32 points in the paint.
Another key area was free throws, something St. Joe’s has struggled with. The Hawks made 29 of 35 free throws, including 15 in the last 4:55.
Reynolds (20 points), Brown (16), Fleming (13), and freshman Dasear Haskins (10) were the Hawks’ leading scorers. Tre Dinkins paced the Dukes with 27 points and two steals.
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Duquesne is on a three-game losing streak. It’s the first time the Dukes have lost consecutive games since they turned the season around following a 2-9 start. While George Mason, VCU, and St. Louis lead the A-10, five teams follow with 4-4 conference records, including St. Joe’s and Duquesne.
One notable addition to the Hawks bench was freshman Steven Solano, who the team said took a leave of absence for personal reasons on Dec. 31. On Wednesday, the team announced that Solano will begin practices and other team activities but will not play for the remainder of the season.
Next, the Hawks will hit the road for a Saturday matchup at Loyola Chicago (2 p.m., CBS Sports Network).