St. Joe’s topples Texas Tech, 78-77, for a signature non-conference win
Erik Reynolds II had a game-high 26 points, and Xzayvier Brown added 20 as the Hawks pulled off a win that should resonate all the way to March.
NEW YORK — St. Joseph’s achieved the signature win of the season so far on Thursday, for itself or any Big 5 team.
The Hawks edged Texas Tech, a team on the cusp of the top 25, 78-77 in the semifinals of the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center, to notch a result that should resonate all the way to March.
Erik Reynolds II had a game-high 26 points, and Xzayvier Brown added 20 — a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line despite shooting 3-for-10 from the field.
Rasheer Fleming also had 14 points before fouling out, while JT Toppin led the Red Raiders with 22 points and an even-more-impressive 18 rebounds.
For most of the first half, the Hawks played their best ball of the season. They earned a lead as big as 45-29 with just under two minutes to go, including 17 points from Reynolds and six steals as a team.
Texas Tech woke up after that, cutting the lead to 45-35 at intermission. St. Joe’s was able to stay ahead for a while, not least because the Red Raiders went from 16 minutes, 34 seconds of the first to 11:59 of the second without making a three-pointer — missing 11 attempts along the way.
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But as more shots started falling, the more the momentum shifted. Texas Tech took a 64-62 lead with 6:44 left, led by Toppin and Chance McMillian, while the Hawks endured a nearly four-minute stretch without a field goal.
Brown gave St. Joe’s the lead back at 67-66 with 5:45 to go, and now the sparse-but-hearty crowd really had a game on its hands. (The arena was mostly empty, and even during Syracuse-Texas the lower bowl was half-full at best — with the upper deck closed off.)
Another potential momentum swing arose when Fleming fouled out on a blocking infraction with 4:07 left. Justice Ajogbor had to step in from there, and his lack of scoring this season made for a concern.
He hit a layup a few seconds after entering the game, but the big moment came when he drew a foul off a defensive rebound with 13.7 seconds left. St. Joe’s was in the double bonus, and Ajogbor made only the second attempt.
Texas Tech went down the floor and the Hawks played about 12 seconds of fine defense. But Darrion Williams got open for a spinning shot just before the buzzer, and fate kept the ball out of the net.
The Hawks will play Texas in the tournament final Friday (9 p.m., ESPNU), after the Longhorns topped Syracuse, 70-66, in Thursday’s first game.