In the waning minutes, St. Joseph’s allowed St. Bonaventure to take a one-point lead, after the Hawks carried a double-digit lead in the first half, which had the crowd at Hagan Arena roaring on Wednesday night.
Then guard Darryl Simmons II launched a three-pointer, hoping to give the Bonnies (11-6,0-4) a four-point lead with 36 seconds remaining, but the ball clanked off the rim. Hawks guard Dasear Haskins grabbed the rebound.
He threw the ball to guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano, who finished with a game-high 23 points. Glover-Toscano made a layup and free-throw to reclaim a two-point lead.
However, there was still time, and Simmons wanted redemption. He had an open three-pointer, but Glover-Toscano swatted the ball away to seal the Hawks’ 68-64 victory to extend their winning streak to three games after starting off conference play 0-2.
“I was really just trying to win,” Glover-Toscano said. “I was hungry. The whole team was hungry.”
The Hawks (11-7, 3-2 Atlantic-10) will visit Virginia Commonwealth University (12-6, 3-2) on Monday (3:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
Push the pace
A dunk by Haskins to open the game showed St. Bonaventure how the first half was going to go.
The Hawks’ offense, which made 14 of 27 attempts (51.85%) in the first half, had the Bonnies on their toes. St. Joe’s had nine fast break points in the first off of forced turnovers.
The Hawks also had eight players contribute in scoring.
However, the Hawks’ speed led to sloppiness. They gave the ball up nine times, allowing the Bonnies to catch up after establishing an 11-point lead, it’s largest of the game. St. Joe’s entered the half up, 35-28. .
Going cold
Entering Wednesday, St. Joe’s ranked last in the Atlantic-10 in three-point percentage (27.7%). Against St. Bonaventure, it showed in the first 30 minutes, where the Hawks made 4 of 11 three-pointers.
St. Joe’s went cold in the second half, while the Bonnies began to heat up.
First it was forward Frank Mitchell, who finished with a team-high 22 points. He got St. Bonaventure within five points before the end of the first half.
The Hawks contained Mitchell in the second, but Simmons and guard Cayden Charles stepped to add 14 and 17 points, respectively.
The Bonnies bounced back from shooting 11 of 33 in the first to going 14-for-34 in the second, as the Hawks went 9-for-28 in the final frame.
“I just didn’t think we were gritty enough in the first half, even though we were ahead,” said coach Steve Donahue. “I thought we weren’t making shots in the second half, but we were grittier. We got loose balls, and we made it really hard for them to score.”
Battling back
Despite being down four points with about three minutes remaining, St. Joe’s battled back.
After Simmons made a miracle floater to push the Bonnies’ lead to four, Haskins knocked down a three-pointer to cut it to one.
But, it was Glover-Toscano who took over.
Before he got his go ahead and-one layup, he knocked down back-to-back shots that tied the game at 64.
Derek Simpson also connected on crucial free throws, while Haskins, who finished with a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), grabbed key defensive rebounds.
“They showed great resilience,” Donahue said. “I thought six weeks ago, this group would have hung their heads and we’re not going to be able to do it, type of attitude. I don’t have to say it now, they know what it’s about.”
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