Despite defense ‘good enough to win this game,’ St. Joe’s is out in the first round of the NIT. Again.
Coach Billy Lange characterized it as a "miss/make game." That was on brand for the Hawks this season.
As the clock expired on St. Joseph’s men’s basketball season, the Hawks found themselves exactly where they were last season: exiting in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.
St. Joe’s lost Wednesday to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, 69-65, in what coach Billy Lange called a “miss/make game.” It concluded a miss/make season for the Hawks.
Aside from the final few games of the regular season, the Hawks struggled to find consistency, meeting their high points with some crushing lows. Wednesday’s matchup displayed themes that have been present all season.
» READ MORE: Erik Reynolds II is the new all-time scoring leader at St. Joe’s, and a whole lot more to coach Billy Lange
Junior Rasheer Fleming’s playing time was limited after early foul trouble. Fleming picked up two fouls in the first half and his third 21 seconds into the second half. He finished with six points.
The Hawks shot 33.3% from the field and had only seven makes on 33 attempts from beyond the arc, a 21.2% clip. UAB, meanwhile, shot 36.8% from the field, led by Yaxel Lendeborg’s 16 points and 17 rebounds.
“I mean, the ball just didn’t go in,” said sophomore guard Xzayvier Brown, who led all scorers with 21 points. “I’m pretty confident in all my teammates’ shooting, and I think they’re pretty confident in each other, so, I mean, some nights you just don’t make shots, but guys still play defense.”
And once again, the Hawks had their tough defense to thank for keeping them in the game.
“Our defense was good enough to win this game,” Lange said. “We had a lull offensively. We also missed a couple round-the-rim-and-out shots, and that lull hurt us because we were fouling during that time, but I’m proud of the guys.”
Lange had mixed emotions after the loss. He has seen how far his team has come and the direction it’s heading. The defensive growth particularly stood out.
“We’ve got some great defensive guys coming back next year. I like the growth of a lot of our younger guys, the experience they picked up. You know, we were 11-4 in our last 15 games,” Lange said. “So that part of it I have to kind of feel good about.”
Even though Lange was pleased with the experience his team picked up throughout the season, the unfulfilled desire to go further added to the sting of the loss.
Since the first game of the season, Lange has not shied away from the fact that he was dealing with a young team. With 10 underclassmen, two juniors, a senior, and a graduate student, Lange has emphasized all season that growth and development were big focuses.
“I’m sad the season is over because I’ve loved coaching these guys and just blessed to be able to have done it,” Lange said. “The younger guys have really come along late here and gotten better, so the opportunity to continue to develop, it hurts to not be able to keep going.”
Lange isn’t too concerned about losing any of those underclassmen in the offseason, despite the uncertainty that accompanies the transfer portal.
“We’ve done a fairly good job of retaining our guys. I’m not in any sort of panic mode about that,” Lange said. “I like the foundation of guys that we have, that have been in the program, that continue to care about the culture and about the place.”
But there’s a notable loss that adds to the uncertainty. Senior Erik Reynolds II played his last game with the Hawks, leaving a 2,175-point-sized hole in the St. Joe’s backcourt following a seven-point outing.
“He’s just a great person,” Brown said. “All-time leading scorer, but that’s the thing that you guys see. But when you asked me about him, that’s probably the last thing I would say. He’s just a great person, great teammate, and he will be missed for sure.”