St. Joe’s A-10 tournament run ends in the semifinals, at the hands of fifth-seeded VCU

NEW YORK — Ninth-seeded St. Joseph’s stood two wins away from its first March Madness appearance since 2016. However, in a game full of wild momentum shifts, it was No. 5 Virginia Commonwealth that would move on, after a 66-60 victory over the Hawks in the Atlantic 10 semifinals Saturday at Barclays Center.

VCU (22-12) got hot when it mattered most, scoring the game’s last five points while keeping the Hawks (21-13) at bay. The Rams advance to face Duquesne, a 70-60 winner over St. Bonaventure, in Sunday’s championship game (1 p.m., CBS).

Cameron Brown made a huge three to bring the Hawks within one with 1 minute, 12 seconds remaining. But a poster dunk by Joe Bamisile put VCU back up, and St. Joe’s came up empty on the next possession when Brown missed a layup.

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With 30 seconds left, St. Joe’s still had five fouls to give, so VCU was able to shave more time off the clock. Rams senior guard Max Shulga finally went to the line with 12.5 seconds remaining and knocked down both to finish with 25 points on the night, and Bamisile added a free throw with 7 seconds left to make it a five-point game — and ultimately, out of reach for the Hawks.

“VCU was great. And it was an amazing second half by both teams and either team could have won,” St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange said. “We’ll learn from it. We had some young guys grow up, but it’s been a blessing to compete for the last four days with this group.”

Erik Reynolds II led the Hawks with 18 points and made 4 of 9 from three. In what is possibly his final college basketball game — unless St. Joe’s secures an NIT bid — Brown finished with 13 points and had two steals.

“This is my second year knowing Cam, and he’s already felt like a big brother to me, like I’ve known him my whole life,” sophomore forward Rasheer Fleming said. “So he just brought a lot to me, this team; he’s a huge factor in everything we did.”

VCU and St. Joe’s traded baskets early on, before a string of turnovers by the Hawks allowed the Rams to create some separation.

St. Joe’s finished with nine turnovers in the first half, leading to eight points for VCU. A big block on Reynolds by Toibu Lawal turned into a dunk at the other end, giving VCU a major jolt.

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The Hawks missed seven straight shots before a Shulga jumper put them down 21-12 and forced Lange to call a timeout. Whatever was said worked, as Brown made the Hawks’ first three of the game on the next possession, with 3:57 remaining in the half. St. Joe’s had missed its first eight attempts from long range.

“We’re definitely not perfect. But you can just see over each game ... that we’re heading in the right direction,” freshman guard Xzayvier Brown said.

A big Reynolds steal turned into a layup at the other end. Another steal, this time by Lynn Greer III, led to a Reynolds three-pointer. Reynolds cashed in again from deep, and suddenly it was a new game, with the Hawks in front.

VCU missed all 10 of its three-point shots in the first half, but the cold stretch wouldn’t last forever. Graduate guard Sean Bairstow made the Rams’ first three of the game early in the second half, and Shulga followed it up with another on the next possession.

Fleming collected his third foul with 17:29 left in the game but returned to the floor midway through the half and made a pair of big layups. Some timely shooting by Shulga gave the Rams back the lead, though the Hawks were right at their heels.

St. Joe’s made some massive three-point buckets in the second half, but Shulga, who finished 10-for-11 from the field, always seemed to have the answer. Fleming tied the game with a corner three with 3:44 left, but a Bamisile jumper and a Bairstow layup gave the Rams the lead for good.

“It was tough knowing that we lost the game, knowing that we couldn’t break through for our older guys,” Fleming said. “But we know we all fought hard. And we all did it for each other.”

The Hawks’ Christ Essandoko, who had nine points and two rebounds, went to the floor clutching a knee with less than three minutes to go and did not return to the game.

“Our A-10 season has been very disjointed,” Lange said. “But when I look at the growth of the program, even myself, like looking past trying to get perfection, and just accepting people as they are and just keep moving forward in any way, I think the group is incredibly united.”

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