Erik Reynolds II has St. Joe’s very much alive in the Atlantic 10 Tournament

NEW YORK — Erik Reynolds II had two seconds to get up off the floor, his mother, Pamela, said. Pamela’s son took a hard fall Wednesday afternoon near the end of a second-round St. Joseph’s win over George Mason at the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Two seconds, Pamela said, “before I’m running out there.”

“Of course as a mother I’m worried,” she said.

“He said, ‘Mom, I’m good.’ ”

Twenty-four hours later, Pamela held a cell phone camera up and recorded a video as her son signed autographs for a few children. Reynolds scored 17 second-half points, 30 on the day — one off a season high — and helped St. Joe’s knock off top-seeded Richmond, 66-61, to advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament, two wins separating the Hawks from an improbable run to the NCAA Tournament. He’ll get an extra day to rest his injured elbow with the tournament resuming Saturday.

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s upsets top-seeded Richmond, advances to A-10 semifinals

“He came out and showed out today,” Pamela said.

The first-team All-Atlantic 10 guard was a star inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. He scored 13 of his team’s 15 points during a critical five-minute stretch late in the second half that helped turn a three-point deficit into a four-point lead with 1 minute, 50 seconds on the clock. He did it in all the ways Erik Reynolds II can do it. There was a game-tying corner three in front of his own bench. There was a tough drive and finish through contact with an added free throw to put the Hawks up one with 3:19 left. Then, after Richmond retook a one-point lead, Reynolds went around a screen and knocked down a step-back three from the left wing. He followed that up with a drive to his left and a fadeaway near the baseline.

Some of Reynolds’ teammates struggled to make shots Thursday. In college basketball, in this crazy month especially, it helps having the best player on the court.

“He’s a superstar,” fifth-year guard Cameron Brown said. “He’s first-team for a reason. It’s a beautiful thing to watch when he has it going. You think the ball is going in every shot he takes.”

Reynolds, a junior, made 11 of his 19 shot attempts. The rest of the Hawks were 12-for-36. He made three of his eight three-point attempts. The rest of the Hawks went 3-for-14.

“It felt great,” said Reynolds, who noted there was little chance he wouldn’t play in the game. “All my confidence that I have, making those types of plays, comes from my teammates. They believe in me and believe in every shot that I take. Having them have that type of confidence in me just makes me a different type of player. I feel like I can do anything.”

» READ MORE: After Explorers’ season ends, Fran Dunphy talks future: ‘I want whatever is best for La Salle’

With Thursday’s version of him, these Hawks can do anything.

There was a four-game stretch in February when Reynolds was struggling. The Hawks went 1-3 as their star player made 11 of his 48 shot attempts. He went 2-for-12 Wednesday, but St. Joe’s won because of its defense. The Hawks were in it as long as they were again Thursday because of that defense, too, a remarkable thing to say for a team that has struggled so much on that end of the floor. They made as many shots (seven) as they had turnovers in the first half.

But all Reynolds needed was a chance. His team trailed by just two at the break after scoring just 22 points in the first half.

About those February struggles, St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange said, “You just stay faithful. You believe in him. You find out where you can help him as a coach.”

Lange showed Reynolds some film. He played some Tevin Campbell for Reynolds in his office.

“You remind him of who he is and you just keep trying to find a way,” Lange said. “A lot of times, when guys are going through that, it’s more the human condition that you’re coaching up than the strategy.”

Lange couldn’t help but talk about some of that human condition stuff Thursday. He was sitting at a podium next to Brown and Reynolds. One, Brown, was Lange’s first recruit right after taking the job on Hawk Hill in 2019. The other, Reynolds, was his first real high school recruit, from junior year through commitment.

“They’ve endured a lot here to just get to this point,” Lange said. “They’re just faithful believers.”

» READ MORE: ‘The clock is running out’: Cameron Brown reflects on a basketball journey at St. Joe’s

Earlier, Lange said of Reynolds in a postgame television interview: “He’s like our mascot; he never dies.”

He then started to walk off the court. But as Pamela’s son was signing autographs, Lange stopped by. “I love you,” she said to Lange as she kissed the coach on the cheek. “I love you, too,” Lange said.

Then Pamela turned and smiled at her son.

“I’m a proud mama,” she said. “I keep telling him every game, believe, believe, believe.”