St. Joe’s finds some late rhythm to win its season opener against Navy

St Joseph’s men’s basketball came from behind to secure a 70-63 win over Navy in its season opener at Hagan Arena on Monday.

The Hawks still displayed some of the early rust that it showed during their narrow exhibition loss to Bucknell on Oct. 26, but once they settled, they were off.

Sophomore guard Xzayvier Brown was out with a thumb injury against Bucknell, but finished with 22 points in what Coach Billy Lange called Brown’s “welcome back,” while senior Erik Reynolds II scored a game-high 29 points.

Lange said he gave his team three behavioral rules ahead of their opener. The one he saw them display the most was to “stand in uncomfort,” as the Hawks trailed for the majority of the game.

“I don’t want these guys being weighed down by expectations,” Lange said about the Hawks who were ranked third in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll and returned three of its leading scorers. “Whatever the game is in front of you, you got to freaking compete and play it, and I thought we did it.”

The Midshipmen took an early lead after going on an 11-point run to start the first half, but the Hawks closed the gap to five by halftime.

However, they were never quite able to fully erase their early deficit.

» READ MORE: ‘The power of now’: Billy Lange has his best St. Joe’s team yet, and expectations are high

It wasn’t until a block from junior forward Rasheer Fleming followed by a jump shot from junior Derek Simpson that the Hawks found themselves tied with Navy. Another block from Fleming and a bucket from Brown put the Hawks ahead for the first time, 12 minutes into the second half.

Reynolds made all six of the Hawks’ 22 three-pointer attempts. St. Joe’s went 3 of 10 from beyond the arc in the first half and 5 of 12 in the second. Brown said this wasn’t a conscious choice, it was just what the game called for.

“The game told us to attack,” Brown said. “In the first half, we kind of were settling, but the second half, we just put an emphasis on moving the ball and trying to get the defense to close out longer and just get them out of position so we could get to the run easier”

The Hawks struggled to hold onto the ball, committing 17 turnovers, 10 of which came in the first half, but in the second, the momentum shifted. The Hawks forced eight turnovers against Navy. St. Joe’s defense also combined for 11 blocks.

“We’ve been in tons of games like this, and I think this is really important that we have to compete,” Lange said. “You don’t get the expectation and the adulation, and then think someone’s going to come in here and not give you everything they got, particularly in the opening week of the season.”

Next, the Hawks will host Central Connecticut State at 7 p.m. on Friday.