Erik Reynolds II’s bad shooting night dooms St. Joe’s in 67-58 loss to Texas
Reynolds shot just 1-for-10 and the Hawks as a whole shot 31.8% from the field in the championship game of the Legends Classic.
NEW YORK — If someone told you that Erik Reynolds II shot 1-for-10 in a game for St. Joseph’s, you’d probably assume the Hawks lost.
That indeed happened Friday in the championship game of the Legends Classic, a 67-58 defeat to Texas. But even though the Hawks as a whole shot just 31.8% from the field (21-for-66), the game was quite close until the final minutes.
Between Thursday’s win over Texas Tech and most of this game, anyone who watched — including from the NCAA Tournament selection committee — saw the level the Hawks can reach. If they get there enough between now and March, they’ll be on another national stage when it really matters.
The Hawks were cold from the start. They made just two of their first 12 field goal attempts, and four of their first 19. Reynolds was 0-for-4 at one point (though the made two free throws), and Rasheer Fleming was 0-for-5 before he found the basket for the first time.
Still, a dunk by Justice Ajogbor off a Reynolds assist had St. Joe’s within 17-15 just past the midway point of the first half, and an Anthony Finkley three-pointer put them up 18-17 not long after that.
» READ MORE: St. Joe’s topples Texas Tech, 78-77, for a signature non-conference win
It was 32-30 Texas at halftime, with Reynolds still 0-for-4 and Fleming still 1-for-6. (Just as notably, Texas’ leading scorer Tre Johnson was just 4-for-12.) The biggest lead either team had in the first half was six points.
The opening minutes of the second half were no work of art. It was equal parts amusing and ugly when Hawks’ Xzayvier Brown and Texas’ Tramon Mark committed turnovers by stepping on the sideline eight seconds apart.
Reynolds finally connected for the first time on a three-pointer with 10 minutes, 15 seconds to go in the second half — a basket that made the score a mere 43-40 in favor of St. Joe’s. But suddenly, the teams started trading made threes, and that woke up the sparse-but-pro-Hawks crowd.
Texas turned the game in its favor with a pair of Kadin Shedrick dunks while St. Joe’s endured a five-minute stretch with one made field goal. When the final media timeout of regulation came with 3:13 to go, the Longhorns led 55-52, and extended their lead to 63-55 with just over a minute left.
Johnson ended up leading all scorers with 17 points. Fleming led St. Joe’s with 16 points and 20 rebounds, and Brown scored 15.