St. Joe’s gets its statement win over Villanova, and a season with a lot of potential is only just beginning

Perhaps the most telling — and for St. Joseph’s, the most monumental — part of Tuesday night was what it wasn’t.

The result, a St. Joe’s victory over rival Villanova, was in hand. But before the final horn sounded, about 10 security guards lined up in front of the student section. They were there to maybe stop a storming of the court, as if 10 people could have possibly held back a few hundred. But they never had to feel what that math looked like because the St. Joe’s students — who had yelled and cheered and tried to make life hell for Villanova and its coach, Kyle Neptune, for two-plus hours Tuesday night — had no reason to rush the court to celebrate.

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s men take down Villanova for the second straight season in Big 5 Classic matchup

Tuesday was no upset. Villanova was a slight favorite, according to the oddsmakers, but these Hawks aren’t some plucky underdog in this rivalry anymore — even though Tuesday’s 83-76 win came with a few historical footnotes. St. Joe’s won consecutive games against its hated Big 5 foe for the first time since Jameer Nelson was a senior in 2004. The Hawks beat Villanova at Hagan Arena for the first time since 2011, a year after beating the Wildcats at their home gym for the first time since that 2004 game.

The better team won. Those four words might take some getting used to for fans of both teams. Skeptical St. Joe’s fans who watched their team lose a game they shouldn’t have on Friday night at home to Central Connecticut State might need to see more to believe it.

Tuesday night, however, felt a little bit like an arrival, a culmination of everything Billy Lange has been trying to build toward since taking over the program in 2019. He had the better roster, the better offense, a style of play that is immensely more fun to watch, and, especially in key spots, the better and more timely defending.

On the flip side, Villanova fans have to live with the reality that last year’s loss at home wasn’t just a blip. St. Joe’s isn’t the little brother in this rivalry anymore. What does it mean to not be as good as the team picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10? Exactly how it sounds.

St. Joe’s wasn’t even at its best Tuesday. The Wildcats took Hawks star Erik Reynolds II out of the game in the first half. They stuck Wooga Poplar on him and dared the rest of the St. Joe’s lineup to beat them. Reynolds, a senior who could end up being the A-10 player of the year, took just one shot in the first half and finished 3-for-8 from the field.

The Hawks can beat an opponent in many ways. Junior forward Rasheer Fleming battled foul trouble but needed just 21 minutes and nine shots to score 19 points while adding five rebounds and two blocks. Xzayvier Brown, the reigning A-10 freshman of the year, made just four of his 18 shots but impacted the game with six rebounds and 13 assists.

» READ MORE: Villanova’s Matthew Hodge feels like basketball at his ‘dream school’ is being ‘taken away’ by NCAA ruling

St. Joe’s got contributions from elsewhere. Junior guard Derek Simpson, a Rutgers transfer whom Lange tried to get to campus as a freshman, filled the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Sophomore forward Anthony Finkley — like Brown, a Roman Catholic grad — went 4-for-6 from three-point range. Justice Ajogbor, the senior center who transferred in from Harvard, wasn’t great on offense but had three blocks.

“It’s all about the process for me,” Lange said. “If this is the best game we play all year, I’m not going to be happy with that.”

But there was a lot to like, especially the 20 assists on 26 makes. That’s a stat line that used to be reserved for Villanova teams that moved the ball and found the open man. This Wildcats team had nine assists on 27 makes. Villanova had five bench points while St. Joe’s had 17.

St. Joe’s, Neptune said, played harder than his team. The Hawks pressured Villanova after every make and forced the Wildcats to work on every offensive possession. Villanova didn’t have nearly enough answers.

Lange said he felt confident in his team’s ability to defend, even after the loss Friday night, which was sort of an anomaly. Lange had the numbers. Central Connecticut State scored 13 points from an inefficient scoring area with two or fewer seconds on the shot clock during the game. His team, meanwhile, made just seven of its 30 three-point shots. Sometimes you just tip your hat and move on.

But Lange has talked a lot with his team about “standing in uncomfort,” Brown said.

“It’s uncomfortable losing at home, so we took it on the chin that we lost and just tried to play as hard as we could today,” he said.

They gave the Hagan Arena crowd a lot to be happy about.

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

Afterward, Lange talked about his area roots. He’s from Haddon Heights and was an assistant at La Salle and then Villanova (twice). He was excited, he said, because of all the “transformational things” happening on the St. Joe’s campus.

“I say all that because I understand how much a game like this elevates the Hawk Hill community,” Lange said. “I get to wake up tomorrow and come in here and coach these guys up and get ready for our next one, but I’m thrilled for St. Joseph’s and the direction of our university, and I understand what a win like this means for everyone.”

Lange balked, however, at the idea that Tuesday was something bigger, a changing of the guard in a Big 5 that Villanova has lorded over. He called blasphemy on the suggestion.

“I’m just going to enjoy these guys trying to get better,” he said later. “The team will form. We’ll be what we’ll be by the end of the year.”

Nights like Tuesday showed how fun the ride could be.