Six straight wins for St. Joe’s after knocking off La Salle in its A-10 regular season finale

When St. Joseph’s lost to Fordham on Feb. 10, head coach Steve Donahue said that teams usually need something to give momentum heading into March.

Seems like the Hawks heard him loud and clear.

St. Joe’s earned an 88-76 win over La Salle on Saturday afternoon to close out the regular season. As Hagan Arena filled to honor its seniors, the Hawks (21-10, 13-5 Atlantic 10) will enter the upcoming conference tournament on a six-game win streak.

The win secured St. Joe’s a double-bye in the A-10 tournament as the No. 3 seed. It’s the highest seed in the tournament since the 2004-05 season. It will play the winner between Davidson and the winner of the first round game between Richmond and Loyola-Chicago on March 13 (7:30 p.m., CNBC).

At the time of this report, La Salle (9-22, 5-13) was set to enter as the No. 12 seed, conceivably playing in a first-round game on Wednesday (11:30 a.m., USA Network).

“We took a few days off during that stretch, got these practice jerseys, and they’re new and ... everybody has number one.” Donahue said. “Prioritize winning over yourself to another level, and that’s kind of what you saw over the last six games.”

St. Joe’s hit 51.9% of its shots, including hitting 58.3% of them in the second half of play. The Hawks dominated in the paint with 32 points. That production was fueled by center Justice Ajogbor, who had a career-high 20 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting.

Four Hawks hit double figures in guards Jaiden Glover-Toscano (15), Derek Simpson (15), and Austin Williford (13).

Rob Dockery had 25 for La Salle, but just six of his total were in the second half as the Explorers shot a combined 14 of 42 in the half.

St. Joe’s jumped out to a 13-5 lead 4½ minutes into the game as an undermanned La Salle squad had no answers for its offense.

However, Dockery was able to poke holes in the Hawks’ defense time and time again with the Explorers’ first nine points before his teammate, guard Truth Harris, converted a floater to make it 16-11, a little more than 7 minutes into the game.

La Salle used the three to chip away at the lead while the Hawks went through a five-minute lull without a field goal. The Explorers eventually took a one-point lead before a three from Simpson made it 21-19 midway through the half. Both teams continued to trade blows, mainly Dockery, who had 19 in the half, but St. Joe’s still took a one-point lead into the half.

St. Joe’s emerged as a different team in the second half. The Hawks surged to a 44-37 lead just 3 minutes in, and the Explorers couldn’t keep up with just one field goal. The lead got pushed to 10, 9½ minutes in, as it looked like the Explorers were out of the game entirely.

Dockery’s impact was limited due to foul trouble, and the offense suffered. He didn’t have a field goal in the half until the 3:47 mark, when the Hawks were up, 76-63.

With 9 minutes left in the game, La Salle pulled within three points. After a pair of free throws, the Hawks got what they wanted when Glover-Toscano drilled a three. Then, Williford joined the fun with a jumper.

St. Joe’s wasn’t done as Ajogbor and Williford both hit buckets before Glover-Toscano drained a triple to wrap up a 16-4 run with 4:41 remaining to ultimately put the game away.

“If it was two months ago, even before the season, we fold,” Donahue said. “So I wasn’t phased by it anymore. I’m not phased that there [are] times that we’re not very good on offense. Rarely are there times when I think we’re not good on defense … So when they go on those runs, I feel strongly that we’re going to figure this out. We’re going to get stops, we’re going to get in transition. Derek’s going to get the ball. We’re going to make plays.”