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St. Joe’s rides a strong second half to beat Davidson, will face VCU in A-10 tournament semifinals

Guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano had a game-high 19 points and center Justice Ajogbor finished with 18 and five rebounds as St. Joe's advanced to the A-10 semifinals for the third straight season.

St. Joe's guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano (right) scored a game-high 19 points against Davidson on Friday night.
St. Joe's guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano (right) scored a game-high 19 points against Davidson on Friday night.Read moreTyger Williams / Staff Photographer
    by Ryan Mack
    Published 

For the third straight season, the Atlantic 10 conference tournament semifinals will feature St. Joseph’s. The Hawks led by as many as 21 points and picked up a 70-58 win over Davidson in the A-10 quarterfinals at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

The Hawks (22-10, 13-5 A-10) will play Virginia Commonwealth in the A-10 semifinals on Saturday (CBS Network, 3:30 p.m.) for a chance to play in their first conference championship since the 2015-2016 season.

St. Joe’s shot 43.8% from the floor but forced Davidson to shoot 41.1% and turn the ball over 11 times. The Hawks also won the rebounding battle 35-28. Guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano had a game-high 19 points and center Justice Ajogbor finished with 18 and five rebounds. Guard Derek Simpson totaled 16 points and six assists.

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Free throws became a key part of the Hawks’ win as they went 22-for-26 from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats shot 35.5% from the field in the first half and missed 11 of their first 15 shots of the game.

St. Joe’s went into halftime leading 33-29.

Any chances of a Davidson win were dashed when the game resumed. Devin Brown got Davidson within one point with back-to-back buckets in the first 2½ minutes before the Hawks separated.

An Anthony Finkley three-pointer and Ajogbor layup capped a 10-0 run to give the Hawks a 47-37 lead eight minutes into the half. Ajogbor created issues for the Davidson defense with 10 points in the second half.

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A three-pointer from Davidson guard Parker Friedrichsen with 9 minutes, 54 seconds left ended a six-minute stretch without a field goal for the Wildcats. But it was followed with a three-minute span with one bucket as the Hawks pushed their lead to 19 with less than five minutes left.

The Wildcats hit six of its last eight shots, but the ending was inevitable as St. Joe’s secured a win.