St. Joseph’s rallies into NIT quarterfinals thanks to an epic second-half rally
The Hawks defeated Cal, 76-75, by coming back from a 19-point deficit in the second half. They will play at New Mexico in the NIT quarterfinals.
When St. Joseph’s played Colorado State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on last Thursday, the Hawks saw their double-digit lead dwindle. On Sunday against California in the second round, they were in the other position.
Trailing by 19 with 13 minutes left in the game, St. Joe’s (24-11) fought back into the game until Derek Simpson hit a three-pointer to give the Hawks a one-point lead with 1:50 remaining.
The Golden Bears (22-12) had one last chance as guard Dai Dai Ames raced down the court with six seconds remaining. However, his shot was swatted away by Jaiden Glover-Toscano to give the Hawks a 76-75 win at the Haas Pavilion.
St. Joe’s advanced to the quarterfinals to play New Mexico (25-10) at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M., on Tuesday (ESPN2, 9 p.m.).
Statistical Leaders
The Hawks held the Golden Bears scoreless for the final two minutes and finished on a 20-5 run in the final eight minutes. Glover-Toscano led the way with 24 points, and guard Dasear Haskins had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Cal had 23 points from guard Chris Bell, who scored 18 in the second half, but were limited to 40.6% shooting after halftime.
What we saw
St. Joe’s began the game on 7-0 run with buckets from Glover-Toscano and Haskins. The Golden Bears answered back with a three-pointer, but center Justice Ajogbor powered home a layup for a 9-3 lead through three minutes of play.
That lead continued to increase to as many as eight before Cal stormed back into the game. Back-to-back three pointers knotted the game at 16 with just under 11 minutes into the first half, to start a back-and-forth before a three from Semetri Carr gave the Golden Bears a 20-19 lead amid a 12-3 run with 9½ minutes until halftime.
St. Joe’s continued to stay within arm’s reach, but Cal eventually pulled away to end the half and go into the locker room with a 41-33 lead. Cal scored six quick points in the first two minutes of the second half, including a three-pointer from Bell, who had just two field goals in the first half.
Haskins was able to limit the damage with a layup before Ames scored five straight points for a 52-35 lead four minutes into the half. Glover-Toscano gave the Hawks five of their next seven points, but Bell answered back with three-pointers each time, with the last one giving the Golden Bears a 19-point edge with 13½ minutes left in the game.
However, that’s when the Hawks started to get hot. St. Joe’s started to exploit Cal’s zone by generating open shots on quick passes, leading to hitting 47.2% of its shots in the half.
Eventually St. Joe’s got within seven points with 6½ minutes left by shutting Cal’s offense down with a two-and-a-half minute scoring drought. Then, Bell ended it with a dunk with just under six-minutes left. Glover-Toscano answered with a three-pointer, then a layup to make it a game once again.
Bell was able to get a jumper to fall with 3:47 left, but it wasn’t enough. That was the Golden Bears’ final bucket as the Hawks’ 29-11 run in the final 12 minutes snatched a win for St. Joe’s
Game-changing play
As St. Joe’s surged back into the game, Cal was looking for an answer to derail the momentum. Forward Lee Dort nearly got that when he got open for a bucket with 35 seconds left in the game to pull his team within a point.
Instead, Haskins rejected the shot, derailing the Golden Bears’ chances to advance. Glover-Toscano’s block came moments later as the Hawks escaped Berkley with the win.