St. Joseph’s reaches 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 on Tuesday night.
When St. Joseph’s played Colorado State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on 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 until Derek Simpson hit a three-pointer to give the Hawks a one-point lead with 1 minute, 50 seconds remaining.
The Golden Bears (22-12) had one last chance as guard Dai Dai Ames raced down the court with six seconds remaining. However, Jaiden Glover-Toscano swatted away his shot to give the Hawks a 76-75 win at the Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif.
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 the final eight minutes on a 20-5 run. Glover-Toscano led the way with 24 points, and guard Dasear Haskins had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Cal got 23 points from guard Chris Bell, who scored 18 in the second half.
What we saw
St. Joe’s began the game on 7-0 run with buckets from Glover-Toscano and Haskins. The Golden Bears answered with a three-pointer, but center Justice Ajogbor powered home a layup for a 9-3 lead through three minutes of play.
Cal stormed back into the game. A three from Semetri Carr gave the Golden Bears a 20-19 advantage. Cal led by 41-33 at the break and scored six quick points in the first two minutes of the second half, including a three-pointer from Bell.
Ames scored five straight points for a 52-35 edge and the Golden Bears held a 19-point advantage with 13½ minutes left.
But St. Joe’s started to exploit Cal’s zone by generating open shots on quick passes, eventually hitting 47.2% of its shots in the half.
The Hawks got within seven points with 6½ minutes left by shutting down Cal’s offense in a 2½-minute scoring drought. Bell knocked down a jumper 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.
Game-changing play
Cal forward Lee Dort got open for a shot with 35 seconds left and a chance to pull his team within a point. But Haskins rejected the shot, derailing the Golden Bears’ chances to advance. Glover-Toscano’s block came moments later as the Hawks escaped Berkeley with the win.