Cam Brown and three-point shooting lead St. Joseph’s past Lafayette, 63-59

St. Joseph’s fought off a late Lafayette comeback effort to win its first game of the season, 63-59, Monday night at Hagan Arena.

“Staying united is a big emphasis for us,” sophomore guard Erik Reynolds II said. “We can’t let the moment get too big and let it blind us on what we’ve got to do to finish the game.”

Reynolds II led the Hawks with 21 points, shooting 7 of 13 from the field overall and 5 of 10 from the three-point arc. Senior guard Cam Brown had a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Christian Winborne also came up with four steals. The Hawks shot 41% overall, and 42.4% from three.

Lafayette, led by first-year coach Mike Jordan, who starred at Abington Friends and at Penn, had a good night from downtown as well, shooting 41.9% from deep.

The Hawks and the Leopards were evenly matched throughout the early portion of the first half. The teams traded several threes in the opening five minutes and were level at 17 before St. Joe’s went on a 7-0 run.

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Of the 29 shots that St. Joe’s took in the first half, 22 were threes. The Hawks shot well, as a 40.9% performance from downtown carried them to a 36-26 halftime lead.

The second half saw both teams come out and shoot the ball well. Both shot 6 of 11 from the field in the opening eight minutes and change. They were nearly even from three as well, with St. Joe’s hitting 4 of their first 7 second half threes, and Lafayette hitting 3 of 7.

Lafayette was able to cut the deficit to five with 10:08 left in the second half following an 11-5 run in which the Leopards drained a trio of threes. Lafayette maintained the momentum coming out of a St. Joseph’s timeout called by coach Billy Lange. The Hawks turned the ball over twice with a Cam Brown offensive foul and an Erik Reynolds II turnover.

A foul on a Leo O’Boyle three with 45.2 seconds sent the St. Joe’s faithful into a loud chorus of boos followed by chants against the referee. O’Boyle hit two of his three free throws to bring the deficit back to three.

After a Cam Brown layup that seemed like it would put the Leopards away, Devin Hines hit a three to draw within two with 11.7 seconds to go.

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With the game in his hands at the free throw line, Lynn Greer III drilled both of his free throws to put the Hawks up four. Winborne removed all doubt by knocking the ball away from O’Boyle with four seconds to go.

Those heads up plays helped the Hawks fend off the Leopards and claim their first win of the year.

Next time out, St. Joseph’s will be back at Hagan Arena to host UAlbany on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN+).