From the departure of former head coach Billy Lange just weeks before the season, to Steve Donahue’s subsequent promotion, to losing leading scorer and sophomore guard Deuce Jones II, it’s been a long five months on Hawk Hill.
Each new storyline seemingly piled up, and it gave way to Saint Joseph’s closing out the non-conference with a brutal loss to Coastal Carolina before dropping a pair to open Atlantic-10 play.
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As the Hawks fell to Davidson, 62-56 at Hagan Arena, despite leading by as many as 11 points in the second half, Donahue knew something needed to change.
“We feel we probably lost that one,” he said back on Jan. 3. “I give Davidson some credit because they played hard the whole night, but we’ve got to grow and learn from it.”
That’s when the group of Derek Simpson, Khaafiq Myers, Anthony Finkley, Dasear Haskins, Jaiden Glover-Toscano and Justice Ajogbor knocked on Donahue’s office door to discuss the program’s direction.
In this player-led meeting, each representative had an opportunity to speak their mind and share their feelings on how Donahue and his staff could better nurture this team’s success.
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“We got our feelings out and were able to tell each other how we felt,” Simpson said. “I told the coaches, ‘whatever you think we’re doing bad, it is what it is. We need you to keep the gas on us. Keep telling us what we’re doing good but also critique us.’ I’ll tell you one thing, vocally and communication-wise it’s been very different [since].”
Now, with a newfound energy and respect reinvested by the players, St. Joe’s is surging in the second half of the season and has won four of its last five, all in different fashion.
It started on Jan. 7 with the Hawks forcing overtime against Duquesne thanks to an off-balance fade away from Glover-Toscano, before pulling off a 12-0 run in the extra period to down the Dukes, 97-90. The St. John’s transfer and former top-100 prospect finished with a game-high 28 points on 5-of-11 from three, while Simpson added a career-best 23 points and 11 assists for his first ever double-double.
St. Joe’s made it two straight wins on Jan. 11 with a visit to Richmond, holding off a late push, knocking down a couple clutch free throws and surviving a last-second heave to defeat the Spiders, 67-65. This time, Simpson led the way, managing 19 points to surpass 1,000 for his career and grabbing 13 rebounds to complete his second consecutive double-double.
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For his back-to-back performances, Simpson was honored as the Atlantic 10’s Player of the Week.
It took a fairly large comeback effort from the Hawks to secure their third win in a row against St. Bonaventure on Jan. 14. Behind 54-47 with 8:02 on the clock, an 8-0 run from Glover-Toscano single-handedly brought St. Joe’s back even before he eventually pulled the Hawks ahead for good with 33 seconds remaining.
His 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting were a major lift in the second half while Haskins saw a second career double-double, chipping in 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists amidst the 68-64 victory.
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Though that run eventually ended at the hands of preseason favorite VCU, 79-72, on the road, St. Joe’s didn’t go down without a fight. The Hawks might rank just 349th in 3-point offense by KenPom but led for much of the first half and even early after halftime with some fiery shooting from deep.
St. Joe’s eventually relented and handed the Rams a lead with 6:58 left that wouldn’t be relinquished, even as the Hawks battled late. But Simpson’s 27 points and four assists, aided by 10 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots from Ajogbor, wasn’t enough to pull off the upset.
Still, that newfound energy imbued this program as St. Joe’s returned home on Saturday to face another of the A10’s preseason top-3 in Dayton.
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“It’s what I’ve told [our players] for the last four or five weeks,” Donahue said. “We’ve been on this kick of essentially moving to the next thing. From point A to point B, whether good or bad. It could be a drill, a film session, a bad day in class, a bad turnover in a game, you’ve got to move on. I thought we’ve done that.”
The Hawks had no problems shaking off the loss, moving from point A to point B and taking control down the wire to beat the Flyers, 81-74, for one of the season’s marquee wins. Three different Hawks finished in double-digits with Simpson just one dime shy of his third career double-double, managing 20 points, nine assists and three steals.
The 27 points against VCU and another stellar showing in the upset of Dayton was enough to earn the former Rutgers transfer his second A10 Player of the Week nod this month.
Meanwhile, Glover-Toscano came on strong in the second half once again and scored 15 points after halftime, on his way to finishing with 20 points and seven boards, going a perfect 6-for-6 at the line.
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It’s no secret those two have been the catalyst for St. Joe’s success in conference play, and with Simpson in particular, Donahue says he can see him playing with a new sense of freedom.
“For the first time in his career, he’s comfortable being who he is and a mistake doesn’t bother him,” Donahue said. “I’ve looked around the league, and I think he’s playing as good as any guard in it. Right now, he is so good.”
Through all the trials and tribulations of the 2025-26 campaign, St. Joe’s continues to show critical signs of growth for a team that’s still somewhat young and inexperienced overall. Ultimately, it’s what makes Donahue so confident his team will continue to improve over the next two months, with a road trip to Loyola Chicago and a visit to local rival La Salle up next.
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This was a completely different team just weeks ago, prior to that player-led meeting in Donahue’s office. Now, accountability is at the focal point of St. Joe’s recent resurgence
“Dayton’s playing really well [against us early] and five weeks ago we might have collapsed,” Donahue said. “But we didn’t, and that’s how you keep [the momentum] going. You hold each other accountable every day.”
