PHILADELPHIA — Coastal Carolina will close out its month-long road swing and closes the 2025 calendar year Monday with its first-ever match-up against Saint Joseph's at Hagan Arena. Both teams enter the contest coming off victories in their most recent outings.
The Chanticleers men's basketball snapped a two-game skid Saturday with a 76–74 road win at Old Dominion, while Saint Joseph's earned its fifth win in six games Thursday, defeating Delaware State 67–51. Since opening the season 2–3, the Hawks have won five of their last six to carry a 7–4 record into Monday night.
Coastal Carolina has been among the Sun Belt's most consistent teams on the glass and on the defensive end, leading the conference in rebounds per game (41.7) and field-goal percentage defense (.380). The Chanticleers have also protected the ball effectively of late, committing no more than nine turnovers in each of their past three games, including just five Saturday at Old Dominion.
Saint Joseph's counters with a physical frontcourt and an aggressive interior defense. The Hawks average 41.2 rebounds per game, lead the Atlantic 10 in offensive rebounds (13.73 per game) and blocked shots (5.6 per game), and rank second in the league in free-throw percentage at 78.0 percent. St. Joe's is also unbeaten at home this season (5–0), with wins over Lafayette, Drexel, Coppin State and Delaware State.
Monday's match-up features two of the nation's premier shot blockers in Coastal Carolina's
Nadjrick Peat and Saint Joseph's Justice Ajogbor. Ajogbor ranks fourth among all active NCAA Division I players with 207 career blocks and is averaging 2.18 blocks per game this season, while Peat stands sixth nationally among active players with 201 career rejections.
Offensively, the Chanticleers are led by the trio of
Joshua Beadle (14.8 ppg),
Rasheed Jones (14.5 ppg) and
AJ Dancler (13.5 ppg) who rank first, second and third on the team in scoring. The trio combines for 42.8 points per game, fourth-most in the conference.
St. Joe's is led by the threesome of Deuce Jones (15.8 ppg), Jaiden Glover-Toscano (13.6 ppg) and Derek Simpson (11.0 ppg), all of whom rank among the top 13 scorers in the A-10. Simpson (5.5 rpg) and Daesar Haskins (5.4 rpg) also pace a balanced rebounding effort that features five players averaging more than four boards per game.
