Dec. 17, 2008
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ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -
Behind 22 points from junior Ray Blackburn, the St. Bonaventure men's basketball was able to hold off a feisty Saint Francis (Pa.) club for a 73-66 non-conference win on Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.
The win gives the Bonnies their first three-game win streak since 2005 as they improve to 6-3 on the season, including 4-1 on Bob Lanier Court.
Oddly enough, it was the Brown and White's free throw shooting proved to be the difference in the game. St. Bonaventure entered Wednesday night with just a 59 percent clip from the line on the season, but sank 23-of-27 in the victory.
"Give Saint Francis a lot of credit. They came out hard and were well prepared," said head coach Mark Schmidt, who picked up his 10th career win against the Red Flash. "I thought we came out flat and our struggles had a lot to do with how intense they were. I'm happy we won, but we need to win the right way, and that's by playing hard."
Blackburn was the catalyst at the charity stripe, sinking all nine of his attempts to tie his season-high of 22 points. The Lackawanna, N.Y. product also added season-bests of five assists, four steals and four rebounds on the night.
Three other Bonnies joined Blackburn in the double figure scoring column. Backcourt mate and fellow point guard Malcolm Eleby added a career-high 13 points. Eleby was also smooth at the line, sinking 7-of-9. Junior Maurice Thomas registered his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior Jonathan Hall filled the stat sheet with 11 points, a season-high seven assists, five boards and three steals.
The Bonnies never trailed over the final 13:38 of the game, but saw its only double-digit lead disintegrate quickly.
St. Bonaventure took control of the game for a brief period in the second half as it broke a 50-50 tie with a 10-0 run. The Bonnies held the Red Flash scoreless for five minutes as four different players scored during the run.
Saint Francis responded quickly, scoring 10 of the game's next 12 points in less than two minutes to make it a two-point game, 62-60, with 4:35 left.
A pair of free throws by Blackburn and a layup by Hall made it a two-possession game, again, at 66-60.
The Red Flash were unable to gain any ground down the stretch despite sinking all four of their free throw attempts. Saint Francis sank both of its shots from the line on a pair of occasions, but gave up baskets on the other end to the Bonnies, including a three-point play by Eleby to make it a 71-66 game with 26 seconds remaining.
The Brown and White earned a stop and a defensive rebound on the Red Flash's next possession to clinch the win. Blackburn made the final free throws of the game for the final outcome.
For the game, St. Bonaventure shot 45 percent (23-51) and won the battle on the boards (34-30) for the eighth time in nine games. The Red Flash also shot 45 percent (26-58) from the field, but attempted just eight free throws compared to the Brown and White's 27.
Saint Francis (4-7) was led by Mislav Jukic, who scored 16 points on 6-of-12 from the field.
The opening 10 minutes of the game featured three lead changes until Saint Francis took control at 24-19, with 10:03 to play.
The Bonnies answered right back, though, rattling off a 12-2 run to take a five-point lead of their own, at 31-26. Eight of the points came in the paint on layups and put-backs, while the other four came at the free throw line.
The deficit didn't bother Saint Francis, as it answered with an 8-2 run to regain the lead, 34-33, with just over one minute remaining.
The sixth and final lead change of the opening frame came in the favor of St. Bonaventure. Hall and Thomas scored the final buckets of half to help the Bonnies take a 37-34 advantage into the break. The Brown and White did a majority of their damage from the charity stripe in the opening 20 minutes, sinking 12-of-13 attempts.
St. Bonaventure will hit the road for the first time in nearly a month as it heads to Ypsilanti, Mich. for its next non-conference tilt. The Bonnies will take on Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 4 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
