Jan. 10, 2009

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ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The St. Bonaventure's men's basketball team trailed from start to finish as sophomore Bill Clark scored a career-high 24 points and junior Aaron Jackson added 20 to help Duquesne pin a 98-80 loss on the Bonnies Saturday at the Reilly Center.

In all, five players scored in double figures for the Dukes (11-4, 2-0), who tied a season-best with 13 three-pointers in the win. The loss snaps a three-game win streak for the Brown and White as they slip to 10-5 and 1-1 in the Atlantic 10.

Freshman Andrew Nicholson led the Bonnies in both scoring and rebounding with 18 points and eight rebounds. Nicholson also added three blocked shots to his 7-of-8 performance from the field. Three other players finished in double figures for St. Bonaventure as its 80 points were the team's fourth-best total of the season.

It came down to a lack of defense for the Brown and White, who allowed Duquesne to shot 50 percent (33-66) from the field, 48 percent (13-27) from three-point range and 86 percent (19-22) from the free throw line. The Bonnies also aided the Duke attack with 19 turnovers that led to 30 points.

Duquesne took control from the start, scoring the first five points en route to taking an early 10-4. The run was keyed by a pair of three-pointers, including one from Jason Duty that ended the run and stopped the bit of small momentum the Bonnies had.

The Brown and White turned to their inside game for the next four points, as forward Maurice Thomas registered back-to-back field goals to cut it to 10-8.

Like its earlier 4-0 run, St. Bonaventure's momentum was stymied by Duquesne's success from long range. A pair of three-pointers from Melquan Bolding and one from Clark ignited an 11-4 spurt that bulked the visitor's lead to 21-12 with 11:28 remaining.

St. Bonaventure finally sustained a defensive stand, limiting the Dukes to just one field goal over the next 3:45 to climb within four, at 23-19. Junior Jonathan Hall accounted for five of the seven points with the last two coming on a transition dunk.

The Dukes couldn't be been held in check for very long, though, as they broke out of their mini-slump by scoring the next nine points - six of which came on threes - in just over a minute. The end result was the largest lead of the half (14) for Duquesne, at 33-19.

Duquesne's double figure lead slipped away for a few minutes down the stretch, but it closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 44-32 lead into the break. The 44 points were the most given up by the Brown and White in the first half this season and its second-largest halftime deficit.

The second half was more of the same, as Duquesne pushed its lead to 20, 61-41, by the 15-minute mark and eventually even 30, 88-58, with 5:33 remaining.

St. Bonaventure ended the game on an 18-7 run to salvage suffering its first 20-point loss of the season.

For the game, the Bonnies shot 46 percent (28-61) from the field, 38 percent (6-16) from three and 72 percent (18-25) from the charity stripe.

Hall finished in double figures for the 13th time this season with 14 points. Senior Tyler Benson scored a season-high 11 points to finish in double-digit points for the third time in his career against Duquesne. Junior Chris Matthews was the final Bonnie in double figures with 10.

Clark's game-high 24 points came on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from long range. Five different players sank a three-pointer on the night for the Dukes as they improved to 5-0 when making double-digit threes. Jackson's 20-point night also included eight assists and five rebounds.

St. Bonaventure will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 14 when it takes on Saint Joseph's at the Reilly Center. Gametime on Bob Lanier Court is scheduled for 7 p.m.