Jan. 17, 2009
Box Score |
Notes
RICHMOND, Va. -
An 11-0 run over the final 2:55 helped St. Bonaventure overcome a late seven-point deficit and earn a dramatic 71-67 Atlantic 10 win over Richmond on Saturday night at the Robins Center.
The win keeps the Bonnies' road record unblemished at 7-0, adding to their program record for consecutive road wins to start a season. The Brown and White now stand at 11-6 overall and more importantly 2-2 in the A-10 heading into Wednesday's clash with nationally-ranked Xavier.
Trailing 67-60 with just under three minutes remaining, junior Maurice Thomas scored four consecutive points - giving him 10 in a row for the Bonnies - pulling the visitor's to within three, 67-64, with 1:22 remaining.
After a missed shot a defensive rebound, junior Jonathan Hall pushed the ball up the court and drew a foul sending him to the foul line where he had missed all three attempts. Hall calmly sank both shots, making it 67-66.
In the next possession, Richmond point guard Kevin Anderson had what seemed to be an easy layup, but freshman Andrew Nicholson came from the weak side to block the shot giving the ball back to the Bonnies.
Following a timeout by head coach Mark Schmidt, Hall caught the ball at the top of the key and drove by a pair of Richmond defenders to the hoop where he earned the basket plus the foul. Hall's bucket and made free throw gave St. Bonaventure its first lead since the 13:24 mark earlier in the half, at 69-67.
The Bonnies were forced to stop Richmond on a pair of possessions over the final 20 seconds thanks to a traveling violation after a defensive rebound with seven seconds left. The Spiders never got a second attempt at tying or winning the game, though, as junior Chris Matthews came up with a steal with three seconds remaining and hit both free throws for the final outcome.
Thomas turned in a huge night, scoring a career-high 25 points while adding a game-best 11 boards for his fourth double-double of the season. The Philadelphia, Pa., native sank 7-of-9 from the field and 11-of-14 from the free throw line en route to his career night.
A trio of Bonnies followed Thomas in double figures. Hall scored nine of his 15 points in the second half and added eight boards. Matthews, who played in front of several family and friends who made the trip from Washington, D.C., scored 13 points on three trifectas over a team-high 39 minutes. Nicholson finished in double-digits for the seventh time in the last eight games with 12 points and four rebounds.
For the 14th time this season, the Bonnies won the battle on the boards, owning a 38-26 edge on the glass. St. Bonaventure overcame its 19 turnovers by shooting 49 percent (25-51) from the field and 75 percent (18-24) from the line.
Richmond (9-8, 1-1 A-10), who entered the game 12th in the nation in field goal percentage, was limited to a 41 percent clip (22-54) from the floor, including just 8-of-26 from long range. Like the Bonnies, four different players finished in double figures for the Spiders led by Anderson's 15 points.
The opening 20 minutes was filled with scoring streaks by both teams. The Bonnies opened the game by jumping out to a 14-4 lead by the first media timeout. The combination of Matthews, Nicholson and Thomas accounted for all the scoring.
As quickly as the Brown and White took the lead, they fell behind, as Richmond rattled off a 23-4 run and in the process took its first lead of the game. In all, the huge Spider run lasted just over seven minutes and ended with the home team leading 27-18.
The Richmond lead was short-lived, though, as the Brown and White responded with a furious 16-2 scoring spurt to regain the lead, 34-29, with 2:47 left in the half. Five different players scored during the run that was keyed by back-to-back three-pointers from Matthews.
Unfortunately, that was the end of the scoring for the Bonnies in the half, as Richmond ended on the opening frame on a 6-0 run to take a one-point edge, 35-34, into the locker room. The difference in the first half was at the charity stripe where Richmond sank 10-of-13, while the Brown and White made their only attempt.
St. Bonaventure's next A-10 clash on Wednesday, Jan. 21, against #15/#16 Xavier (14-2, 3-0 A-10) at the Reilly Center will tip-off at 7 p.m. The game will air live on Fox Sport Ohio.
