Jan. 3, 2009

Box Score

CONWAY, Ark. - A balanced scoring attack and sound defense propelled St. Bonaventure to its sixth win in seven games Saturday afternoon as it defeated Central Arkansas, 68-58, at the Farris Center.

The win improves the Bonnies to 9-4 heading into Atlantic 10 play and surpasses all of last season's win total (8). The Brown and White also improve to 5-0 on the road this season, equaling the mark set by the 1967-68 NCAA squad.

Seven different players scored six or more points, led by juniors Jonathan Hall and Ray Blackburn, who each had 14 points. Hall coupled his team-high 10 rebounds with his 14 points for his first career double-double. Blackburn's seventh consecutive double figure effort also included seven boards.

The difference in the game, as it's been all year for the Brown and White, was the play of the Bona bench and the battle on the boards. St. Bonaventure owned a commanding 45-31 edge of the glass, out-rebounding its 11th opponent of the season. Along with Blackburn, freshman Michael Davenport (8 points) and senior D'Lancy Carter (6 points) gave the Bonnies a big lift off the bench helping the visitors out-score the opposing non-starters, 28-14.

St. Bonaventure limited UCA to a 33 percent (19-57) shooting clip from the field en route to holding its fourth opponent to 60 points or less. The Bonnies' 52 percent (13-25) shooting in the second half helped boost its game total to 43 percent (23-54).

The Bona defense held UCA scoreless in its opening four possessions to jump out to a 7-3 lead.

Still ahead 12-10 just under eight minutes into the half, junior Maurice Thomas scored five straight points to ignite an 8-0 run that gave the visitor's their fist double-digit lead of the game at 20-10 with 8:23 left.

Points came at a premium over the remaining eight minutes of the half, as the Bonnies limped their way to a 27-22 halftime lead. The team's combined for just 19 points over the final eight minutes, as the Brown and White held their seventh opponent to 30 points or less in the first half.

The opening minutes were just a sloppy as the first half for the Brown and White, as it managed just one field goal over the first four minutes. Luckily, for the Bonnies, the offensive lapse only allowed Central Arkansas to draw within three, at 29-26.

St. Bonaventure woke up from its offensive slumber right after the first media timeout of the period, reeling off a 8-0 run to take its third double-digit lead of the game, 37-26, with 12:19 remaining. Hall ignited the run with a couple of nice put-backs, while layups by sophomore Malcolm Eleby and Davenport accounted for the other points.

The Bonnies' double figure lead remained in tact for all but two minutes the rest of the way as the Bears failed to draw any closer than seven. The wire-to-wire win was St. Bonaventure's third of the season and its ninth non-conference win is the most in one season since 2000-01.

The trio of Eleby, Davenport and Carter combined to score 20 of the team's 41 second half points. Eleby finished with nine points, three boards and two steals. Davenports season-high eight points all came over the final 20 minutes, while Carter had six points on 4-of-5 from the free throw line and had five rebounds.

As a team, the Bonnies sank an impressive 20-of-24 from the charity stripe.

Three players finished in double figures for Central Arkansas, led by Mike Pouncy's 15 points.

St. Bonaventure opens A-10 action on Wednesday, Jan. 7 when it makes its annual trip to the Bronx to take on Fordham. The game will be paired with Charlotte against Duquesne as the opening contests of the A-10 season. Gametime is slated for 7 p.m. at historic Rose Hill Gym.