Jan. 31, 2009

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A 29-point and 12-rebound performance from freshman Andrew Nicholson wasn't enough, as the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team proved to be its own worst enemy during a 74-68 Atlantic 10 loss at Duquesne Saturday night at the Palumbo Center.

Despite committing a season-high 31 turnovers, the Bonnies led 68-66 with 2:44 remaining. The giveaways reoccurred, though, down the stretch for the visitors, as four turnovers over their final six possessions allowed the Duke's to score the final eight points of the game to steal the win.

The heartbreaking defeat is the fourth in a row for the Brown and White as they fall to 11-10 on the season and 2-6 in Atlantic 10 playing heading into their week off. On the flipside, Duquesne improves to 14-6 and remains in sole possession of fourth place in the league standings at 5-2.

Nicholson sank 13-of-18 from the field to finish with a team season-high 29 points. The Mississauga, Ontario, products game-high 12 caroms gave him his second double-double of the season. Nicholson also added six blocks in his 36 minutes of work.

As a team, St. Bonaventure shot 51 percent (29-57) from the floor and held a commanding 52-27 edge on the glass - its largest margin of the season. The Brown and White lived in the paint, scoring 42 points.

The Bonnies also limited the potent Duquesne attack to a meager 36 percent (23-64) shooting clip, but was out-scored 30-12 in points off turnovers and 24-5 in free throw makes.

Senior Aaron Jackson led four Dukes in double figures with 19 points over a full 40 minutes of work. Sophomore Bill Clark added 17 points, while freshman point guard Eric Evans had 10 points in the second half to finish with 14.

Fueled by an amazing nine St. Bonaventure turnovers in the opening 5:34 of the game, Duquesne took a 17-5 lead before the second media timeout. The Dukes jumped out to the commanding edge by rattling off a 15-2 run that saw head coach Mark Schmidt call two timeouts and junior Jonathan Hall pick up a pair of fouls in two seconds.

The turnovers continued to pile up for the Brown and White, as the Duquesne advantage grew to 13, 35-22, with 5:38 left in the half. St. Bonaventure nearly equaled its point production in turnovers at this point of the game with 19 giveaways.

Despite the abundance of turnovers, the Bonnies refused to go away and behind the 6-foot-9 frame of Nicholson they ended the final 4:30 on an improbable 16-2 run to take a 40-39 lead at the half. Nicholson ignited the run with his fourth dunk of the frame and a total of eight points, while Tyler Benson drilled a three-pointer and junior Chris Matthews' long range field hit the bottom of the net as time expired.

A wild opening 20 minutes featured a 65 percent (17-26) shooting clip for St. Bonaventure, but was it tainted by 20 turnovers that lead to 19 Duquesne points. Nicholson sank all nine shots from the field to boost that field goal percentage and also had seven boards and four blocks.

Despite losing the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, the Bonnies benefitted from sophomore Damian Saunders picking up his fourth foul.

Trailing 45-41 with Saunders now on the bench, the Bonnies went back to the paint to produced a 10-1 run to take a 51-46 lead with 12:07 remaining. The Bona frontcourt of Nicholson, senior D'Lancy Carter and junior Maurice Thomas accounted for all 10 points.

St. Bonaventure held onto the lead over the next eight minutes until a Jason Duty jumper from just inside the arc tied the game at 66-66 with 3:15 to go.

Nicholson gave the lead back to the Bonnies, 68-66, on the very next possession at the 2:44 mark. Nicholson's 28th and 29th points of the game were the Bonnies last.

Hall also finished with his second double-double of the season, accumulating 11 points and a season-best 12 rebounds. All 12 of Matthews' points came from beyond the arc, as he also added seven boards and four assists over 40 minutes. Playing in front of a large group of family and friends, Benson had a solid night with five points, season-best seven rebounds and a career-high three blocks.

St. Bonaventure will have a much-needed week off from game action until it returns to the Reilly Center to host La Salle on Saturday, Feb. 7. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. and will be part of Alumni Weekend on campus.