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NORMAL, Ill. — Despite 28 points and a program record eight three-pointers from senior Chris Matthews, St. Bonaventure couldn't overcome its 29 fouls in hard-fought 80-77 loss at Illinois State Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the Basketball Travelers Classic on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.

The loss snaps a three-game win streak for the Bonnies, who fall to 4-2 on the young season, while Illinois State stays unbeaten at 6-0.

Matthews' eight three-pointers equaled the school record that has been set seven times by four different players, including by Matthews in last year's game at Dayton on Jan. 25. The Washington, D.C. native sank 10-of-17 from the field overall and 8-of-11 from long range over 38 minutes.

The difference in the game came at the free throw line where the Redbirds sank 27-of-41 compared to 11-of-15 for the Bonnies. The Brown and White committed 29 fouls to Illinois State's 16.

Included the plethora of Bonaventure fouls was sophomore Andrew Nicholson, who fouled out with just two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of work. Nicholson averaged 22 points and 13 rebounds over the first two games of the tournament and was one of three Bonnies that fouled out.

“It's extremely hard to overcome a foul shot deficit like that, especially, with Andrew on the bench,” said head coach Mark Schmidt. “Thankfully, Chris stepped up and knocked down some shots and we kept fighting until the end. I'm proud of our effort.”

Junior point guard Malcolm Eleby was one of the players that stepped up in the absence of Nicholson. Eleby had arguably the best game of his career, equaling career-highs with 14 points and nine rebounds. Senior Jonathan Hall finished in double figures for the sixth straight game with 15 points over a game-high 39 minutes.

St. Bonaventure held the upper hand in nearly every statistical category besides fouls and attempts at the charity stripe. The Brown and White shot 50 percent (28-56) from the field for the fifth time in six games, whole posting a 36-29 edge on the glass.

Illinois State finished at a 44 percent clip (22-50) from the field and out-scored the Bonnies 23-10 in points off turnovers. Tournament MVP and Missouri Valley Preseason Player of the Year Osiris Eldridge led the Redbirds with 28 points on 10-of-16 from the floor.

Matthews drilled a trio of three-pointers by the first media timeout helping the Bonnies turn a two-point deficit, 5-3, into an eight-point lead, at 17-9 with 14:37 remaining.

With the score 24-19 in favor of St. Bonaventure, the Redbirds rattled off eight straight points en route to a 13-3 run that gave them their largest lead of the half at 32-27 with 5:32 left. Four different players scored during the run for ISU capped by five straight from Eldridge.

The Bonnies fought back, though, closing the half on a 12-5 run over the final five minutes that was highlighted by a three-pointer by Eleby from the top of the arc as time expired. Eleby's three was the sixtth of the half for St. Bonaventure as it took a 39-37 edge into the locker room.

A wild first half featured eight lead changes and four ties, as the Brown and White shot an impressive 63 percent (15-24) from the field, including 6-of-7 from long range. Four of those three-pointers came off the hands of Matthews who finished the period with 16 points, highlighted by his 100th career three-pointer as a Bonnie.

Illinois State presented the game's ninth and final lead change early in the second half, as it opened up an 11-2 run to take a 48-41 lead. St. Bonaventure managed just four points over the opening 8:34 falling behind by a score of 49-43

The Redbirds never relinquished the lead the rest of the way as their advantage reached as high as eight, 77-69, with 30 seconds to play.

St. Bonaventure continued to fight, as junior Ogo Adegboye's traditional three-point play with 10 seconds to go cut it to a one-possession game, at 78-75.

After pair of ISU free throws made it 80-75, Adegboye cut the deficit back down to three, 80-77, with a pull-up jumper with four ticks left on the clock.

The Bonnies promptly fouled and Redbirds' guard Lloyd Phillips missed both free throws giving the Brown and White once last chance. Redshirt freshman Marquise Simmons gathered the rebound and pushed the ball up to Hall who failed to get away the game-tying attempt.

Simmons gave the Bonnies a productive 10 minutes off the bench, collecting seven rebounds while finishing 2-for-2 from the field for four points. Adegboye finished with eight points in just six minutes of work.

After playing three games in a little less than 72 hours, St. Bonaventure will get a much needed five days off from game action until in travels to the south and SEC country to take on Mississippi State (4-2) on Saturday, Dec. 5. Gametime at Humphrey Coliseum is slated for 2 p.m. ET.