NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Demitrius Conger recorded his fifth career double double with a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds to guide St. Bonaventure (7-5) to a 72-70 victory over Niagara at a sold-out Gallagher Center.
The victory snapped the Bonnies' eight game skid versus the Purple Eagles and completed the first-ever Bona sweep of Big Four rivals Buffalo, Canisius and Niagara.
St. Bonaventure led by as many as 17 in the second half and held on as Niagara's Juan'ya Green put the Purple Eagles on his back, scoring 26 of his career-high 32 points over the final 20 minutes.
Green's jumper with two minutes left cut the deficit to 64-54 and sparked Niagara down the stretch. NU scored on six of its next seven possessions – including a traditional three-point play from Green and a bucket from Ameen Tanksley - over a 1:05 span to all but erase the Bonnies' advantage, pulling to 70-68 after Green's layin with 27 ticks left.
The Eagles' frenetic 14-4 run ended there though. Chris Johnson finished with 11 points and six rebounds, including a pair of free throws with 20 seconds to play that built the margin back up to four points.
Niagara missed a trio of 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds before Antoine Mason's put back as time expired made the final margin.
SBU had not beaten Niagara in eight tries dating back to Nov. 24, 2001 and last defeated Niagara in the Gallagher Center Dec. 4, 2000.
Junior guard Eric Mosley added 10 points and handed out five assists to aid in the Bonnies' victory.
Both teams settled into a rhythm after misfiring early in the first half – at one point combining to shoot just 3-for-18 with nine turnovers. Playing again largely without the services of Andrew Nicholson, who fouled out in 15 minutes after scoring nine points, the Bonnies mounted a 17-7 charge to turn a three point lead into a 38-25 margin headed into the locker room.
Conger had three runs of four consecutive Bona points in the second half to help SBU maintain a comfortable lead until Green heated up for 14 of Niagara's 16 points midway through the final period.
The Bonnies return to the Reilly Center on Wednesday to host George Washington in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both squads.
