Final Score: Louisiana Tech 76, St. Bonaventure 72

Location: Germain Arena, Estero, Fla.

Records: St. Bonaventure 5-2; Louisiana Tech 5-1

Box Score (PDF)   |   Final Stats and Play-by-Play

St. Bonaventure Starters: #3 Charlon Kloof, #23 Andell Cumberbatch, #24 Matthew Wright, #33 Marquise Simmons, #35 Youssou Ndoye

The Short Story: St. Bonaventure and Louisiana Tech went toe-to-toe on Wednesday night for the championship of the Gulf Coast Showcase but the Bulldogs prevailed, 76-72. Charlon Kloof scored a career-high 24 points and Matthew Wright had 20 for the Bonnies, who fell to 5-2.

The Bonnies wound up 2-1 in the Showcase, and Wright was named to the all-tournament team after he averaged 23.6 points over the three games.

How it Happened:

• After a close first half that had LaTech in front 34-33 at intermission, Charlon Kloof came out hot to start the second half, scoring five points including a drive for a dunk and a three-pointer that gave the Bonnies a 47-42 lead four minutes into the half. 
• LaTech answered with a 7-0 run capped by a Kenyon McNeail three-pointer, to re-take the lead at 49-47.
• The game was back-and-forth over the next six minutes.
• LaTech went up by five but St. Bonaventure answered with scores from Jordan Gathers and Marquise Simmons to make it 57-56 with 7:54 left.
• Free throws by Simmons and Matthew Wright gave the Bonnies a 58-57 lead with 7:24 to play; this would be the last time St. Bonaventure would lead.
• It was a 60-60 tie with Raheem Appleby drained a three-pointer and then had a dunk off a steal to spark a 15-5 run. The Bulldogs' spurt opened up a 72-63 advantage with 1:02 left and the Bonnies could not come closer than seven points from there.
• The second half saw 15 fouls called on St. Bonaventure compared to nine on LaTech.
• In the first half, the Bonnies started well and led early at 14-7 with 14:54 left.
• The Bulldogs started hot from three-point range, using the long ball to come back and take a 24-20 lead at the 9:52 mark.
• The Bonnies' defense adjusted and Tech wound up making six of 15 shots from long range in the opening half.
• Kloof had a strong first half with 10 points.
• Overall, the Bonnies posted a solid defensive effort against a team that had scored 90 points or more in each of its last four games.

Beyond the Box Score:

• Matthew Wright was named to the all-tournament team. He averaged 23.6 points over the Bonnies' three games, highlighted by his career-high 32 point outburst against Southern Illinois.  
• Wednesday was St. Bonaventure's first true tournament final appearance since the 2002 Paradise Jam final, when the Bonnies fell to BYU.
• Charlon Kloof easily could have joined Wright on the all-tournament team. In addition to his career high 24 points against LaTech, he also had five rebounds and played all 40 minutes against the Bulldogs' frenetic pressure. For the three games in the Showcase, Kloof averaged 15 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

Quotes from St. Bonaventure Coach Mark Schmidt

• "Tonight was two teams competing hard and not backing down, just like the Atlantic 10. (LaTech) just made a couple more plays than we did at the end, so give them credit."
• "For 30 minutes or so we handled their pressure and did what we needed to do, but we had a couple of breakdowns and made a few mistakes that cost us. We need to tie up a few loose ends, but overall we did what we needed to."
• "Charlon (Kloof) and Matthew (Wright) both played really well tonight and in the whole tournament. They are two talented guards who we really need to play well, and they did here."
• "We wanted to get at least two wins in the tournament. We played hard, competed well, but of course it's disappointing to get to the final and fall short. But I think this can give us confidence that if we keep improving, we have a chance to be a good team. It was good to come here, get away together for five days and compete. This was a good step, but we have a lot of work to do to get better." 

Up Next: St. Bonaventure will return to campus on Thanksgiving Day and does not play again until Tuesday, Dec. 3, when the Bonnies host UMass-Lowell.