Final Score: St. Bonaventure 74, Niagara 72 
Location: Niagara Falls, N.Y./Gallagher Center
Records: St. Bonaventure 8-4 | Niagara 3-9

Box Score (PDF)

The Short Story: Senior point guard Charlon Kloof drove the length of the court and scored just prior to the final horn to give St. Bonaventure a 74-72 win at Niagara on Saturday. Tied at 72, the Bonnies forced Niagara's Antoine Mason to take a desperation three-pointer with seven seconds left; the rebound went out of bounds and over to St. Bonaventure. With no timeouts left to set up a play, Kloof inbounded to Youssou Ndoye, took a pass back and drove past three Niagara players for a twisting layup that hung on the rim before falling through the net, setting off a celebration for the Bonnies and the strong group of their fans at the Gallagher Center.

St. Bonaventure led by 10 at halftime (39-29) only to see the Purple Eagles scrap back into the game, eventually taking a three-point lead.

Kloof led the Bonnies with 18 points while Dion Wright had his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Gathers added 14 points and Andell Cumberbatch finished with 11. The Bonnies enjoyed a 45-31 rebounding advantage but hurt themselves by missing 12 free throws.

St. Bonaventure Starters: #3 G Charlon Kloof, #23 G Andell Cumberbatch, #5 G Jordan Gathers, #33 F Marquise Simmons, #35 C Youssou Ndoye

How It Happened:

• St. Bonaventure led by 10 at halftime (39-29) only to see the Purple Eagles scrap back into the game. Marvin Jordan drained three three-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half, the last one pulling Niagara within 42-40 with 17:26 left.
• The Bonnies regained control and, with it still a two-point game at 49-47, went on a 10-4 run to go ahead by eight at 59-51. Jordan Gathers' three-pointer capped the run at the 9:57 mark.
• Niagara continued to chip away at the Bonnies' lead, primarily on a steady parade to the free throw line by the nation's leading scorer, Antoine Mason. Mason made two of his 11 free throws with 5:04 left to give Niagara its first lead since the early part of the game at 65-63.
• The Bonnies fell behind by three on two occasions, the last on a Mason layup with 2:39 remaining that made of 70-67.
• After Mason's score, Andell Cumberbatch knotted the game at 70 with a three-pointer from in front of his own bench with 2:10 to go.
• Mason was fouled by Kloof with 1:58 left and made both free throws for what turned out to be Niagara's final points.
• After a missed shot by Kloof, Dion Wright grabbed the rebound and put it back from close range to tie the game at 72-72 with 1:39 left.
• With 1:16 left to play, Mason was fouled by Gathers but missed both free throws.
• The Bonnies had two chances to go ahead, three-pointers by Matthew Wright (47 seconds left) and Cumberbatch (off an inbounds pass with 44 seconds left and the shot clock at 3 seconds), but neither shot found the mark. Marcus Ware rebounded Cumberbatch's miss to set up the final sequence.
• Mason had the ball at the top of the key and was guarded by Gathers, who stayed in between Mason and the lane, forcing Mason to take a desperation three-pointer with seven seconds left and the shot clock winding down.
• With no timeouts left to set up a play, Kloof inbounded to Youssou Ndoye, took a pass back and drove past three Niagara players for a twisting layup that hung on the rim before falling through the net. The play was reviewed and the officiating crew ruled that Kloof got the shot off before the clock hit 0:00.
• In the first half, Niagara led 19-18 when the Bonnies went on a 13-5 run to open a 31-23 lead at the 6:45 mark. The run was sparked by the Bona bench as Dion Wright, Denzel Gregg and Jordan Gathers all contributed field goals.
• Bonnies wound up outscoring the Purple Eagles 21-10 over the last 10:22 of the first half and led 39-29 at halftime.
• Eight Bonnies scored in the first half in a balanced offensive effort.
• For the game, rebounding was a key for Bonnies, as they held controlled the boards 45-31. Dion Wright 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
• Free throws were again a sore spot as St. Bonaventure missed 12 on the night (10-22). Niagara went 16-24 at the line, mainly on Mason's 11-16 effort.
• St. Bonaventure did hold Mason to 24 points, four below his season average. Jordan wound up with 20 points.
• The Bonnies went 8-25 from three-point range.
• Kloof played all 40 minutes, adding three assists and two rebounds to his 18 points.

Beyond the Box Score:

• There were nine tied scores and five lead changes in the game.
• After losing eight in a row to Niagara from 2004-2011, the Bonnies have now won three straight against their Little 3 rival.
• Saturday's contest was the 153^rd meeting between St. Bonaventure and Niagara in a series that dates to 1920.
• Saturday was the final game in a stretch where St. Bonaventure played eight out of nine games away from the Reilly Center.

Up Next: St. Bonaventure will be off until Monday, Dec. 30, when it returns home to host Delaware at 5 p.m.