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RICHMOND, Va. – For the second straight game, St. Bonaventure (11-13, 4-7 Atlantic 10 Conference) erased a late double-digit deficit to force overtime, but for the second straight game it fell three points short as 30 Eric Mosley points weren't enough as Richmond (15-11, 5-6 A-10) claimed an 83-80 win in a crucial A-10 matchup Saturday night at the Robins Center.
Bonaventure held a 77-76 lead with 24 seconds remaining in overtime following a pair of Charlon Kloof free throws. However, on the ensuing Richmond possession, senior Demitrius Conger fouled Darien Brothers attempting a 3-pointer, and Brothers knocked down all three free throws to ice the game.
Mosley finished with a career-high night and recorded the first 30-plus point game by a Bona player since NBA Rookie All-Star Andrew
Sophomore Jordan Gathers put together his best game in the Brown and White, scoring a career-best 18 points, 15 of which came after halftime. The California native did not miss a shot, going 7-7 from the field, 2-2 from 3-point range and 2-2 from the free-throw line; he grabbed four rebounds and issued three assists as he also set a career high in minutes played with 37. Senior Chris Johnson added 13 points for the Bonnies, six of which came in a span of just 1 minute in overtime.
The foul-filled affair featured numerous debatable calls, and in the end 54 total fouls were called – 28 on the Bonnies and 26 on the Spiders. Three Bona players fouled out – Conger, Youssou Ndoye and Marquise Simmons – and Ndoye's were aided by being whistled for a technical and a flagrant foul (which also count as personals), leading to four Richmond points at the free-throw line.
The Bonnies trailed, 61-51, with 6:30 remaining in regulation, but mounted a comeback, spearheaded by Mosley and Gathers. By the time Bonaventure had come all the way back to tie the game at 67-67 following a Kloof free throw, the duo had combined to score 12 of SBU's 16 points during the run. After a defensive stand gave Bona the ball back with 4 seconds remaining in regulation, Kloof attacked the rim with the drive and looked to be fouled, but no call was made as the game was sent to overtime.
In overtime, St. Bonaventure once again faced a deficit late as it trailed by five, 74-69, with just more than 2 minutes remaining. However, a Johnson traditional three-point play, followed by a baseline 3-point jumper from the Canadian on the next trip gave the Bonnies a one-point lead, 75-74, with under a minute left. Richmond answered with a Greg Robbins layup before Kloof's two free throws with 40 seconds remaining.
Lindsay led the Spiders with 22 points, Robbins added 20 and Kendall Anthony closed the trio of double-figure scorers with 10. The Bonnies were able to keep Richmond's leading scorer Darien Brothers in check, limiting the senior guard to just eight points – more than seven below his season average.
Bonaventure got off to a great as start as it hit its first four 3-point attempts, racing out to a 12-2 start not even three minutes in. However, Richmond responded and closed the half on an extended 33-17 run to take a 35-29 halftime lead.
Mosley tallied 17 first-half points for the Bonnies – accounting for nearly 60 percent of Bonaventure's 29 in the stanza – and he did so in just 13 minutes of action. After shooting 36 percent (9-25) from the floor in the first half, the Bonnies connected at a 56.5-percent clip (13-23) in the second. Conversely, Richmond shot 47.8 percent (11-23) in the first half, but SBU held the Spiders to 34.8 percent (8-23) in the second half.
The loss drops Bonaventure into a tie with Dayton for the 12th – and final – A-10 postseason berth with five games remaining, including a visit to the Flyers on March 6.
St. Bonaventure returns to action on Wednesday against Massachusetts. The Minutemen – who received first-place votes in the A-10 preseason poll – lost by one point to Temple Saturday night to move their A-10 record to 6-5. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on Time Warner Sports. Great seats are still available, and may be purchased by logging on to GoBonnies.com/Tickets, visiting the SBU Ticket Office or calling 716-375-2500.
GAME NOTES: The contest was a matchup of the last two Atlantic 10 Tournament champions (Richmond: 2011, St. Bonaventure: 2012) … Richmond players wore white jerseys with pink outlining in support of breast cancer awareness …this is the first time two straight Bona games have gone to overtime since 2010-11 (Ohio, Virginia Tech) … SBU had 19 turnovers, one off tying a season high … only two Richmond field goals in the second half came from inside the 3-point line … Bona connected on 78.3 percent (18-23) of its free throws, while Richmond went 25-35 (71.4 percent) … Conger finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds … Simmons grabbed six boards in 21 minutes of action.
