Final Score: No. 19 Massachusetts 73, St. Bonaventure 68

Location: Mullins Center – Amherst, Mass.

Records: St. Bonaventure 11-5 (1-1 Atlantic 10)  |  Massachusetts 14-1 (2-0)

Box Score (PDF) |  Final Stats and Play-By-Play (html)

The Short Story: A super effort against the 19^th-ranked team in the country came up just short for St. Bonaventure on Saturday afternoon. The Bonnies led by as many as 13 points early in the second half but Massachusetts rallied for a 73-68 win, quashing the Bonnies' attempt at their first win over a ranked team since 2000.
St. Bonaventure led 65-59 with 2:56 remaining, but UMass eventually took the lead at 69-68 on a three-pointer by Trey Davis with 1:12 left.
The Bonnies turned the ball over on both of their final possessions to see their upset bid end.
Charlon Kloof led the Bonnies with 15 points and seven assists. Youssou Ndoye had 11 points and five blocks, while Jordan Gathers pitched in with 10 points.

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

How It Happened: 

• Andell Cumberbatch started off well, scoring six of the Bonnies first nine points as the Bona led 9-6 early.
• At the 8:44 mark, Ndoye and UMass leading scorer Chaz Williams were both whistled for technical fouls. It was Williams second foul of the half and he went to the bench.
• St. Bonaventure took advantage of Williams' absence to increase its lead. A 7-0 run capped by a Gathers' three-pointer with 3:47 left in the first half, pushed the Bonnies lead to 26-18.
• Although Massachusetts closed the first half with a three-pointer by Sampson Carter, it was a 32-25 Bona lead, marking the 13^th time this season the Bonnies led at halftime.
• The Bonnies got through a half where Wright and Cumberbatch combined to play only 13 minutes due to foul trouble. Wright was held scoreless in the opening 20 minutes.
• The Brown and White came out strong at the start of the second half with a 7-2 run capped off by a three-pointer by Wright that made it 39-27.
• Charlon Kloof hit back-to-back jumpers that gave St. Bonaventure its largest lead of the day at 54-41 with 12:11 left.
• Even without Williams doing much scoring, UMass began cutting into the Bonnies lead by going inside to big men Raphael Putney and Cady Lalanne. Putney's layup with 4:52 reaming made it 63-59.
• Trailing by four, UMass' Trey Davis scored inside. After a Bona turnover, Davis then drained a three-pointer with 1:12 left that gave the minutemen their first lead since the game's opening minutes.
• A Kloof turnover gave the ball back to UMass with 41 seconds left. After working the clock down, Williams drove and was fouled by Ndoye.
• Williams made both free throws to extend UMass' lead to 71-68 with 10 seconds left.
• Williams stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Putney sealed the game at the free throw line. 

Beyond The Box Score: 

• UMass outscored the Bonnies 48-36 in the second half. 
• St. Bonaventure held a 32-31 edge in rebounds. Marquise Simmons had six and Ndoye had five.
• Ndoye recorded five of Bona's eight blocks. Has 12 blocks over the last three games.
• The Bonnies are now 10-3 when leading at the half.
• St. Bonaventure's last win over a ranked opponent came January 15, 2000, at the Reilly Center in a 57-56 decision over Temple. The Bonnies are 0-22 vs. ranked teams since then.
• These teams will meet again on Jan. 29 at the Reilly Center.

Up Next: St. Bonaventure will travel to Saint Louis (15-2, 2-0) on Wednesday, January 15. The tip is scheduled for 8 PM EST.