Box Score Final Score: Saint Louis 66, St. Bonaventure 60
Location: Chaifetz Arena – St. Louis, Mo.
Records: St. Bonaventure 11-6 (1-2 Atlantic 10) | Saint Louis 16-2 (3-0)
Box Score (PDF) | Final Stats and Play-by-Play
The Short Story: After putting together another great effort against a top-25 team on the road, St. Bonaventure came up just short on Wednesday night as it lost to Saint Louis, 66-60. The Bonnies trailed by just one at halftime and took a one-point lead midway through the second half, but a 12-1 run helped the Billikens pull away.
Saint Louis won its 10th straight, while the Bonnies lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
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:
- The first half featured four lead changes and five ties as the teams battled on both ends of the floor.
- In the first half, both Marquise Simmons and Dion Wright were called for three fouls, while Youssou Ndoye and Andell Cumberbatch were called for two each.
- Despite the foul troubles, the Bonnies played a strong first half, particularly on the defensive end where they limited Saint Louis to 11-34 shooting (.324).
- Saint Louis went ahead 28-24 on a fastbreak layup by Jordair Jett, but Jordan Gathers drained a three-pointer just before the horn to pull the Bonnies to within one at halftime, 28-27.
- The Billikens scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half with Dwayne Evans accounting for five of those points.
- The Bonnies battled back behind Matthew Wright and Dion Wright.
- Jordan Gathers three-pointer with 10:11 remaining gave the Bonnies a 47-45 lead, but Saint Louis then went on a 12-1 run to take a 57-48 lead. Mike Crawford capped the SLU run with a three-pointer with 7:07 left.
- The Bonnies hung tough but could not pull any closer than five points the rest of the night. Matt Wright's jumper with 1:45 left made it 62-57.
- The Billikens made 12 of 19 shots in the second half (63 percent) compared to 11-28 by the Bonnies.
- Against the A-10's top defensive team, St. Bonaventure shot 39 percent from the field overall. The Bonnies missed six free throws (10-16) in the contest.
- Matthew Wright led St. Bonaventure with 17 points but Dion Wright was the Bonnies' major spark, scoring 16 points to go with five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
- Dion Wright (28 minutes) and Chris Dees (career high 25 minutes) played extended time due to the foul troubles of Simmons and Ndoye.
- St. Bonaventure was outrebounded 45-32.
- While SLU was just 16-30 at the free throw line, the Billikens took 14 more shots there than the Bonnies did.
Beyond the Box Score:
- St. Bonaventure's last win over a ranked opponent was exactly 14 years ago on Jan. 15, 2000 at the Reilly Center, a 57-56 decision over Temple.
- This was the 14th meeting all-time between St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis; SLU leads the series 10-4 but the series is 5-4 favor SLU since the Billikens joined the A-10.
- This was the first time since 1996 that the Bonnies faced ranked opponents in back-to-back games.
Up Next: St. Bonaventure will return home to host George Washington, which is 14-3 and receiving votes in both national polls, on Saturday at 7 p.m.
