The Short Story: 
Jaylen Adams led four players in double figures with 19 points as St. Bonaventure defeated Jackson State 79-71 on Tuesday at the Reilly Center.  The Bonnies improved to 3-1.

St. Bonaventure rallied late in the second half to overcome the persistent Tigers. Jackson State led 57-55 with 8:41 to play, but the Bonnies went on a 13-3 run to open a 68-60 lead by the 5:05 mark. Jackson State (1-4) cut the lead down to three with 3:06 left but that was as close as the Tigers got the remainder of the way. 

Adams' 19 points were a career high for the freshman point guard from Baltimore; he made 4-8 from three-point range and 7-8 at the free throw line.  Junior forward Dion Wright recorded his second career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Marcus Posley scored 14 points and Andell Cumberbatch had 12. Senior center Youssou Ndoye, while limited to 16 minutes of action due to foul trouble, grabbed 10 rebounds and had seven points.

How It Happened:

• St. Bonaventure started the game well, opening a 13-6 lead early as Cumberbatch connected on a pair of three-pointers.
• Jackson State cut the lead to 15-14 on a Kaven Bernard dunk, but the Bonnies quickly pushed it to a 22-16 edge with a 7-2 spurt capped by a jumper from Chris Dees.
• The Tigers came as close as two points midway through the first, but St. Bonaventure expanded the lead to 10 points three separate times late in the period.
• Dre'Sean Looney's three-pointer with 39 seconds left in the first half made it a 41-34 Bonnies lead at halftime.
• The Tigers started out hot in the second half, making their first four shots capped by a three-pointer by Yettra Specks that tied the game at 46 at the 13:53 mark.
• From there, the game remained back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than three points.
• Jackson State took its first lead of the night at the 11:37 mark on two free throws by Kaven that put the Tigers up 53-52.
• The Tigers' last lead came at 57-55 on a tip-in by Kaven.
• From there, the Bonnies rallied with their 13-3 run. Jaylen Adams sparked the run – he made two free throws to tie the game at 57 then later drained a three-pointer that pushed the lead to 64-59 with 6:22 left.
• Wright, while trapped under the basket by two defenders, threaded a pass to Xavier Smith for a layup that capped the run and made it 68-60.
• Still, Jackson State refused to go quietly. Specks scored inside, then Javeres Brent made a three-pointer that made it a 68-65 game with 3:06 remaining.
• After a timeout, Youssou Ndoye took a lob from Cumberbatch off a set play and slammed it home to put the Bonnies back in firmer control.
• The Bonnies then tightened their defense and Jackson State missed shots on its next six possessions.
• St. Bonaventure iced the game at the free throw line, making seven of its last 10 shots there.
• St. Bonaventure out-scored the Tigers 31-18 at the free throw line.  

Beyond the Box Score:

• The Tigers shot 40.4 percent from the field; St. Bonaventure came within a half-percent of holding its fourth straight opponent under 40 percent shooting.
• There were seven ties and two lead changes throughout the game.
• St. Bonaventure is off to a 3-1 start for the third season in a row; last year, the Bonnies won five of their first six games.
• Adams' 19 points were his top scoring output of the young season, topping the 16 he had in the opener vs. Dartmouth.
• The Bonnies blocked six shots in the game, with Smith credited with a career-high three.
• It was largely a half-court game, evidenced by only six fastbreak points – all by Jackson State.
• This was the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Quotes from St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt:
"We didn't play great but I thought we found a way. When we got down by one in the second half with a young team, sometimes our confidence can be shook a little but I thought we responded. I thought Xavier (Smith) and Chris (Dees) gave us a lift in the second half; I thought Jalen (Adams) gave us a lift in the first half. We won the game at the foul line and we won the game on the backboard. You have to be a blue collar type of team and that's what we were."

"I thought we did a decent job defensively. We didn't take care of the ball, especially in the first half when we had 12 turnovers … the second half we did a much better job taking care of the ball. I thought we hit some big shots. Jay (Adams) hit a shot. It wasn't our best performance, but going into the game I knew Jackson State was a team that was going to give us some problems."

On the Bonnies' defense: "We want to keeps teams at 40% (field goal percentage) or below. The three pointers … we only gave up seven which is a decent number but they shot 36% - that's the number that I didn't like from a defensive standpoint. We out-rebounded them by 16 and that was encouraging."

Up Next: The Bonnies will play their first game away from the Reilly Center this Saturday, Nov. 29, when they face Big 4 rival Niagara in the Big 4 Classic at First Niagara Center in Buffalo. Tipoff will be 2 p.m.