Final Box Score (PDF) | Play-by-Play

Location: Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.

St. Bonaventure Starters: #3 G Marcus Posley, #10 G Jaylen Adams, #1 G Idris Taqqee, #21 F Dion Wright, #20 F Derrick Woods

The Short Story
St. Bonaventure led for nearly 30 minutes of Tuesday night's battle vs. Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, building double-digit leads multiple times, including during the second half, but the Orange rallied and pulled away late for a 79-66 victory.

Sophomore Jaylen Adams paced the Bonnies with 16 points, also adding a game-high seven assists as well as three steals. Senior Dion Wright posted 13 points and eight rebounds and junior Denzel Gregg gave St. Bonaventure a third double-figure scorer with 11 points as well as eight boards.

The Bonnies sank 11 three-pointers on the night, finishing 11-of-32 from long range and won the battle of the boards by a 43-33 margin.

Syracuse was red hot from the floor during its second half rally, connecting on 56 percent of its shots (14-25). The Bonnies finished the night shooting 36.4 percent from the field (24-66).

How It Happened

• Syracuse led in the opening minutes, 5-3, but the Bonnies embarked on an 8-0 run to seize an 11-5 edge at the 13:54 mark of the first half.
• Michael Gbinije drilled a straightaway three-pointer to cut the SBU lead to 11-8, but Jaylen Adams responded with a triple of his own to ignite another Bonnies break.
• A running one-hander from Dion Wright and a three-pointer from the far corner from Marcus Posley grew the St. Bonaventure lead to double digits for the first time at 19-8 with 11:54 remaining in the period.
• Syracuse cut the Bonnies lead to 21-16, but the Brown and White broke away again. Nelson Kaputo struck from long range and then Wright also delivered a corner three-pointer as the shot clock expired to push the cushion to 27-16 at the 7:11 mark.
• The Orange got as close as 32-27, but the Bonnies again responded on a traditional three-point play from Adams to take a 35-29 lead to intermission.
• The Bonnies again pushed their lead to double figures four minutes into the second half when a dunk from Gregg gave the visitors a 45-35 advantage.
• The ninth and 10th three-pointers of the game from SBU stifled Syracuse rally efforts – first another triple from Adams quieted the crowd for a 48-40 advantage, then, following a 10-3 Syracuse run, Posley drained a trey at the shot clock buzzer for a 51-45 score.
• The momentum then swung in favor of the Orange, however, as a three from Tyler Lydon tied the game before a three-point play from Trevor Cooney put Syracuse ahead for the first time since the 17:10 mark of the first half at 57-54 with 8:34 to play.
• Syracuse never trailed again, finishing the game on a 34-15 run over the final 11:52.
• Gbinije led all scorers with 23 points for Syracuse while Cooney had 18 and Malachi Richardson netted 15 points. Tyler Roberson hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds.
• St. Bonaventure finished with 24 offensive rebounds.

Beyond The Box Score

• Tuesday's game was the first meeting between St. Bonaventure and Syracuse since 2009. They have only met five times since 2001. 
• It was the 27th meeting overall between the schools. Syracuse now owns a 24-3 lead all-time and is 10-0 vs. the Bonnies at the Carrier Dome.
• Junior forward Denzel Gregg returned home to his native Syracuse and sophomore guard Idris Taqqee was facing against Syracuse sophomore Caleb Joseph, his former prep school roommate at Cushing Academy.

Quotes from St. Bonaventure Head Coach Mark Schmidt:

"In the first half we did what we wanted to do offensively and defensively. In the second half Syracuse exposed us a little defensively."

"We had some opportunities to push the lead out a bit more, but I thought our effort for the most part was what we wanted. If we continue to have that kind of effort, we have a chance to be pretty good."

"The (Syracuse zone) is unique and I thought we did a good job in the first half, but not as good of a job in the second half. It wasn't our offense that lost the game. Giving up 50 points in the second half won't win too many games."

"It should give us confidence, playing head-to-head with those guys for 30 minutes, but we have to become more consistent."

Up Next: The Bonnies return to the Reilly Center to host Loyola (Md.) on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Saturday is the Five Star Bank Food Drive and Ticket Giveaway. Fans are encouraged to bring canned food items to donate toward the SBU Food Drive benefitting Olean Food Pantry. Starting at 5 p.m. on game day, the first 200 fans who donate a canned food item at the Five Star Bank table located outside of the SBU Ticket Office will receive a ticket to the game for free.

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