Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.  |  PPG Paints Arena
Box Score (PDF)  

St. Bonaventure Starters: #10 G Jaylen Adams, #2 G Matt Mobley, #1 G Idris Taqqee, #12 F Denzel Gregg, #33 F Josh Ayeni 

The Short Story

St. Bonaventure locked up a spot in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals with a 73-60 victory over UMass in the Thursday's second round from the Steel City.

Less than a week ago, UMass (15-18) proved to be a pesky foe in the regular season finale at the Reilly Center, forcing Bona to battle to the wire before closing out a 60-56 win.

There was much less drama on Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

The Bonnies (20-11) set the tone with a dominating first half performance, shooting over 55 percent from the floor on the way to an 18-point lead at the break.

From there the Bonnies never relinquished control, leading by 20 or more for the majority of the second half.

Four Bonnies found double-figure scoring in a balanced offensive attack – Matt Mobley led all scorers with 19 points while Jaylen Adams added 17, David Andoh posted 12 and Josh Ayeni 10.

With the win, the Bonnies advance to play fourth-seeded Rhode Island Friday at 2:30 p.m. That game will air live on NBC Sports Network.  

How It Happened:

• After a tight first 10 minutes, the Bonnies launched a 19-8 run to seize control with a 12-point lead at the under-four media timeout of the first half.
• By intermission, the Bonnies were rolling with a 44-26 advantage and quickly stretched that edge to 20 points at the start of the second half. 
• The Bonnies' lead swelled to 25 with 10:09 to play following a pair of free throws from Mobley. St. Bonaventure kept the Minutemen at a 20-point differential through the 5:54 mark.
• UMass received a bit of momentum when it closed to 65-47 with 5:54 remaining following a 3-pointer from Tyrn Flowers. It was short-lived, though, as free throws from Adams followed by a layup from Mobley put the lead back over 20.
• UMass got no closer than 16 before the 1:03 mark of the second half.
• Bona shot 41.8 percent from the floor (23-55) and went 22-for-25 at the foul line.
• St. Bonaventure led for 34:26 of game time after five lead changes during the early minutes.
• The Bonnies held a 36-35 edge in rebounding, led by eight rebounds apiece by Denzel Gregg and Idris Taqqee.
• Luwane Pipkins paced UMass with 14 points while DeJon Jarreau had 13.
• St. Bonaventure handed out 16 assists on its 23 made baskets.

Head Coach Mark Schmidt Quotes:

• "We're playing much better on defense. We're more committed. I think our zone is helping us. Our defense was really a catalyst today, and it needs to be if we're going to beat a good team like Rhode Island."
• "The more guys we can get involved in our offense, the better it is. The third guy is really important, and the fourth guy is huge. Nelson came off the bench and hit that big three. Josh and David were keys offensively. They came in and knocked down those shots, and that was huge for us."

Beyond The Box Score:

• Thursday marked the 20th win of the season for the Bonnies. It gives St. Bonaventure back-to-back seasons of 20 victories for the first time since 1977-78.
• The Bonnies are in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals for the fourth straight year and have reached the quarters for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
• The win was the 78th in the career of senior Denzel Gregg. The Bonnies record for wins in a career is 80 set by the Class of 1980. 
• Adams handed out six assists, the 18th time he has posted six or more assists this season. He now has 191 on the season, continuing to close in on Marques Green's program record of 216 set in 2002-03.
• Adams entered the day already owning the program's all-time record for free throws in a season with 195 and went 9-for-10 from the line on Thursday.
• Adams tied Tim Winn (1996-2000) for third all-time in Bonnies history with 192 career three-pointers. 
• Gregg had his 136th career block, ranking fifth in program history. 

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