ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – A 21-5 second half run erased a 19-point deficit and tied the game with still 10:30 to play, but in the end St. Bonaventure could not find an answer for AJ Green and visiting Northern Iowa as the Panthers came away with a 90-80 victory Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center.

Green delivered nine 3-pointers and a game-high 35 points while the Panthers sank 15 threes as a team, most for a Bonnies opponent in over three years.

Fresh off hitting 17 3-pointers last week at then-No. 16-ranked Arkansas in an upset bid there in their last game, the Panthers remained red hot against a Bonnies team that was this week ranked No. 16 in both national polls. 

All five Bonnies starters finished with double-figure scoring: Kyle Lofton with 21 points and seven assists; Dominick Welch 20 points and seven rebounds; Jaren Holmes 15 points and six assists; Jalen Adaway and Osun Osunniyi both with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Lofton started hot, scoring the first nine points for the Bonnies as they led by eight early.

The teams shared four ties and exchanged the lead six times during the first half, but then Green caught fire for the Panthers.

The 2019-20 Missouri Valley Player of the Year drained 17 points over the final 3:56 before halftime as the Panthers launched a 14-0 run for a 47-34 lead at the break.

Northern Iowa (2-3) stretched its lead to 19 with 17:39 remaining, but that advantage quickly evaporated as the Bonnies rallied.

A dunk from Jalen Adaway tied the game, 62-62, and the Reilly Center came unglued. With still over 10 minutes left, the Bonnies seemed to be back in control.

Like most of the day, though, Green put any thoughts of the Bonnies racing ahead on ice as he drilled a trey for the game's next points, breaking the tie. UNI would slowly extend its edge to seven, 73-66, over the next three-plus minutes, but the Bonnies got back within 75-72 on a perimeter jumper from Holmes and still 4:29 remaining.

Nate Heise put that rally to bed, too, with a layup and a jumper from beyond the arc to quickly push the score back to 80-72, and the Bonnies would never get any closer down the stretch.

GAME NOTES

• Welch tied a career-high with six 3-pointers, matching a total he set during his freshman year against George Mason in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
• Holmes matched his career-best assists total with six helpers, equaling a total from Jan. 11, 2020, vs. Fordham.
• UNI is the first Bona opponent to score 90 or more points since Davidson totaled 93 on Feb. 14, 2020. The nine 3-pointers from Green are the most by a Bonnies opponent in a single game in over a decade. No Bona opponent had hit as many threes in a game since Davidson totaled 16 in the 2018 Atlantic 10 Tournament.
• The Panthers shot 51 percent from the floor (32-62) and 48 percent from distance (15-31). UNI also led in rebounding, 41-29, and in points in the paint (30-26), two areas usually dominated by the Bonnies. 
• Lofton moved into 23^rd in Bonnies all-time career scoring, surpassing the late George Carter '67 (1,322) with 1,336 points.
• Osunniyi surpassed 700 career rebounds, finishing the game with 703. He is the 12^th player in program history to reach that total.
• Northern Iowa scored its 19th win all-time over a Top 25 team and first since 2019. 

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"From an offensive standpoint, we were ok, it was defensively we didn't do a great job. Green is a heck of a player and we knew he would be. You can't let someone score 35, especially when he is a known threat. Their role guys were terrific. Heise (15 points, seven boards) and Austin Phyfe (15 points) did a great job for them. We had a chance to take the lead and Heise had a couple back doors on us."

"We just couldn't get stops when we really needed them. Credit goes to them, they hit a lot of tough shots. I thought out guys fought and that was good to see, but we just can't get down by that much and expect to win."

"Green played well against Arkansas and he's coming off injury and getting healthy. He is a heck of a player. He has that reputation for a reason."

"They out-rebounded us by 12 and you can't win games like that. We need to work to get on the glass better."

UP NEXT
The Bonnies remain at home to host Coppin State Wednesday night. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
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