ST. LOUIS, Mo. – In a win over Fordham Tuesday night, the Bonnies were said to have 'gotten their smiles back,' after a tough start to Atlantic 10 play.
The smiles were wide for the Bonnies and their faithful Friday night at Chaifetz Arena as they delivered a gritty, 68-61 victory over Saint Louis in front of a raucous crowd on national TV.
Kyle Lofton showed the way with the type of leading performance that has defined his Bona's career, finishing with 16 points and eight assists along with four steals.
Jalen Adaway added 15 points and five rebounds and Jaren Holmes and Osun Osunniyi each posted 12 apiece with Osun tacking on six blocks and six rebounds.
With the win, St. Bonaventure improves to 14-7 overall and 6-4 in A-10 action after snapping a six-game Billikens winning streak. Saint Louis, ranked second in the conference standings, now stands 17-7, 8-3.
Saint Louis posted just five points in the first five minutes, but two quick fouls whistled on Osunniyi forced the senior center to the bench at the 14:56 mark of the opening period.
The Billikens responded with a 12-0 run to race ahead, 19-10, but a return to the court from Osunniyi later in the half would spark a matching Bonnies run. Bona's would pour in the game's next 16 points to quiet the crowd for a 30-26 edge with three minutes left before half.
The visitors would ultimately take a 34-30 advantage to the break, scoring 26 of their tallies in the paint while forcing 11 turnovers from the Billikens.
Bona led by nine, 53-44, following a straightaway three from Adaway, but the Billikens would respond with a traditional three-point play on the ensuing possession.
Foul trouble continued to plague the Bonnies in the post as Abdoul Karim Coulibaly was called for his fifth and disqualifying foul with 5:06 to play, forcing Osunniyi back into the game earlier than expected with foul fouls of his own.
The visitors went quiet offensively before Holmes cleaned the boards with a layup off his fingertips for a 57-50 lead with 3:34 remaining and an important swing in momentum.
Ahead 61-56 with 1:04 to go, Adaway worked his way to the line and sank both.
SLU's Yuri Collins brought the hosts back within a possession, though, with 38 seconds showing on the clock with a transition trey.
After being sent back to the stripe, Adaway delivered again with two more, pushing the lead back to five.
A Bonnies defensive stop left the Billikens in a must-foul situation and Lofton iced the game with a pair of free throws.
Collins delivered 18 points and seven helpers in a prime time point guard matchup against Lofton.
GAME NOTES
- Bona's defense forced 18 Billikens turnovers while committing just seven themselves. SLU won the battle of the boards, 39-30.
- Lofton passed David Vanterpool, '95, for 15th in Bonnies career scoring.
- Bona won its seventh game this season after rallying from a double digit deficit. SLU led by 11 in the opening half.
- Friday's game was a rematch of last year's A-10 semifinal game, won by the Bonnies in Richmond.
- Osunniyi has 13 blocks in the past two games vs. SLU.
- For the second consecutive game the Bonnies defense held one of the A-10's top offensive players to single digits. Tuesday it was Fordham's Darius Quisenberry and Friday night it was SLU's Gibson Jimerson who entered the day with 17.2 ppg in league play, but just six points against SBU. Bona also forced Collins, one of the A-10's top point guards and the nation's leader in assists, to commit eight turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Bonnies and Billikens will renew acquaintances quickly as the squads get together Monday night at the Reilly Center. Tip time is slated for 5 p.m and the game will air on CBSSN.
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