ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – When St. Bonaventure went to halftime with a 16-point lead, it might have seemed to some observers that the Bonnies were bound for an easy win Monday evening at the Reilly Center.

Anyone with that type of thought probably hasn't watched the Bonnies and Billikens battle in recent seasons.

Monday's game ultimately became another nail-biter and another chapter in what has become an entertaining rivalry – this time with the Bonnies holding on for an impressive 83-79 win to complete a home-and-home sweep in the span of less than 72 hours.

Osun Osunniyi logged one of his more impressive outings of the season, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting. The senior center also delivered three blocks and drew six fouls called against him, another team-high.

Dominick Welch was excellent as well with an outstanding stat line of 19 points, six rebounds and four steals in a full 40 minutes of work. Also in double figures for the home team were Jalen Adaway (17 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Jaren Holmes (18 points, four assists).

St. Bonaventure (15-7, 7-4 A-10) finished the first half on a 23-8 blitz to seize all momentum heading into halftime.

A medley of slam dunks and strong defensive plays brought the Reilly Center crowd to a frenzy as the Bonnies ran into the locker room with its strongest opening half of the season and a 48-32 lead.

Bona's built an early 22-13 lead, with 11 of those points coming from Osunniyi.

That advantage would quickly be cut to just one, 25-24, as the Billikens surged. Bona's would score the next 13, though, including 17 points before the break from Osunniyi in the entertaining opening 20 minutes.

Saint Louis (17-8, 8-4) turned the tide quickly as the second half began.

The Billikens posted nine of the second half's first 10 points, immediately closing their deficit to just eight before the period was three minutes old.

SLU got as close as 55-49, but that's when Holmes took over.

The senior guard snapped out of a recent cold spell in emphatic fashion, connecting on 7-of-8 field goal attempts at one point to help the Bonnies propel ahead once more, 71-54.

That's when the Billikens stormed back into contention.

Saint Louis closed to a 77-69 margin with 4:16 to play when the Billikens lost their point guard Yuri Collins to his fifth foul. Despite Collins' foul out, SLU continued to roar back.

The visitors pulled within 78-74 when a running one-hander from Adaway as the shot clock expired gave Bona a bit of breathing room. DeAndre Jones immediately responded with a trey for an 80-77 score, however, with still 1:45 left.

A missed Bonnies shot attempt gave the Billikens the ball back with a chance to tie, but Jordan Nesbitt was whistled for an offensive foul.

An exchange of free throws brought SLU to an 81-79 score, and one of two at the line from Bonaventure gave the visitors one more chance to force overtime.

Nesbitt missed a 3-point attempt from beyond NBA range with six seconds left, though, and the rebound fell out of bounds to the Bonnies. Adaway would ice the game with two at the line.

Fred Thatch Jr. delivered a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds while Nesbitt posted 18 points.

GAME NOTES

•  Bona's won the points in the paint battle 58-30, though SLU had a 30-24 advantage on the glass.
• St. Bonaventure shot nearly 54 percent for the game (35-65) while the Billikens finished at 56 percent (27-48) and 60 percent (15-25) in the second half.
• Kyle Lofton handed out eight assists. He was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week prior to the game.
• St. Bonaventure was +12 in turnover margin after committing only five turnovers. The Bonnies posted 22 points off turnovers to SLU's one.
• Osunniyi posted his best half of the season with his 17 points before halftime while the Bonnies' 48 points in the first half represented their most before half this year. By finishing with 21 points, Osunniyi tied the third-highest output of his career and matched his season-best previously set at Duquesne Jan. 21.
• Welch matched his season high in steals, set twice previously this year.
• Bona's moved to 16-13 all-time against Saint Louis and have won three in a row following a Billikens three-game win streak from 2019-21. 
• Bonaventure now has six Top-100 wins in the NET rankings this year.

UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure has a quick turnaround, continuing its four-game homestand by welcoming UMass on Wednesday night. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m.

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