ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Saint Louis scorched the nets from long distance Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena and had just enough to hold off a furious rally effort, snapping St. Bonaventure's eight-game winning streak with a 73-68 decision in Atlantic 10 action.
For a time during the late going it seemed as though the Billikens would run away with the contest, leading by 16 with 4:30 to go.
The Bonnies did not go away quietly, though, putting together an 11-1 run to close within two possessions, 66-60, with 90 seconds left.
Bona continued to pull closer with two at the line from Chance Moore for a 66-62 tally as the clock ticked down to a minute.
Robbie Avila drove the lane for a traditional three-point play with the shot clock winding down, however, to give the Billikens a needed swing of momentum.
Still down six, Lajae Jones got Bona within one possession with a corner three and 11.3 seconds showing on the scoreboard.
Gibson Jimerson fought through a Bonnies trap, drawing a foul and made good on both at the line.
It was fitting that Jimerson finally put an end to the Bona rally considering he was a thorn in the side of the Bonnies throughout the contest, finishing with a game-high 28 points.
Moore produced a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bonnies. Noel Brown went 8-for-11 from the floor for 16 points along with seven boards.
Bona did not have an answer for Jimerson, though, who finished with six treys.
The Bonnies (14-2, 2-1 A-10) opened red-hot, sinking seven of their first eight field goal tries.
Unfortunately for Bona's, though, Saint Louis started just as quick, especially from distance where the Billikens drained five of seven three-point attempts before the second media timeout.
Things turned frosty as the half continued for the visitors, however.
St. Bonaventure went scoreless for the final four minutes of the period while the Billikens seized control with a 15-2 run to send SLU to half with a 34-28 advantage.
SLU's lead quickly grew to 10 as the second half began, but the Bonnies chipped back within four before Jimerson pushed the cushion back to 11 with work behind the arc.
Saint Louis would finish with 13 3-pointers on the night in the glaring difference statistically.
The Bonnies held a 44-24 advantage in the paint and outrebounded the Billikens, 38-28.
Isaiah Swope also had 16 points for SLU (10-6, 3-0) and Avilia record 14 points and nine boards.
GAME NOTES
- Moore turned in his fourth double-double of the season.
- SLU took 17 of its first 22 field goal attempts from beyond the arc.
- The Billikens' 15-2 run extended over the final 5:45 of the first half while the Bonnies went 1-for-9 from the floor before intermission.
- SLU has won the last four matchups in the series and moved ahead all-time vs. the Bonnies, 17-16.
- Moore tallied his Atlantic 10 high in scoring this season after being held to single digit points in back-to-back games for the first time this year.
- St. Bonaventure had not trailed by more than three points in a game since a win over Northern Iowa Nov. 29.
- Melvin Council Jr. finished with 10 points and six assists.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"It felt like we were always on our heels. But we didn't give up. We fought, man, we didn't give in. We had some lulls and Jimerson did some damage. But we were still there at the end. We didn't fold, and lesser teams wouldn't have been able to get back into a possession to have a chance there at the end. We had our chances. Give Saint Louis credit, they're a very good team."
"We couldn't get the ball into the high post. We tried to put Melvin in there, he's the best passer, but that's something we need to look at."
"We knew we weren't going to go undefeated; we need to learn from our mistakes tonight. We had two road games here and we were able to win one of them. To compete for an Atlantic 10 title, you have to steal some on the road and defend your home court and now we need to defend home court the next couple of games."
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure returns home to host La Salle Saturday at noon inside the Reilly Center. The 1968 St. Bonaventure NCAA Tournament team will be honored during Saturday's game. Tickets are available by clicking here.
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