ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team erased a 13-point second half deficit, but ultimately felt to Fordham, 81-77, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 10) at the Reilly Center.
Junior guard Buddy Simmons II matched a season-high 24 points in the loss, shooting 8-for-14 from the field while making a season-best six three pointers.
Cayden Charles stuffed the stat sheet, recording 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. True freshman
Achille Lonati logged his fourth game in double figures this season, scoring 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting.
FIRST HALF
Fordham (10-7, 1-3 A-10) jumped out to an early lead after making five of its first six field goals. However, the Bonnies (11-5, 0-3 A-10) responded with an 8-0 run to take a 14-12 lead with 14:17 before the halftime.
The two teams traded baskets throughout the middle portion of the first half, at one point exchanging three-pointers on four straight possessions.
Dejour Reaves scored each of the next seven points for the Rams, leading a 7-2 run that gave Fordham a 36-29 lead. The Bonnies trailed, 39-34, at halftime.
SECOND HALF
After
Dasonte Bowen opened the second-half scoring with a layup, Fordham extended its lead to double digits with a 7-0 run. Charles stifled the run with a layup, but Fordham stayed on the attack with five more unanswered points, giving the Rams their largest lead of the game (13 points) with 16:22 to play.
Over the next eight minutes, the Bonnies turned the game on its head, outscoring Fordham 23-4 to take a six-point lead. Simmons II scored nine points during the stretch, while Charles and Lonati each posted six.
The Rams eventually tied the game at 65, outscoring the Bonnies 10-4 run over the next four minutes thanks to four points from both Reaves and center Jack Whitbourn.
With 1:10 to play and the Bonnies trailing by two, Simmons II drilled a go-ahead three-pointer to give St. Bonaventure a late lead. However, SBU went cold from the field as Fordham scored six unanswered points to put the game out of reach.
Simmons II made one more triple with under 10 seconds to play to pull the Bonnies within two, but Reaves sank the last two of his 12 made free throws on the game to seal the 81-77 win for the Rams.
UP NEXT
The Bonnies will travel to Philadelphia for a two-game road swing, facing Saint Joseph's on Wednesday (Jan. 14) at Michael J. Hagan Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
NOTES
- With a jumper in the second half, freshman Andrew Osasuyi scored his first points since Dec. 13 against Ohio.
- Osasuyi and Joe Grahovac each recorded two blocks off the bench.
- Grahovac now has 28 blocks on the season, matching the Bonnies' leading shot-blocker from 2024-25 Lajae Jones' season total.
- Simmons II becomes the first St. Bonaventure player to make six-or-more three-pointers in a game this season. He boosted his three-point percentage to 43.3 percent (42-for-97) on the year.
