ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure University men's basketball team fell to Youngstown State, 79-71, in the season opener Monday night at the Reilly Center.
Zach Philipkoski led all scorers with 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting, including four 3-pointers to go along with four assists and three rebounds. Benjamin Bill finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Brown and White while Taj Au-Duke chipped in 12 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
The Penguins (1-0) were able to jump out to an early lead Monday night, taking a 9-4 edge over the Bonnies in the opening five minutes of the contest.
Bona's, however, used a 7-0 spurt capped off by a Philipkoski three to battle back to take its first lead of the game, 11-9, with just over 14 minutes to play in the first half.
Youngstown State held the Bonnies without a point for over a three-minute stretch midway through the first half to grab a 23-17 advantage over the Brown and White.
The Bonnies (0-1) tied the game at 25-25 a few minutes later when Au-Duke grabbed a steal and found Ilia Ermakov on the break for an easy layup.
The hosts built a 31-26 lead late in the first half as part of a 14-3 run.
The two sides traded baskets before Ermakov knocked down a 3-pointer with under 10 seconds left in the half, giving the Bonnies a 36-32 edge at halftime.
It was an even first five minutes of the second half as neither team was able to gain an advantage.
Tied at 47-47 with just over 12 minutes to play, Youngstown State got a pair of threes from Linus Holstrom to take a six-point lead over the Brown and White.
The Penguins lead grew to nine after another Holstrom three before Philipkoski's layup cut the deficit back to seven with 8:31 to play.
A few possessions later, Philipkoski came up big once again for the Bonnies, converting a three from the corner as he was fouled. The senior made the free throw to tie the game, 60-60, with 5:45 showing on the clock.
The Bonnies retook the lead on the next possession when Bill grabbed the offensive rebound and went back up for two, giving the hosts a 63-60 lead.
Holstrom and Philipkoski traded 3-pointers before Dom Aekins knocked down a triple, tying the game at 66-66.
The Penguins grabbed the lead back on the next possession and would never trail again.
Bona's cut the deficit to two, 72-70, with 52 seconds to play, but Holstrom made a three on the other end to put the Penguins back up five, forcing the Bonnies to foul.
Youngstown State went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to ice the game.
GAME NOTES
- The Bonnies finished the game shooting 28-for-60 (46.7 percent) from the floor while Youngstown State shot 26-for-67 (38.8 percent) from the field.
- The Penguins won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Bonnies, 47-38.
- Monday's contest featured eight lead changes and 12 ties.
- Ryan Kalambay was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in 10 minutes off the bench.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MIKE MACDONALD
"Credit to Youngstown State. I thought they hit big shots when they had to hit big shots. I kind of rolled the dice at the end going to the zone because I thought the zone had kept them off balance. We talk about how you can affect winning. We didn't affect winning with our free throw shooting and we didn't affect winning with our defensive rebounding. If we had done a better job of that in those areas, that's where you win a game right there."
UP NEXT
The Bonnies head out on the road for the first time in 2026-27, traveling to take on Canisius Saturday, Nov. 7. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. in Buffalo.
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