By Jonathan Sawyer
Sports Editor
The Bonnies continued their lack of success down south, as they were defeated by the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans 68-65.
The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball trailed by as much as 17 in the first half. The Bonnies got in foul trouble early, picking up 13 total fouls in the first half. Senior forward Denzel Gregg and freshman forward/center Amadi Ikpeze both were on the bench with three fouls. The Bonnies cut the deficit to 10 going into the half.
Coming out of the half, the Bonnies went on a run to eventually take the lead in the game with less than 15 minutes left to go in the game, with a lay up by junior guard Jaylen Adams . The Bonnies would go up to their largest lead in three points, 47-44, but the Trojans wouldn’t go away.
With under six minutes left to go in the game the Bonnies would trail by six, 60-54, but would fight there way back in. Gregg would put back a missed shot to tie the game at 60. On the Bonnies next possession, Adams would find Gregg cutting to the basket from the corner and catch him for an alley-oop dunk to go up by two with under three minutes left in the game, 62-60.
The Trojans would knock down a three ball to go up 64-62, overtaking the last lead the Bonnies held in the game. Adams had a contested opportunity with four seconds left to go in the game and missed off the mark and give the Bonnies their second loss of the year.
The leading scorers for the Bonnies were Adams with 18 points, three rebounds and four assists, and junior guard Matt Mobley with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Idris Taqqee and freshman forward Josh Ayeni fouled out of the game.
The Bonnies shot 46 percent from the field and 19 percent from beyond the arc, their season low. The Bonnies had 15 bench points and 24 points in the paint, but gave up the ball 17 times, which translated to 12 points off turnovers for the Trojans.
Leading scorers for the Trojans were senior forward Lis Shoshi with 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists, and senior guard Marcus Johnson Jr. with 14 points and five rebounds. The Trojans shot 40 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. They also held the lead for over 27 minutes of the game to the Bonnies 8:51.
The Bonnies will be back in action tomorrow against the Central Michigan Chippewa, in their second game of the H-E-B Center Lone Star Showcase in Austin, Texas. The Bonnies and Chippewa tip off at 6 p.m.
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
