By Joe Ceraulo
Men’s Basketball Beat Writer
The St. Bonaventure Bonnies outlasted St. Joseph’s in the Reilly Center Wednesday night, winning 70-67 despite three starters tallying four fouls.
Fouls weren’t the only thing that got St. Bonaventure in trouble. The team committed 17 turnovers to the Hawks’ 11.
Despite winning the turnover battle, Hawks coach Phil Martelli wasn’t happy with how his team, which averaged nine turnovers per game coming into tonight, handled the ball.
“Under 10 turnovers, we would’ve walked out of here with a win,” said Martelli. “We can’t win with 11 turnovers. We average nine, and that was the goal, to be under 10.”
St. Joe’s could have done a lot differently to win this game, particularly on the glass and at the free-throw line.
The Hawks shot just 57 percent at the line on nearly 30 attempts and were outrebounded by the Bonnies 46-33.
Junior forwards Courtney Stockard (15 points, 13 rebounds) and LaDarien Griffin (10 points, 11 rebounds) were both instrumental on the boards, as each recorded a double-double.
Despite several calls going against them, the Bonnies remained level-headed and held the Hawks to under 40 percent shooting.
“We did a good job of defending today and kept our composure,” Stockard said.
After squandering a 12-point lead early in the second half, the Bonnies desperately needed an offensive boost of their own.
It came from an unlikely source.
Junior Nelson Kaputo hit two three pointers down the stretch, including one that put the Bonnies up 66-65 with just under four minutes to play.
“Nelson’s done it before,” said Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt. “When you’re prepared for a situation and the opportunity presents itself, you’re going to have success. I’m glad he did it, but it wasn’t really a surprise.”
Senior guard Jaylen Adams, the team’s leading scorer with 16 points, was held to just three in the second half. However, his go-ahead layup, curling into the paint off a down screen with 18.5 second left, proved to be the biggest bucket of the game, putting the Bonnies up 69-67.
“We were desperate for a win,” said Schmidt.
It wasn’t easy, and it certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Bonnies got that win they were so desperate for to put the team at 3-4 in Atlantic 10 conference play.
The team returns to action Sunday, Jan. 28 at 12 p.m. to face George Washington in the Reilly Center.
