(Photo: Christopher Cook)
BY NATHAN SOLOMON, SPORTS EDITOR
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Senior guard Kyle Lofton scored 21 points and senior forward Dominick Welch scored 20 off six 3-pointers, but the St. Bonaventure Bonnies fell victim to an upset of the Northern Iowa Panthers on Saturday, losing 90-80.
“[Northern Iowa] came in and played really well,” coach Mark Schmidt said. “We just couldn’t get any stops when we needed to get stops. Sometimes they hit tough shots, [but] sometimes we gave up easy jump shots”.
St. Bonaventure (5-1) jumped out to an 18-10 lead just six minutes in, but Northern Iowa (2-3) roared back to take a 24-22 lead after just six points in seven minutes for the Bonnies.
A Welch 3-pointer tied the game at 30, but Northern Iowa junior guard AJ Green exploded on a 17-1 run of his own in the final three minutes of the half to give the Panthers a 47-34 lead. Green finished with 35 points off 9-of-15 shooting from deep.
“He’s a heck of a player,” Schmidt said of Green. “He has that reputation for a reason, and it showed. He hit some big shots. He’s a talented kid”.
The Bonnies fell behind by 19 early in the second half, but a 26-7 St. Bonaventure run sparked by a pair of Welch 3-pointers tied the game at 62 with 10:49 to play. However, Northern Iowa slowly inched ahead and never surrendered its lead after the Bonnies quickly tied it.
“We didn’t do a good job getting to the offensive glass,” Schmidt said. “We gotta get our threes, fours and fives getting to the glass more. We shot 42% [from the field], there’s a lot of misses up there and we’re not going and getting them”.
Green’s 35 points tied his career-high, and his nine 3-pointers exceeded his previous career-high of seven made in a single game. Forward Austin Phyfe and guard Nate Heise each added 15 points for the Panthers.
For the Bonnies, each of the five starters scored in double-figures led by Lofton’s 21 and Welch’s 20.
“When [Welch] is shooting the ball well, we’re that much better offensively,” Schmidt said. “I thought he had a better second half than a first half”.
Northern Iowa outrebounded St. Bonaventure, 41-29, and shot 51% from the field and 46% from deep. The Bonnies shot just 42% from the field.
Next up, St. Bonaventure hosts Coppin State as the second of four consecutive games at the Reilly Center. Coppin State is fresh off a 70-68 loss to East Carolina.
“We got to get better,” Schmidt said. “We aren’t a finished product… we have so much room for improvement in all areas”.
Northern Iowa concludes its three-game road trip on Wednesday at Bradley.
solomonj20@bonaventure.edu
