Photo: GoBonnies.com
BY WILL POLADIAN, SPORTS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
St. Bonaventure overcame a seven-point deficit late to beat the last place George Washington Colonials 50-49 on Wednesday.
“I am happy that we found a way to win, but I was really disappointed in the way we played,” said head coach Jesse Fleming.
St. Bonaventure (11-9, 3-6 A-10) and George Washington (7-13, 0-7 A-10) went back and forth all game long as the largest lead would only end up being 7 points with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter.
Senior guard Asianae Johnson and sophomore guard Tianna Johnson made back-to-back shots for the Bonnies to cut the deficit to three with 1:30 left.
The defense would step up once again and Asianae Johnson a layup on the other side cut the lead to one with 50 seconds remaining.
As the Colonials brought the ball up the court, sophomore guard Kaitlyn Parker jumped into the passing lane and intercepted the pass. While in transition she had the ball knocked out of bounds off the Colonials.
Asianae Johnson brought the ball in the post and pulled up for a mid-range jumper but was fouled in the shot with four seconds left. She knocked down both free throws to give the Bonnies a one-point lead.
“I just gotta make the two,” said Asianae Johnson. “Honestly, I can’t miss.”
On the last possession of the game junior forward Mayowa Taiwo got the ball under the basket and missed a fadeaway floater as the clock hit all zeros and the Bonnies would escape with a victory.
“Every bad habit that we have as a team and individually came out when we kind of hit a brick wall,” said Fleming.
Asianae led the Bonnies with 20 points and shot 50% from the field while Tori Harris scored 15 points on the night. Freshman guard Maxine Engel led the Colonials with 19 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.
George Washington outshot the Bonnies 42% to 35%. The Colonials outrebounded St. Bonaventure 34-28 and had 16 turnovers to the Bonnies 14.
Next up, George Washington continues its four-game road stand as they travel to Richmond, VA to take on the VCU Rams. St. Bonaventure continues its three-game homestand against the Richmond Spiders on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
poladiwj20@bonaventure.edu
