Photo: St. Bonaventure Athletics
BY: ANDREW HALE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team picked up its first loss of the season Thursday, falling 72-67 to Utah State in Game 1 of the ESPN NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Aggies (6-0, 0-0 MW), who lead the nation in points per game, came out firing, going up 9-3 in the opening minutes.
The Bonnies (6-1, 0-0 A-10) would respond, going on a 7-0 run and taking a 10-9 lead.
Both teams would continue to trade punches throughout most of the first half, with Utah State leading for nearly 17 minutes.
However, an 8-0 run, capped off by a bouncing 3-point shot from senior guard Melvin Council Jr., gave Bonaventure a seven-point lead with 19 seconds to go in the opening half.
The Bonnies converted six of their last eight field goal attempts in the first half.
A layup from Aggies graduate guard Drake Allen with seven seconds left would cut Bonaventure’s lead to five, 30-25, going into the half.
Council Jr. led the Bonnies in points and rebounds in the first half with 11 and seven, respectively. Senior guard Chance Moore had eight first-half points and four blocks. Graduate center Noel Brown, who played limited minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, had five points and four rebounds.
“Part of it is execution, part of it is making some shots,” Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt said. “And I thought we did a decent job making shots in the first half.”
Bonaventure picked up where it left off in the first half, taking a nine-point lead early in the second half.
A crowd-erupting and-1 from Moore, putting Bonaventure up 41-33, would wind up being the beginning of the end for the Bonnies.
Following Moore’s and-1, Utah State responded, going on a 17-3 run.
“That two-three matchup, we didn’t do a great job at times of getting the ball inside,” Schmidt said. “We struggled a little bit on the perimeter.. we struggled when they went on that 17-3 run. That’s when we struggled a little bit.”
Junior guard Dasonte Bowen stopped the bleeding, converting a layup to cut the Aggies lead to 52-46. As it did for most of the game, Utah State immediately answered with a 3-pointer of its own.
With a minute and a half remaining, Bonaventure played the foul game, attempting to intentionally foul Utah State on every remaining possession. Bonaventure’s late full-court press also proved effective as Aggies turnovers led to Bonnies points.
In under a minute, Bonaventure cut Utah State’s lead to 68-63, following five points off the bench from redshirt sophomore guard Jonah Hinton. Hinton’s five points would be the lone bench points for the Bonnies.
“Jonah had a couple shots at the end, but, yeah, we need more production off the bench,” Schmidt said.
With momentum shifting in the Brown and White’s direction, junior guard, and Florida native Lajae Jones hit a 3-pointer, cutting the Aggies’ lead to three with 25 seconds left.
However, the last-minute surge would be too late as two more Utah State free throws put the Aggies in the driver’s seat, giving them their sixth win of the season.
“I thought the effort was good,” Schmidt said. “We had some rotation problems, but I thought we competed. We didn’t execute rotations and stuff… and against a team of that caliber, if you don’t do the little things, then you’re going to get hurt.”
Bowen finished the game with a team-high 15 points, shooting 50% from the field, grabbing four rebounds and racking up four assists. Council Jr. recorded a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
“It was impressive,” Schmidt said. “[Bowen] played well.”
Bonaventure shot 43% from the field and 29% from three while holding Utah State to 34% and 21%, respectively.
“We all have to get better,” Schmidt said. “In every area, driving and kicking, getting other people involved, keeping guys in front of us, ball screen. We’re far from a team that is going to win the Atlantic 10. We just got to continue working.”
The Bonnies held Utah State to its lowest point total of the season; however, the Aggies won the rebound battle and outshot Bonaventure from the free throw line.
Sophomore guard Mason Falslev led the way for the Aggies, scoring a team-high 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bonnies will play in the third-place game against Northern Iowa tomorrow. Tipoff is set for 9:00 p.m. at the State Farm Field House and will air live on ESPNU. Radio listeners can tune into the game via the Bonnies Online Network.
halea22@bonaventure.edu
