The late surge comes just barely as Bonnies drop the NIT tipoff opener to Utah State

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Thursday’s battle between undefeated St. Bonaventure and also-immaculate Utah State was fittingly back-and-forth, but in the end, a cold snap in the second half made the difference for the Bonnies’ late surge failed in the opening round of the ESPN NIT Tip-Off at State Farm Field House 72-67.

Four Bonnies finished in double figures: Dasonte Bowen scored his highest points of the year with 15 points and four assists. Noel Brown 15 points added while Melvin Council Jr. posted a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Chance Moore chipped in 12 points, seven boards and four blocks.

Bona opened cold and didn’t get on the scoresheet until 3:02 into the game, but her defense kept Utah State’s high-flying offense in check.

Utah State was unable to take advantage of Bona’s slow start and saw its early lead evaporate as the Bonnies went on fire before halftime.

An 8-0 run fueled by Moore led to the Bonnies hitting four field goals in a row and taking their first lead at 25-22. Overall, SBU made six of its last eight attempts from the floor in the first half and took a 30-25 lead at halftime.

Entering the day, Utah State averaged an overall success rate of nearly 54 percent from distance and nearly 42 percent from beyond the arc. In the first half, the Bonnies were able to bring those numbers down to just 24 percent (9-38) and 11 percent (2-18), respectively.

Moore starred defensively in the first half, making a career-best four shots before the game reached the 10-minute mark.

Bona (6-1) pulled ahead even further early in the second half, taking a 41-33 lead when Moore attacked the lane for the basket and injury just over three minutes into the game.

From there, however, Utah State (6-0) began to turn the tables as the Aggies went on a 13-2 run to regain the lead.

What made matters worse for the Bonnies was that Brown was dealing with foul trouble with 12 minutes left in the game as Utah State began its game-changing surge.

The Aggies extended their lead to 12, 64-52 with 2:53 left as they showed more signs of leading them to one of the best offensive performances in the country so far in the first month of the year.

Although it looked like Utah State had put the game on ice, the Bonnies had one last attack.

At eight, with the clock ticking for less than a minute, Jonah Hinton After a pass from Bowen, he scored a three-pointer, making it almost 68:63.

Council stole the throw-in and a foul sent Moore to the line, where he scored one of two goals and finished within four minutes.

Moore’s fifth foul temporarily dampened the rally, but Lajae Jones knocked down a corner three to bring the game to a 70-67 possession lead with 25 seconds left.

Bona applied pressure again, but the Aggies were able to get the ball up front, forcing the Bonnies to foul. Ian Martinez released both balls at the line, putting the game on ice for good.

Mason Falslev, one of the Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week, led the Aggies with 15 points and Martinez scored 14, although he was still six points below his season average of over 20.

GAME NOTES

• Utah State improved to 50 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the night at 34 percent, albeit just 6-28 from 3-point range. The Bonnies hit on 43 percent of their shot attempts and were 6-for-21 from distance.
• USU led the battle on the boards 44-40, including a 17-12 advantage on the offensive glass, although those chances only resulted in four second-chance points on the night.
• Bona defeated the Aggies 36-28.
• Council recorded his first double-double in a Bona jersey and was one rebound shy of his career-high of 13 twice last season while playing at Wagner.
• Utah State is receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls this week. Bona still held the Aggies 26 points below their season-to-date average of over 98 ppg.
• Bona’s 6-0 start was his best since 1973.
• Bowen delivered the second-highest scoring game of his Division I career after scoring just 17 points against Arkansas State last year at Iowa.

Quotes from head coach Mark Schmidt
“They are the best team in the country when it comes to points. They are really good. We did a good job defensively. We had a tough time against their ball screens in the middle of the pitch. We argued in the first half.” ; It wasn’t pretty, but we gave ourselves a chance, but we didn’t get it the way we needed to.

“They play this duel and they are good at it. We have to make some shots at the rim, but I thought we attacked a little better in the last five or six minutes. Our guys fought, and that’s what I like to see.”

“We have 24 hours to prepare for the next one. It’s like the Atlantic 10 tournament. That’s why we play tournaments like this. We’ll go back, get some rest, watch some video and try to win tomorrow.”



NEXT
St. Bonaventure plays loser North Texas/Northern Iowa in the third-place game Friday at 9 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

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