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Men's Basketball
Bonnies fall to Rhode Island, 89-77
Jan. 26, 2008
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - After failing to stop a high-octane Rhode Island offense in the first half, St. Bonaventure gave the visiting Rams all they could handle over the final 20 before falling 89-77 on Saturday night in front of 5,236 fans on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center. Atlantic 10 preseason All-Conference selection and Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List member Will Daniels scored 24 points as the Rams improved to 17-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference. Junior Jimmy Baron and senior point guard Parfait Bitee each chipped in with 18 and 16 points, respectively, while combining for 11 assists without committing a turnover. The Brown and White (6-13, 0-5) received gutsy efforts from its starting backcourt trio as seniors Tyler Relph and Zarryon Fereti along with junior Tyler Benson combined for 53 points. Fereti led the way with his fifth 20-point effort of the season, going for a game-high 26 on 5-of-9 from three-point range and 9-of-10 from the line. Relph accumulated his 16 points in various ways while adding four assists. Like Relph, Benson also knocked down three long range shots, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds. After turning in a dominating first half that resulted in a 15-point halftime lead, 50-35, Rhode Island kept the pressure on the Bonnies in the early going of the second half. The opening seven minutes of the final frame went in the favor of the visitors as they upped the lead to 64-44. Just as it seemed the game was on the brink of getting out of control, the starting Bona backcourt revived the Brown and White accounting for every point during a quick 12-1 run. Relph accounted for six points during the spurt and all three hit trifectas to close the four-minute run that cut the lead to single-digits, at 65-56 with 9:44 remaining. Rhode Island wasted little time in regaining momentum as it pushed its lead back up to 14, 72-58, scoring on three of its next four possessions in just over a minute.
The Bonnies bounced right back, this time it was the frontcourt accounting for the first two buckets of a 7-0 run. Junior D'Lancy Carter and senior Michael Lee notched back-to-back field goals in the paint capped by Benson's third three-pointer of the game. The run brought St. Bonaventure within seven, 72-65, the closest margin since the opening minutes of the game.
Just like they had all game, the Rams came right back, recording the next five points to push the lead back to double figures en route to their A-10-best 17th victory. For the game, St. Bonaventure owned a 40-35 edge on the glass. The Bonnies shot 41 percent (24-59) from the field, 39 percent from three (12-31) and 90 percent (17-19) from the charity stripe. Rhode Island committed just five turnovers while picking up 18 assists. Junior forward D'Lancy Carter contributed six points and a game-high 10 boards off the bench, while Lee finished with eight points and seven rebounds. After a pair of free throws by Fereti, the Bonnies failed to record their first field goal of the game until a Mike Lee dunk at the 13:54 mark. In the meantime, Rhode Island scored 16 consecutive points before the Brown and White's first field goal to take an 18-4 advantage. The Rams controlled the action for most of the first half and took their largest lead of the half, 42-21, with 4:13 remaining. Despite the Rhode Island dominance, the Bonnies scraped together their best spurt of the half over the final four minutes to close the gap to 15, 50-35, at the break. The Brown and White used the long range field goal to head into the locker room with momentum as Relph, Fereti and freshman Hillary Haley connected on three consecutive three-pointers to key the run. Tonight's game will be broadcast on Time Warner SportsNet in Olean (Ch. 9) and Buffalo (Ch. 13) tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. St. Bonaventure will be back in action on Wednesday night when it travels to the city of "Brotherly Love" for a 7 p.m. A-10 tilt against La Salle. |
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