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Men's Basketball
Saint Joseph's uses big second half to pull away from Bonnies
Feb. 13, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Saint Joseph's used a 22-3 run that stretched from the end of the first half well into in the second half to pull away from St. Bonaventure for a 81-56 win on Wednesday night at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. Junior Ahmad Nivins became the third current Hawk to surpass 1,000 career points, leading all scorers with 18 points and six rebounds. As a team, Saint Joseph's shot 58 percent (29-50) from the floor as four of its five starters finished in double figures. A-10 Player of the Year candidate Pat Calathes added 15 points, while classmate Robert Ferguson scored 12. Junior Tasheed Carr passed out seven assists to go along with his 11 points. After boasting nine players in double-digits the last two games, senior Zarryon Fereti was the lone double figure scorer for the Bonnies with 15 points. The Brown and White scored a season-worst 20 points in the second half resulting in its worst scoring output in A-10 action. With the win, the Hawks avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season and improve to 16-7 overall and 7-2 in the A-10. The loss drops St. Bonaventure to 7-16 and 1-8 in league play heading into Saturday's game against George Washington at the Reilly Center. The visiting Bonnies used the three-ball to keep it a one possession game through the opening eight minutes. Despite allowing Saint Joseph's to come away with points in six of its first seven possessions, the Brown and White drilled four three-pointers in its first five field goals to weather the storm. Fereti sank all three of his trifectas and scored 11 points in the early going as the Bonnies trailed 17-16 with 12:31 left in the half. Still trailing by one, Fereti came down awkwardly on his left ankle and was forced to the bench for the remainder of the half. Initially, the Hawks took advantage, going on a 9-2 run after Fereti's injury to take an eight-point edge, at 26-18. The Saint Joseph's lead remained eight, 32-24, with 5:25 to play, but a short-handed and resilient Bona club refused to go away.
The Bonnies put together an 11-3 run to tie the game for the second time in the half with 2:03 remaining. Five different players accounted for points during the run, but it was the defensive ball pressure of freshman Malcolm Eleby that energized the Bonnies. Eleby hit a pair of free throws to end the run and tie the game at 35-35, but also forced a pair of Hawk turnovers and came away with a defensive rebound. After a costly turnover with the game tied resulted in an open three-pointer by Tasheed Carr made 38-35, Saint Joseph's received a bit of good luck as the clock expired. Calathes' three-point effort in the final possession hit off the back of the rim and caromed as high as the shot clock and dropped straight down through the hoop to give the Hawks a 41-36 lead at the half. The momentum of Calathes' shot and the final minute of the first half stuck with Saint Joseph's to begin the final frame as it reeled-off the opening 11 points of the frame and 16 of the first 18 to take a commanding 57-38 just under six minutes in. Combined with the run to end the first half, the Hawks produced a 22-3 run over a 6-minute, 49 second-span. St. Bonaventure registered its first field goal nearly seven minutes into the second half as freshman Matt Morgan found junior Tyler Benson underneath for the easy two. The Brown and White were never able to find their way back into the game as the Hawks cruised to their 16th win of the season. After shooting 48 percent (11-23) in the first half, St. Bonaventure made just six field goals in the final frame to finish with a 38 percent (17-45) clip. The Hawks broke the Bonnies four-game streak in which they had out-rebounded their opponent with a 34-22 margin on the boards. Game Notes
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