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Men's Basketball
Bonnies post first A-10 win, 70-64 over Rhode Island
Feb. 12, 2005
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Junior forward Patrick Lottin scored 24 points and junior guard Ahmad Smith added 18 to lead St. Bonaventure to its first Atlantic 10 Conference win of the season, a 70-64 decision over Rhode Island on Saturday night at the Reilly Center. Lottin sparked St. Bonaventure's second half come back, scoring 21 points over the final 20 minutes as the Bonnies rallied from an eight point halftime deficit. The Bonnies snapped a 10-game losing streak and posted just their second win, moving to 2-20 overall and 1-10 in the A-10. St. Bonaventure's only other win came Dec. 29 over Alcorn State. "I can't say enough about our effort tonight. The team that played tonight is an improved team that I was very proud of," said Bonnies coach Anthony Solomon. "We grew tonight in how we responded to our mistakes. Everyone did their part and contributed. We've been waiting for a night like that." Over a closely contested opening 14 minutes, the Bonnies went ahead 22-18 on back-to-back three-pointers by Kern Carter and Patrick Lottin, the second at the 6:06 mark. But Rhode Island closed the half on a 13-1 run to take a 31-23 lead at intermission. St. Bonaventure countered quickly, starting the second half with an 11-3 run. Smith's traditional three-point play at 16:05 tied the game at 34-34. The Rams led 40-38 when Lottin sparked a 10-0 run that gave the Bonnies a 48-40 lead with 9:41 to play. St. Bonaventure's top three-point shooter made a pair of three-pointers, then capped the spurt with two free throws following a technical foul on Rhode Island coach Jim Baron.
The lead grew to 10 at 57-47 on a field goal and free throw by Smith with 6:20 remaining. Rhode Island never came any closer than five points after that. St. Bonaventure held off the Rams with solid free throw shooting, going 22-27 at the line in the second half. The Bonnies shot 40 percent (18-45) overall, including 50 percent (8-16) from three-point range. They also hit 26 of their 33 free throw attempts for 79 percent. Lottin went 5-8 from three-point range and 7-7 at the free throw line. He also added four rebounds. Smith was 7-8 from the free throw line and added three assists. St. Bonaventure held Rhode Island to 32 percent (21-65) shooting, a season low for an opponent, including a paltry 26 percent in the second half. The Bonnies' 47 second half points were the most they have scored in any half this season. "Our defense limited Rhode Island 26 percent (shooting) in the second half ... that is what allowed us to score 47 points," Solomon said. "When we can rebound the first miss, we transition well to offense. And that made us very effective tonight." Bona senior forward Saulius Dumbliauskas ripped down a team-high nine rebounds - eight in the second half -- to go with three points. Freshman Michael Lee scored six points, going 4-4 at the free throw line in the second half. Wade Dunston added five points, three rebounds and three assists. The Rams won the battle of the boards, 44-37, led by 11 from Scott Hazelton. Hazelton poured in 19 points to lead the Rams. The game pitted Baron, who was head coach at St. Bonaventure from 1993-2002, against his alma mater on the school's Homecoming Weekend. Rhode Island dropped to 4-17 overall and 2-8 in conference action. The Bonnies will visit Xavier for an A-10 match-up with the Musketeers on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 7:30. GAME NOTES
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