Hawks' three-pointers bury Bonnies
Feb. 22, 2003
PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's hit 14 three-pointers and used a 9-2 run late in the second half to defeat St. Bonaventure 76-72 Saturday at Alumni Fieldhouse in Philadelphia.
The loss dropped the Bonnies to fourth place in the Atlantic 10 East at 6-6. They stand one half game behind Temple, who is 6-5 and travels to Fordham tomorrow.
The Bonnies (12-13) built a 42-38 halftime lead, but saw that advantage disappear when the A-10 East-leading Hawks (19-4, 9-3 A-10) opened the second half with eight straight points.
"We had worked so hard at the end of the first half to build a four point lead," said Bona head coach Jan van Breda Kolff. "There was definitely not the bounce to our offense or defense to open up the second half."
The Bonnies regained the lead with a 7-0 run, moving ahead 60-59 on Maurice Young's three-pointer with 6:09 to play.
St. Bonaventure then lost track of St. Joe's guard Pat Carroll. Carroll, who leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 49 percent, nailed three consecutive three-pointers, the last giving the Hawks a 68-62 lead with 4:41 to play. Carroll scored a career-high 27 points and connected on 7-13 from three-point range including 6-8 in the second half.
The Bonnies closed to within three points at 70-67 on Mike Gansey's three-pointer with 39 seconds to play. The Hawks hit all six of their foul shots down the stretch to hold the lead.
"They're number two in the country in points allowed and one of the top in field goal percentage," van Breda Kolff said. "In the second half they had that stretch where they did a good job defending and some of our guys looked a little fatigued."
Junior point guard Jameer Nelson finished with 25 points and nine rebounds for Saint Joe's.
Marques Green led the Bonnies with 18 points, and also led the team with six rebounds and eight assists. Ahmad Smith finished with 14 points, and Gansey finished with 13.
Smith's 14 points all came in the first half, helping the Bonnies recover from a 22-14 deficit. The Bonnies used a 12-4 run to tie the game at 26, and closed the half with five points, including a Smith three-pointer, to take a 42-38 halftime lead.
"Ahmad stepped in the open areas and made some shots in the first half. I wish we could have bottled that up and used it in the second half," van Breda Kolff said.
The Bonnies were outrebounded 36-29 by the Hawks and had seven shots blocked.
"We didn't think we could shoot 35 three-pointers and win the game," van Breda Kolff said. "The problem was that they are a little bit longer and a little bit taller than we are."
The Bonnies return to action Wednesday, when they host George Washington in Atlantic 10 competition at the Reilly Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
