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Men's Basketball
Second half run leads men's basketball to exhibition win over Slippery Rock
Nov. 2, 2007
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Fueled by a 17-4 run to start the second half and the sharp-shooting of senior Zarryon Fereti, the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team started the 2007-08 season and the Mark Schmidt era with a 75-68 win over Slippery Rock on Friday night on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center. "I was pleased with our effort tonight," said head coach Mark Schmidt, who made his debut in front of the Bona faithful. "We got off to a slow start, but we did a good job of coming back. I told the guys before the game you have one chance to make a first impression and I was pleased with the impression we made." Fereti made the biggest impression, scoring a game-high 28 points on 7-of-13 from the field, including 5-of-10 from long range. Fereti poured 20 of his 28 in the second half and added eight rebounds. "Zarryon got us rolling in the second half and we needed that," Schmidt said. "The difference between the first and second half for him was that he took good shots and was in a rhythm in the second half." Fereti's biggest contribution came when the Bonnies opened the second half on a game-changing 17-4 run. Fereti buried three trifecta's during the spurt and scored 11 points overall as the Bonnies turned a deadlocked 33-33 halftime score into a 50-37 lead 7:36 in to the second half. Defensive pressure was also key as the Bonnies forced Slippery Rock into 2-of-11 from the field and four turnovers during the run. The Rock refused to go away as they used back-to-back three-points to cut the Bonaventure lead down to six, at 50-44. Following a 30-second timeout, St. Bonaventure regained control of the game and took its largest lead of the contest (16) thanks to a 16-6 run over the next seven minutes. Five different players registered a field goal during the run that ended with a D'Lancy Carter jumper at the 3:45 mark.
Slippery Rock was able to make it a two possession game in the final minute, but timely free throwing shooting by the Bonnies prevented any thought of a late comeback. "In the second half we brought the game to them instead of them bring it to us," said Schmidt. "Our finish to the game was disappointing because we had a control of the game and we let them back in it." Foul trouble plagued the Bonnies in the early going as Slippery Rock jumped out to an 18-12 lead 10 minutes into the game. The Bona front court was affected the most as Michael Lee and Carter each had two fouls within the opening five minutes. It was Lee's return to the game that fueled a 9-2 St. Bonaventure run as the senior forward accounted for six points, including the final lay-in for a 21-20 lead with 7:26 on the clock. The two teams traded baskets over the rest of the half as the opening 20 minutes featured six ties. Freshman Hillary Haley's runner down the lane with four seconds left squared the score once more at 33-33 heading into the half. For the game, the Bonnies shot 42 percent (25-60) from the floor compared to 39 percent (20-51) by Slippery Rock. St. Bonaventure held a slight 43-39 edge on the boards and forced The Rock in to 19 turnovers. Haley was the second of three double-digit scorers for the Brown and White. The Waldorf, Md. product connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field for 14 points. Junior Tyler Benson chipped in with 10 points off the bench in 28 minutes of action. Other notables were Carter with 10 rebounds and Lee with nine points and eight boards. Three players finished in double figures for Slippery Rock led by 13 points from Itay Levy and Joseph Vines. St. Bonaventure will begin the regular season next Friday, Nov. 9 when it travels to Boston University for a 5 p.m. |
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