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Nov. 17, 2008

Final Stats |  Notes

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - A strong team effort on the defensive end and a career-high 21 points from Chris Matthews were just a few of the highlights on Monday night as the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team cruised to a convincing 77-54 win over Marist at the McCann Center.

The win moves the Bonnies to 2-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season and breaks a six-year streak losing streak in road openers.

"I was really impressed with our intensity throughout the entire game," said head coach Mark Schmidt. "This was a total team win. Everyone who came into the game played hard on both ends of the court and that's what we stress day in and day out."

St. Bonaventure held Marist to just a 33 percent (19-57) shooting clip from the field and 24 percent (4-17) from three-point range on the night. Combined with 24 turnovers, the Red Foxes managed less than 30 points in each half.

"We wanted to make sure we stayed in front of them because we knew they were really quick," said Schmidt. "I thought our aggressiveness made them a little passive and that's not the style they play."

The Brown and White were aggressive on the offensive end, as well, sinking 48 percent (31-65) from the floor, including 8-of-10 from long range.

Leading the attack from long range was Matthews, who sank five three-pointers for the second consecutive game. Matthews' game-high 21 points, highlighted by 14 in the first half, is a new career-high as he finished 8-of-12 from the field in 36 minutes.

Junior Jonathan Hall finished in double figures for the second straight contest. Hall filled up the stat sheet to the tune of 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. Freshman Andrew Nicholson provided a huge spark of the bench with 13 points, including 11 in the second half. Nicholson's long 6-foot-9 frame gave Marist fits in the paint as he blocked five shots and four of his six field goals came via dunks.

For the game, St. Bonaventure out-rebounded the Red Foxes by a slight 39-37 margin. The Bonnies also picked up 11 steals and had 15 assists. Aiding each of those categories was sophomore Malcolm Eleby who had a solid all-around game with six points, six rebounds, six assists and a career-best four steals.

After failing to score a point in the open 2:39, senior Tyler Benson broke the Bona drought and ignited an 8-2 run with a three-pointer from the right win. Eleby, who delivered the pass to Benson on a well-executed drive and kick, sank the next bucket followed by a three from junior Chris Matthews to make it 8-4.

Leading 13-12 with 11:56 left in the first half, St. Bonaventure embarked on a game-changing 18-5 run that absorbed over six minutes and gave the visitors a commanding 31-17 lead. During the spurt, the Bonnies held the Red Foxes to just one field goal while six different players had at least two points for the Brown and White. Matthews' third long range field goal of the half and junior Maurice Thomas' tradition three-point play highlighted the run.

Nicholson scored 11 points in the second half and had five blocks.

Marist cut the Bona lead to single-digits, 35-26, with 1:19 left to play, but, again, it was Matthews bringing the momentum back to the Bonnies with his fourth three-pointer to bump the advantage back to double figures, at 38-26. Matthews finished the first frame a perfect 4-of-4 from long range.

For the second consecutive game, St. Bonaventure took a double-digit lead, 38-28, into halftime. Led by Matthews' four trifectas, the Bonnies finished the period 6-of-6 from three and shot 43 percent (14-33) from the field. The big boost came on the defensive end, as the Brown and White limited the Red Foxes to just 32 percent (9-28) from the floor and forced 13 turnovers.

With the lead still at 10, 49-39, the Bonnies opened the game up with a 16-5 run that was capped by two thunderous Nicholson dunks. Nicholson finished with six points during the run that ended with 7:36 remaining and the Bonnies leading 65-44.

Following five straight points by Marist, the Brown and White put the game away with a 11-0 spurt that was again fueled by a pair of Nicholson throw-downs. Two of the other field goals during the run came in transition off steals as St. Bonaventure held its largest lead of the game, 76-49, with less than three minutes remaining.

Senior forward Ryan Schneider led Marist with 16 points and a game-high rebounds. The Rex Foxes fell to 0-2 with the loss.

St. Bonaventure will wrap up play in the Garden State Challenge next weekend with a pair of games at the RAC on the campus of Rutgers University. The Bonnies will open on Friday night against Delaware at 6 p.m. and will take on the host Scarlet Knights on Sunday, Nov. 23. Gametime on Sunday is set for 2 p.m. and the game can be seen live on SportsNet New York (SNY).