Saint Louis surprises Bonnies in closing seconds, 56-54
Nov. 30, 2002
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Chris Sloan hit two free throws with 3.1 seconds remaining to give St. Louis a 56-54 win over St. Bonaventure Saturday at Blue Cross Arena.
Sloan's winning points came three seconds after Bonnies junior guard Marques Green tied the game on a driving layup. It looked as if Green's heroics would send the game into overtime, but St. Louis quickly inbounded the ball to an open Sloan at half court. He drove to the basket and forced Bona sophomore Mike Gansey to foul him.
The Bonnies had one last chance, but could not get off a desperation heave before the buzzer and fell for the second straight game to move to 2-2 on the season.
The Bonnies held the lead in the second half until St. Louis guard Marque Perry hit two free throws with 28 seconds remaining after a foul by Joe Shepherd.
The Bonnies took a 29-26 lead into halftime and the game stayed close the rest of the way. Senior guard Joe Shepherd hit back-to-back threes to give the Bonnies their biggest lead at 48-41 with 8:17 remaining, bringing the crowd of 6,575 to its feet. St. Bonaventure then hit only three shots the rest of the way and went scoreless for nearly five minutes before Green's tying basket.
"We had opportunities down the stretch that we just didn't convert," said Bonnies head coach Jan van Breda Kolff. "It's frustrating because we feel that we have scorers. Unfortunately, our scorers have fallen into a bit of a slump the last two games and our other guys who normally feed off of them are pressing a bit."
The Billikens went 5-for-15 from three-point range, but they hit the shots down the stretch. Drew Diener hit a three to cut the Bonnies lead to 52-49 with 4:43 left, and then tied the game at 52 on a shot with 2:08 to play.
"Diener hit those two threes deep in the corners with the shot clock running down," van Breda Kolff said. "You have to give them credit because they made tough shots."
St. Louis (1-2) also successfully kept the game's tempo at its preferred slow pace. The Billikens committed only 16 turnovers, a low number for a Bona opponent.
"They are one of the few teams left in the country who plays that (slow paced) way," van Breda Kolff said.
Green led the Bonnies with 14 points, four assists, and three steals. Shepherd was the only Bonnie to join Green in scoring double figures, finishing with 10 points. Shepherd played an active game on defense as well, finishing with four steals.
The Bonnies shot 40 percent for the game (22/55) and finished 6-19 from three-point range. They also struggled to get to the line, finishing 4-for-4 with no free throws in the second half.
The Bonnies lost the rebounding battle, 32-25, and were outrebounded 18-11 in the second half.
Perry and center Kenny Brown led the Billikens' attack. Brown led the way with 16 points while Perry, a preseason All-Conference USA choice, finished with 15.
"We'll learn from this," said Green. "We had every chance to win this game, but we'll bounce back."
Next week, the Bonnies will begin a four-game road trip starting in Boston on Dec. 4 against Boston College. The swing continues Dec. 7 at #4 Alabama, at Davidson Dec. 10, and at Canisius Dec. 19.
