Bonnies down Griffins, snap losing streak
Dec. 19, 2002
BUFFALO, N.Y. - St. Bonaventure snapped its five-game losing streak with a 69-57 win over Canisius on Thursday at the Koessler Center.
The 151st meeting of this storied rivalry began with Canisius scoring the first five points of the night. It was not until after sophomore Maurice Young checked into the game that the Bonnies got on the scoreboard. In his St. Bonaventure debut, Young's three-pointer at the 16:37 mark sparked a 14-2 run that put Bona ahead 14-7 with 14:24 to play in the first half. Mike Gansey made a pair of three-pointers and Patricio Prato had another in the surge.
"Moe came in and, with a lot of people watching and a lot of pressure, made a big shot to get us started," said Bona coach Jan van Breda Kolff. "He's a really intelligent kid and a guy who just has a confidence about him that we needed."
Thanks to continued hot three-point shooting and strong defense, the lead grew, climbing to 24-11 on a conventional three-point play by Marques Green with 7:55 to go. Saulius Dumbliauskas drained a jumper, then Green rained a three-pointer with eight seconds to play in the opening stanza that made it 36-17 at intermission.
St. Bonaventure made seven of 17 (41 percent) three-pointers in the first half. Canisius went 8-28 overall and 1-10 from three-point range in the first with 15 turnovers.
"We played as well in the first half as we have all season," van Breda Kolff said. "We executed, played actively on defense and knocked down our open shots."
The Bonnies extended their lead to as many as 25 points early in the second half, opening a 48-23 cushion on Green's three-pointer at 16:53.
Green finished with 19 points, six assists and four steals. He took what was to be a head-to-head battle with Canisius senior point guard Brian Dux and turned it into a non-story; Dux finished with just four points.
Prato totaled 17 points and nine rebounds with two assists. Five of his rebounds were on the offensive end. Gansey enjoyed another strong shooting and rebounding night with 14 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block.
Young hit another three-pointer and finished with six points; he wound up 2-12 from the field but added seven rebounds. Jamil Terrell also continued his recent streak of hot play with eight points and three steals. He had two thunderous dunks.
The win put to rest the demons that haunted St. Bonaventure over its eight days off leading up to Thursday's much-hyped game.
"We just needed a win. It didn't matter if it was by one or by 20 points," Prato said.
The Bonnies are now 3-5 while Canisius fell to 5-3.
"Our record is not indicative of how well we've played," van Breda Kolff said. "We feel we've been close in all of our games and so it's a good feeling tonight."
The Bonnies have less than 48 hours before they return to action. Saturday, they will play their first home game of the year when they host Kent State. Game time is 2:00 and it will be followed by a women's game versus Siena at 4:15 p.m.
"We don't have much time to be impressed or reflect," said van Breda Kolff. "It's going to be great to finally be at the Reilly Center where our fans invigorate us so much. But we're starting to see, I think, some validation for the hard schedule we're playing."
