Game of the Day
St. Bonaventure Bonnies 79, (#15) Dayton Flyers 72
Without Kendall Pollard in the lineup, the Flyers struggled and lost their second straight game on Saturday night. Despite a head-scratching loss to La Salle this past week, St. Bonaventure found a way to bounce back with a huge victory over the Flyers. Shooting 25-57 (43.9%) and knocking down 10-20 (50.0%) from three point range, the Bonnies managed to edge the Flyers in Dayton.
Leading the way for Dayton was surging sophomore Jaylen Adams. He dropped 31 points, dished out 6 assists, and pulled down 6 boards. In addition, the Bonnies got 15 points and 8 rebounds out of Dion Wright; Marcus Posley also finished in double digits scoring 12 points on the night. This win is going to prove to be huge when selection Sunday rolls around. The Bonnies took down a top 15 team on the road and have now won 6 of their last 7. Slowly but surely, the Bonnies are creeping their way back into the NCAA Tournament picture. Regardless of where they stand, this win serves huge for a team that’s been looking for a major victory all season long. This one’s been the biggest so far.
If one thing’s for certain, it’s that the tables have really turned on Dayton this past week. After losing on the road to St. Joseph’s, the Flyers were expected to return home and handle the Bonnies pretty easily. To their surprise, St. Bonaventure really came to play. The Flyers were led by Charles Cooke with 22 points and 7 assists; Scoochie Smith also had 18 points. Dyshawn Pierre had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Dayton struggled with its shot from downtown as it went just 5-21 (23.8%) from behind the arc. The Flyers are in need of Kendall Pollard to return in order to spark them back to their usual selves. Granted, these were some tough games this past week, but the Flyers know that they can do better than what they’ve done.
Elsewhere in A-10 Action
St. Joseph’s Hawks 93, Davidson Wildcats 99
St. Joseph’s and Davidson battled in what was an absolute shootout on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks shot 37-66 (56.1%) from the floor while the Wildcats went 30-53 (56.6%). Despite the fact that Davidson gave the ball away 14 times and allowed St. Joseph’s to take 63 shot attempts, the Wildcats went 29-38 (76.3%) from the free throw line to seal the deal. Jack Gibbs was incredible for the Wildcats as he scored 35 points and dished out 5 assists. Nathan Ekwu scored 18 points while Peyton Aldridge had 15. The Hawks were led by Isaiah Miles with 32 points, but they fell just short on Saturday. Despite winning a huge game over Dayton earlier in the week, they take a small step back with this loss, though it’s certainly nothing detrimental.
Duquesne Dukes 74, Rhode Island Rams 77
Behind solid performances from a variety of players, the Rhode Island Rams were able to hold on to get the home win on Saturday night. Jared Terrell and Jarvis Garrett were the stars of the show as they combined to score 37 points and dish out 13 assists. Hassan Martin also had a great night, putting up 19 points for Rhode Island. The Dukes played well behind 23 points from Micah Mason, but they were unable to squeak out the win down the stretch. Duquesne has been so close to getting some solid wins, but it just hasn’t found a way to pull out those victories.
Fordham Rams 76, Saint Louis Billikens
In a battle between two teams that have been struggling immensely lately, the Billikens were able to pull out the victory on Saturday night. Saint Louis shot 23-44 (52.3%) from the floor and knocked down 23 shots from the free throw line. Leading the way for the Billikens was Mike Crawford with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Fordham’s Ryan Rhoomes had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Billikens won their second straight on Saturday night despite having lost 5 straight games before that.
