By Matthew Kwitowski, Sports Staffer
No. 24 Saint Louis University dismantled St. Bonaventure University mens basketball Friday night, emptying many Reilly Center seats just after halftime as they cruised to a 97-62 win.
In the first four minutes of the game, Saint Louis led 13-5, with five different players recording points. They would then use a 14-6 run and a 13-0 run to take a 26-point lead.
With 8 minutes to go in the half, the Bonnies would try to climb back into the game, but the Billiken’s offense continued to excel.
The St. Bonaventure student section was noticeably quieter than they were at tip-off, as Saint Louis had already outplayed the Bonnies in every aspect of the game. The home crowd grew restless and impatient waiting for Bonaventure to take control of the game.
The half would end with the Billikens leading 58-26, while boos rained down from the Bonnies faithful. The 32-point deficit was the largest first half deficit Bonaventure has faced since 2009.
Saint Louis made 13 three pointers in the first half, the most in a half all season for the school.
The Bonnies got the home crowd back into the game momentarily, scoring 12 points in the first four minutes of the second half.
However, it didn’t take long for the Billikens to take the momentum back and continue to create damage from the three-point line, making a comeback a difficult task for Bonaventure.
With a Saint Louis victory firmly within reach, fans in the Reilly Center started to leave early.
One student who left with 10 minutes to go in the game said he left early as “it looked like Bonaventure wasn’t even close to making a comeback… it’s definitely discouraging… the season is starting to fall apart.”
Billiken’s sophomore forward, Ishan Sharma eviscerated the Bonaventure defense with 10 made threes — Largely contributing to St. Louis’ 19 total made threes which tied their franchise record. Redshirt Junior guard Dasonte Bowen led all Bonaventure scorers with 17 points.
With the loss, the Bonnies fall to 12-8 (1-6 A-10) while Saint Louis improves to 19-1 (7-0 A-10). The win gave the Billikens their best 20-game start since the 1993-94 season.
St. Bonaventure will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Duquesne University, while Saint Louis will return home against George Washington University. The Bonnies’ game will air on ESPN+. Radio coverage can be heard on the Bonnies Online Network, 100.1 FM Bradford & Olean, 1340 AM Jamestown, 106.9 FM Hornell, and 92.1 FM Rochester.
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