Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: WILL NUNN; CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SPORTS EDITOR
In its first home game against a nationally-ranked team since the 2018-19 season, the St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team was trounced by No. 24 Saint Louis University 97-62 Friday at the Reilly Center.
The Billikens (19-1, 7-0 A-10) were paced by sophomore forward Ishan Sharma, who torched the Bonnies defense, scoring a career-high 29 points, shooting 9-of-12 from beyond the arc in 24 minutes off the bench. His nine 3-pointers tied the school record. He was complemented by redshirt sophomore guard Trey Green, who scored 15 points, shooting 5-of-10 from three. Sophomore guard Amari McCottrey added 12 points and four rebounds.
Five Billikens scored at least nine points and each of them knocked down at least one 3-pointer.
The Bonnies (12-8, 1-6 A-10) were led offensively by redshirt junior guard Dasonte Bowen, whose season-high 17 points led the team. Junior guard Darryl Simmons II added 12 points.
3-point shooting was a major factor in both the Billikens’ success and the Bonnies’ struggles. Bonaventure shot a season-worst 18.2% from deep, making just four of its 22 attempts. Saint Louis tied their program record with 19 makes from beyond the arc, shooting 57.6% on 33 attempts. The 97 points and 19 made 3-pointers are both the most the Bonnies have given up this season.
Saint Louis connected on its first three 3-pointers to jump out to a 13-5 lead within the first four minutes of the game and never looked back. The Billikens led 58-26 at the half and led by as many as 38 points in the wire-to-wire win.
The Bonnies will look to bounce back when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. for a matchup with Duquesne University on Wednesday, Jan. 28. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast live on the Bonnies Online Network.
