St. Bonaventure 71, No. 17 Saint Louis 68: Jordan Gathers sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Bonnies shocked the top-seeded Billikens in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinal in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Charlon Kloof and Matthew Wright scored 22 points apiece to lead ninth-seeded St. Bonaventure (18-14), which will play Saint Joseph’s in Saturday's semifinals. Youssou Ndoye added 13 points while Gathers and Marquise Simmons pitched in with five apiece.
Mike McCall Jr. posted a career-high 21 points off the bench to lead Saint Louis (26-6), which will likely earn an at-large NCAA tournament bid based on its overall season performance. Dwayne Evans had 15 points and Jordair Jett, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, finished with nine points, eight assists and six rebounds but committed six turnovers.
Wright broke a 65-all tie with a 3-pointer from the corner in transition with 38 seconds remaining following a no-call on a collision between Jett and Ndoye with Kloof also reaching in and apparently making contract with Jett’s arm on the drive. Evans sank an open 3-pointer on the other end to tie the score at 68 with 20 seconds remaining, setting up the final basket by Gathers.
Saint Louis never trailed in the first half, building a double-digit lead just 5 1/2 minutes into the game and leading by as much as 13 before taking a 38-28 lead into the break. Ndoye scored on a layup at the buzzer and the Bonnies scored the first five points of the second half to get back within five.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ndoye, a 7-footer from Senegal, had no rebounds in the first half before finishing with three. … The Bonnies won this tournament in 2012 and the Billikens won it last season. … St. Bonaventure received four points from its bench – compared to 12 for Saint Louis – and was outrebounded 35-26.
St. Bonaventure | Saint Louis | |
Charlon Kloof 22 | Scoring | Mike McCall Jr. 21 |
Charlon Kloof 6 | Assists | Jordair Jett 8 |
Charlon Kloof 9 | Rebounds | Dwayne Evans 8 |
Charlon Kloof 9 | Free Throws Made | Rob Loe 4 |
Charlon Kloof 2 | Steals | Jordair Jett 2 |
Youssou Ndoye 2 | Blocks | John Manning 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
St. Bonaventure | 71 | 51.0 | 7-12 | 12-17 | 12 | 23 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
Saint Louis | 68 | 47.3 | 7-21 | 9-13 | 16 | 33 | 3 | 8 | 14 |