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MEN'S BASKETBALL: La Salle's Balanced Attack Not Enough as They Fall to St. Bonaventure in Overtime

By Caleb Pfleiger, 01/14/22, 4:30PM EST

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By: Caleb Pfleiger

 

PHILADELPHIA- The La Salle Explorers faced the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in their second Atlantic 10 conference matchup of the year. The Explorers came into this matchup at 5-7 looking to earn their first A-10 victory of the season. The Bonnies, who haven't played a game since December 17, came into this match up with an impressive record of 8-3.

The first basket for the Explorers came from a scrappy offensive rebound by freshman Khalil Brantley as he assisted junior Josh Nickelberry for three from the wing. Brantley was a spark plug for the Explorers in the first half as he cut through the Bonnies defense and finished with an acrobatic layup to put La Salle up 7-5 heading into the first media timeout.

La Salle continued to impress on the offensive end as Khalil Brantley assisted senior Clifton Moore for a corner three, putting the Explorers up 12-7 with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. Moore has been the go-to scorer for the Explorers as he's averaging 24 points per game through the past three games.

La Salles junior Jack Clark made his appearance known off the bench as he had a rim rocking baseline slam to get fans at Tom Gola Arena on their feet. Clark continued to make his appearance known in the first half as he buried two late first half threes, to give the Explorers a 37-34 lead going into halftime. Clark led all scorers with 10 points, as La Salle’s bench had 15 total points to St. Bonaventure's zero.

St. Bonaventure's leading scorer on the season senior Kyle Lofton got it going for the Bonnies early in the second half, as he tallied the first three points of the second half to tie the game at 37 apiece.

La Salle’s shooters started to heat up from behind the arc as the Explorers next nine points would all come from downtown. Sophomore Anwar Gille knocked down a pair of threes and Josh Nickelberry buried one to put the Explorers up 54-44 with 12 minutes remaining in the second half.

St. Bonaventure was down by as much as 10 in the second half but that didn't take any motivation from them to complete a comeback. Senior Osun Ossunniyi pulled his team back in this contest by scoring six straight points, giving the Bonnies a 64-63 lead with 3:42 remaining in the second half. Four of Ossunniyi’s points came from big time slams to get the Bonnies team and fans fired up.

La Salle vs. St. Bonaventure. (video/Caleb Pfleiger for PSD)

La Salle and St. Bonaventure continued to exchange baskets late in the second half. Khalil Brantley dished it to sharpshooter Josh Nicklebery for three, to put La Salle up 68-66 with 1:37 remaining. Clifton Moore chipped in by hitting a hook shot to retain a 70-68 Explorer lead. St. Bonaventure’s Kyle Lofton had other plans as he buried a jumper to tie the contest at 70-70 with 30 seconds remaining and just like that we were heading to overtime.

This would be St. Bonaventure's first game this season heading to overtime, as La Salle this season had two games go to overtime and lost both. The Explorers were looking to change the narrative of that by coming away with a big conference win.

St. Bonaventure went on a 6-0 run to start overtime, fueled by senior Jaren Holmes, Kyle Lofton, and Osun Osunniyi. La Salles Josh Nickelberry knocked down two more threes in overtime, but ultimately wasn't enough as the La Salle Explorers fell to the St. Bonaventure Bonnies 80-76 in an overtime thriller. The Explorers for only the second time this season had five scorers in double figures, but it wasn't enough didn't get the job done against the Bonnies.

La Salle now falls to 5-8 on the season and currently on a four-game losing streak. The Explorers look to get back into the win column January 17th as they travel to face Big 5 rival the Saint Joseph's University Hawks.