St. Bonaventure rode superb defense and 20 points from Jalen Poyser to its fourth straight win, a 74-53 decision over Fordham on Saturday at Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, St. Bonaventure moved into a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic 10 standings with George Mason and Duquesne at 9-5. The Bonnies have four games left in the regular season, starting with a home game against Duquesne on Wednesday.
Poyser led the Bonnies’ offense on Saturday, going 4-6 from long range and 8-12 overall on his way to his top point total in A-10 action. Courtney Stockard added 12 points, Dominick Welch scored 11, LaDarien Griffin and Kyle Lofton had nine apiece and Osun Osunniyi scored eight.
The day started slowly for the Bonnies, who fell behind 10-2 less than five minutes into the game. But the defense turned things around, as the Rams managed only 12 points the rest of the half. Fordham started 4-5 from the field but went only 5-23 after that prior to halftime.
Jalen Poyser came off the bench to give St. Bonaventure a much-needed lift, as he went 3-5 from three-point range and scored 13 points in the first half. The Bonnies made six three-pointers before halftime, right on their season average.
Senior Courtney Stockard capped the first half in dramatic style when he drained a three-pointer with one second left. His shot gave the Bonnies a 32-22 lead at intermission.
That momentum seemed to fuel the Bonnies at the start of the second half, as they pushed the lead up to 19 by the 14:23 mark. Griffin’s three-point play at the 10:14 mark gave St. Bonaventure a 56-33 lead and the result was not in doubt from there.
St. Bonaventure returns home to face Duquesne next Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the Reilly Center at 7 p.m.