St. Bonaventure upsets No. 13 Dayton 79-72
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Jaylen Adams matched his career high with 31 points and hit the big shots in the final 36 seconds, leading St. Bonaventure to a 79-72 victory against No. 13 Dayton on Saturday, the Bonnies' first road win over a ranked team in their history.
Adams' 3-pointer with 36 seconds to go snapped a 72-72 tie. He added four free throws in the closing seconds to help the Bonnies (18-7, 10-4 Atlantic 10) pull off an improbable win.
The Flyers (21-5, 11-3) were coming off a 79-70 loss at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday. They hadn't lost consecutive games in their last 77 games, the third-longest active streak behind Villanova and Kansas. Plus, the Flyers hadn't lost a home conference game since Jan. 29, 2014, winning 20 in a row.
The Bonnies pulled it off by opening the game with a 15-5 spurt — Adams hit two 3s — and led most of the way. Adams played the entire game, went 8 of 19 from the field, made all of his 10 free throws and had six rebounds and six assists.
The Bonnies are 3-35 all-time against ranked teams away from home. The other two wins came at neutral sites, according to STATS.
The Bonnies held a lead for most of the first half, quieting the crowd at the University of Dayton Arena. Adams’ 3-pointer with a second left in the half put the Bonnies up 40-36.
Foul problems started building up for the Bonnies at the start of the second half. Denzel Gregg got his fourth with 14:12 left, giving the Bonnies three players with at least three fouls. Charles Cooke converted a three-point play that gave Dayton a 54-52 lead, its first since the opening minute.
The Bonnies responded with a 7-0 run and kept a slim lead until Steve McElvene’s putback tied it 52-52 with 58 seconds left.
That’s when Adams took over, scoring the last six points of the game.
TIP-INS
St. Bonaventure: It was the Bonnies’ first game against a ranked team this season. They won their only game against a ranked team last season, beating VCU. The Bonnies are 13-60 all-time against ranked teams.
Dayton: Junior forward Kendall Pollard missed his third straight game with a sore knee.
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure: Hosts Duquesne on Wednesday.
Dayton: At Saint Louis on Tuesday.
GALLERY: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEK IN COLLEGE HOOPS