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Men's Basketball
Smith, Bonnies end road frustration with last-second win at Duquesne
Feb. 25, 2006
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Ahmad Smith made two free throws with three seconds left to give St. Bonaventure a 77-76 win at Duquesne on Saturday night at the Palumbo Center. The win kept St. Bonaventure's slim hopes of an Atlantic 10 Tournament berth alive and ended a streak of 24 straight road losses in conference games. Smith's free throws saved his club after the Bonnies had seen a 17-point lead slip away. St. Bonaventure led 60-43 with 10:12 remaining after back-to-back scores by Smith. But Duquesne slowly chipped away at the lead by getting hot from long range. Duquesne used a 13-3 run to cut its deficit to 65-62 on Chauncey Duke's three-pointer with 3:42 left. The Dukes wound up 6-10 from three-point range in the second half. A three-pointer by Dukes center Ronnie Thomas made it a one-point game at 75-74 with 1:06 left. After Paul Williams missed a layup, Bryant McAllister gave Duquesne its first lead of the game when he was fouled by Smith and made two free throws with 19 seconds left. The Bonnies called timeout to set up a final play. Smith drove the lane and was fouled by Thomas with three ticks left on the clock. Smith then calmly sank both free throws. "I'm happy for our young men because many a time games like this have not gone our way," said Bonnies coach Anthony Solomon. St. Bonaventure started the game well, employing pressure defense that, after a free throw by A.J. Hawkins at the 12:14 mark, saw the visitors open a double-digit lead at 17-7. The Bonnies forced Duquesne into numerous last-second shots and then scored on fast-break chances on the other end. St. Bonaventure was ahead 36-20 but went scoreless over the final 5:03 of the opening half to allow Duquesne back into the game. The Dukes closed the half on an 8-0 run to make it 36-28 at intermission.
Sparked by Isiah Carson, the Bonnies started the second half well. Carson had two field goals and assisted on three others in the first five minutes of the second stanza to help the Bonnies maintain their early lead. St. Bonaventure is now 8-17 overall and 2-12 in the Atlantic 10, moving out of a tie with the Dukes for last place. The eight wins is the most recorded by the Bonnies in Solomon's three seasons as head coach. Duquesne is 3-22 overall and 1-13. Smith led all scorers with 23 points. Michael Lee added 17. Junior center Paul Williams recorded his fifth double-double of the year with 14 points and 14 rebounds. He also added three blocks. St. Bonaventure's last road win against an Atlantic 10 Conference opponent was on Feb. 8, 2003, against Richmond. St. Bonaventure, which has two games remaining, will host sixth-ranked George Washington on Wednesday, March 1, at the Reilly Center. Tipoff will be at 7:00. |
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