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Men's Basketball
Hampton outguns St. Bonaventure, 89-74
Dec. 20, 2006
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Hampton used superb shooting and rebounding to take an 89-74 win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night at the Reilly Center. Hampton led virtually from start to finish to hand the Bonnies (3-8) their sixth consecutive loss. Point guard Rashad West and forward Matt Pilgrim did most of the damage for the Pirates, combining for 46 points. West led all scorers with 28 while Pilgrim, a freshman playing in only his second game, had 18 points and eight rebounds. Hampton is also 3-8 on the year. The Bonnies trailed 43-37 at halftime but cut the Pirates' lead down to 61-58 just over eight minutes into the second half. Hampton responded with a 9-2 run to go ahead 70-60 with 8:10 remaining. West capped that run with one of his four three-pointers. Pilgrim and Kevin Clark effectively ended any hopes of a St. Bonaventure comeback. Pilgrim first drilled a three-pointer, then he added a layin a minute later. Clark finished off the 7-0 run with a dunk that put Hampton ahead by 16 at 78-62 with 6:20 remaining. "Hampton had some stretches where they really surged," said Bonnies coach Anthony Solomon. "Certainly we expected to play better than we did tonight. But, give Hampton some credit ... they had a lot to do with the outcome." Hampton led throughout the first half. The Pirates' largest lead was nine points at 32-23 with 4:47 to go until intermission. St. Bonaventure came back with a 12-3 run to cut its deficit down to 36-35, but Hampton regrouped to take a 43-37 lead at halftime. "That last three minutes of the first half ... they were able to seize the momentum going into halftime, when I thought we had a chance to do that," Solomon said. Hampton capitalized on the Bonnies' recent rebounding struggles, outrebounding the hosts 44-22. The Pirates collected 16 offensive rebounds. The visitors also made 58 percent (33-57) of their shots from the field and turned the ball over only 15 times, well below their season average. Hampton went 17-28 (60 percent) from the field in the second half.
Junior forward Michael Lee led St. Bonaventure with a career high 24 points. He also collected six rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Zarryon Fereti added 15 points, but scored just two in the second half. Senior center Paul Williams scored 14 points and led the Bonnies with eight rebounds, and junior guard Tyler Relph added 12 points. St. Bonaventure's next game is this Saturday, Dec. 23, at Canisius. Tip-off will be at 2:00. |
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