Hawks fall to St. Bonaventure

SAINT JOSEPH'S forward James Demery came up with a steal had a breakaway layup with 7:25 remaining in the game. His team was down seven, and could not seem to get any closer. The bucket would have put momentum squarely on the side of St. Joe's, but instead, he slipped and turned it over.

It immediately led to a corner deep ball from St. Bonaventure's Jaylen Adams on the other end that pushed the Bonnies' lead to double digits for the first time. It was just one of the daggers provided by Adams in the final minutes of the Hawks' 83-73 loss to St. Bonaventure at Hagan Arena on Wednesday night.

"I didn't see why he was open, but I'm glad he was open," St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt said with a smile.

Adams hit shots from beyond the arc in each of the next two possessions, including a contested 24-footer to keep St. Joe's (18-4, 7-2 Atlantic 10) at bay, and snap the Hawks' seven game winning streak. The sophomore guard was lethal all night long, scoring 31 points on 10-for-21 shooting, including 6-for-12 from distance. He scored 19 points in the second half.

"He's a good player who played really well," Saint Joseph's coach Martelli said. "That is not indicative of his numbers on the road. He plays better at home. But he got a rhythm going. Credit to him. He played a wonderful, wonderful game at that position and we have to guard it better."

DeAndre' Bembry did his best to keep his team in the game. He finished with a team-high 22 points, to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. He had the ball in his hands almost every possession, and put his teammates in spots to capitalize, which did not always happen.

"The missed layups," Martelli said. "Those missed layups, they get ya. They get ya for more than the two points that we miss. It's a psychological blow."

It was obvious that St. Bonaventure (14-6, 6-3) wanted to exploit the Hawks beyond the three-point line. The Bonnies set a season high in both three-pointers taken (34) and made (13). They were 38.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Hawks ranked ninth in the nation coming into Wednesday's game in three-point shooting defense, allowing opponents to make only 29 percent of their attempts.

"That's the way they play," Martelli said.

"We did relax. We did not hit them with a more physical presence on that ball," he added.

"It was just in the flow," Schmidt said. "We were 8-for-21 in the first half, and I told our guys they can't fall in love with the three, but if it is open, take it."

St. Bonaventure forced Saint Joseph's into a volume shooting game in the first 20 minutes. The Bonnies pushed the tempo and took shots from beyond the arc whenever they were available. They made 15 of their 36 field goal attempts to take a 42-35 lead into the locker rooms.

Despite it being fast and furious for most of the first half, it was a clean game. There were only two combined turnovers between the teams in the first 20 minutes, one by Shavar Newkirk and a shot-clock violation.

St. Joe's returns to action Saturday when it travels to Fordham to take on the Rams at 2 p.m.