ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team raced out to a 19-4 lead not even seven minutes in, led by as many as 45 and received a game-high 25 points from senior Demitrius Conger to cruise to a 104-61 victory over Mansfield in an exhibition tilt Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center.
The Division II Mountaineers never led, and had the contest tied on just two occasions as the Bonnies placed five players in double-figure scoring in their only tune-up before the regular-season slate.
The well-balanced SBU offensive attack received 14 points from sophomore center Youssou Ndoye, 11 from guard Eric Mosley and 10 each from Charlon Kloof and Michael Davenport as SBU scored 100 in a regulation 40 minutes for the first time since Dec. 31, 2002 against Ohio.
An up-tempo, pressing Bona team forced Mansfield into 21 turnovers, which the Brown and White converted into 22 points. The Bonnies recorded 23 fastbreak points, and also out-scored the Mountaineers in the paint, 54-38.
Conger’s game-high point total was accompanied with nine rebounds to go along with five assists against no turnovers. Ndoye also corralled seven boards as part of SBU’s 42-35 rebounding edge.
After shooting exactly 50 percent from the floor in the first half (16-32), Bona connected at a blistering 62-percent clip in the second frame (21-34) en route to a 56 percent total for the game. The Bonnies were able to work their way to a slew of high-percentage shots as they recorded seven dunks on the afternoon, including three from Ndoye.
Making their first appearances in competitive game action in nearly a year following injuries last year, Marquise Simmonsscored nine points and grabbed five rebounds, while three of Davenport’s four caroms were offensive. Both players came off the bench, with Simmons playing 17 minutes and Davenport logging 19 minutes of action.
Mansfield was led by Utti Onyema, who recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Bell and Brad Williams each added 11 points for the Mountaineers, who shot 41 percent from the floor but just 20 percent from beyond the 3-point line (3-15).
The contest marked the fifth straight year that the Bonnies and Mountaineers have squared off in an exhibition game, with SBU claiming a win in each outing.
St. Bonaventure officially tips off its 2012-13 season next Friday evening at 7 against Bethune-Cookman. The 2012 NCAA and Atlantic 10 Championship banners will be unveiled prior to the contest. For tickets, please visit GoBonnies.com/Tickets or call the Ticket Office at 716-375-2500.
GAME NOTES: Conger was a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line, and SBU as a team was 22-28 (78.6 percent) … Bonaventure recorded an assist on 24 of its 37 field goals … the Bonnies only turned the ball over 10 times … attendance was listed at 2,637 … Mansfield struggled from the line, shooting 10-21 (47.6 percent) … technical difficulties prevented the first half from being streamed, and changes are being made to prevent future issues.
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