PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team suffered heartbreak on Tuesday evening inside Tom Gola Arena, falling in an overtime Atlantic 10 classic to St. Bonaventure, 80-76.
 
The Explorers fall to 5-8 (0-3 Atlantic 10) while the Bonnies open their A-10 campaign with a win to move to 9-3.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Explorers jumped out to a quick 7-2 start to begin the contest, both sides soon showing suffocating defenses that limited both offenses under 35% from the field early.
• Coming out of the U16 media timeout with teams tied at 7-7, the Explorers burst ahead with a 7-0 run, Jack Clark hammering down a slick feed from Khalil Brantley – making his first career start – that found the redshirt-junior wide open for the flush. The lead extended to 16-7 after an acrobatic Brantley layup before the Bonnies finally added to their tally.
• St. Bonaventure climbed back into the contest, leveling the Explorers on four separate occasions over 10 minutes of play but finding themselves unable to find a lead since the 2-0 mark. An 8-0 Explorer run – six points coming from deep from Clark – regained a 35-27 advantage for La Salle with 2:27 left in the opening half.
• The Bonnies made a late run, trimming the deficit to 37-34 to enter the locker rooms at half.
• After a technical assessed on the Explorers in between the half and an early Bonnie bucket, the Explorers again went on a burst, knocking down nine-straight points on four possessions, going perfect from the field in the spurt. Anwar Gill knocked down his first five points of the night in that run, tallying his fourth assist on a fast break dunk to Brantley.
• La Salle increased the lead to 54-42 after back-to-back triples from Gill and Josh Nickelberry, giving the Explorers their largest lead of the night.
• Heading into the U8 media timeout, the Explorers were able to keep the Bonnies at bay as Gill eclipsed the double-digit mark with a floater in the paint to put the Explorer lead at 63-54.
• The preseason A-10 favorites mounted an 8-0 run to cut the lead to one, and would take their first lead since 2-0 after an Osun Osunniyi put back dunk gave the visitors a 64-63 lead.
• The Explorers responded, both teams trading buckets as Nickelberry's three gave the Explorers a 68-66 lead. Up 70-68 after Moore's bucket dropped, Kyle Lofton hit a step back jumper to tie the game with La Salle getting a chance for the last attempt. Gill's effort bounced off the front of the rim with 0.6 seconds on the clock, forcing the two teams to head into overtime.
• With the Bonnies grabbing as much as a six-point lead heading into the final minute of the extra frame, Nickelberry hit back-to-back treys sandwiching a Bonnie triple to cut the deficit to three. Forcing a turnover, the Explorers were given a chance with 11 seconds left to tie the game. The hot-handed Nickelberry received the inbound pass and his effort clattered the rim as St. Bonaventure came down with the rebound and headed to the foul line.
• The Bonnies made one of two at the line, pushing the lead to two possessions as Brantley's half-court heave hit the back iron as the visitors snuck out of Gola with an 80-76 win.

 
GAME NOTES

• As a team, La Salle finished 31-76 (40.8%) from the field and 12-37 (32.4%) from deep, assisting on 21 of the team's 31 baskets. St. Bonaventure shot 27-63 (42.9%) on the night.
• Moore continues to find a rhythm on offense, tying for a team-high 17 points on the night. The Ambler, Pa. native secured his second-straight double-double with 10 rebounds. Nickelberry joined Moore in his first game back in action after missing out on the VCU game, scoring an additional 17 points.
• Brantley has taken advantage of his extended minutes over the last two games, finishing his night with 10 points and eight assists – a career-high. The rookie surpassed his previous high of four assists in the first half, only one turnover to his name in 42 minutes of action.
• Gill was hampered early with two fouls that kept him out of the majority of the first half. The sophomore responded, scoring all 10 of his points in the second half while finishing with seven assists. Gill knocked down two three-pointers, the first time in his Explorer career.
• Clark finished with 10 points on the night, while Matt McFarlane posted a career-high eight points on 3-6 from the field. McFarlane entered with just 14 points on the season.
• La Salle found itself on the wrong side of a 24-2 advantage on the charity stripe, receiving its only trip to the line at the 8:57 mark in the second half.
• The Explorer bench outscored the Bonnies 18-0, all five starters for St. Bonaventure playing at least 42 minutes.
• Kyle Lofton led the Bonnies with 18 points and eight assists, while Osunniyi finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

 
UP NEXT

• The Explorers get a six-day break before heading across Philadelphia, taking on Saint Joseph's in an A-10 matchup on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
• The Monday, January 17 matchup is set for action on CBSSN, tip set for 4:30 p.m.