The St. Bonaventure Bonnies put forth a spirited effort in the first round of the NIT Tip-Off in Florida but fell to Utah State 72-67 on Thanksgiving. It marked the Bonnies (6-1) first loss of the season.
After leading by five at halftime, the Bonnies went cold in the second half, as the Aggies outscored them by 10 in that half.
Sophomore guard Mason Falsev led Utah State with 15 points, going 5 of 12 from the field.
Junior guard Dasonte Bowen paced the Bonnies in scoring with 15 points, going 6 of 12 from the field.
At one point, St. Bonaventure had a nine-point lead. However, a theme throughout the game that ended up leaning the game in Utah State’s favor was offensive rebounding. Utah State had 17 offensive rebounds to St. Bonaventure’s 12, many of which turned into points for the Aggies.
Similarly, a lot of these offensive rebounds came on the same play.
St. Bonaventure takes on Northern Iowa at 9 p.m. ET today on ESPNU. The Bonnies are currently favored by 1.5 points. If they want to come out of this tournament with a third-place finish, the Bonnies need better control defensive rebounds.
