OLEAN, N.Y. -- St. Bonaventure senior Michael Lee scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and three of his teammates scored in double figures as the host Bonnies downed Canisius College 80-64 Saturday night in the Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y. The win improves St. Bonaventure to 4-4 on the year while the Golden Griffins slipped to 0-6 with the loss.
Canisius freshman Julius Coles (right) scored a career-high 12 points in his first college start to lead the way for Canisius, while teammates Frank Turner and Greg Logins added 11 points apiece. Freshman Tomas Vazquez-Simmons posted his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with two blocks.
Canisius trailed 36-31 at the half despite shooting 27.9 percent (11-for-37) from the floor in the game's first 20 minutes. Out of the intermission, the Griffs used a 9-0 run to push the Blue and Gold into the lead at 40-36 with 17:37 left on the clock. Vazquez-Simmons scored on a lay-up moments later to give the Griffs a 42-38 cushion, but the Bonnies answered on their next two trips down the floor, with a basket from Lee and a 3-pointer from Zarryon Fereti.
Fereti's 3-pointer was a back-breaker for Canisius, as it kicked off a 10-0 run for the Bonnies over the game's next 2:30, capped by Lee's third bucket of the scoring stretch to give the Bonnies a 53-42 cushion with 11:40 to go.
"If it was a 30 minute game with two 15-minute halves, we would have been OK tonight," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "There are a lot of good things to take from this game. I thought we played hard and we were not intimidated by the environment. That's a good team over there, they have some people that play very well in key spots."
Lee finished the night with his 25 points after he went 9-for-13 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line, while Fereti added 15 points and four assists. Malcolm Eleby and D'Lancy Carter came off the bench to score 11 points apiece for the Bonnies, who shot 45.3 percent from the field for the night after connecting on 53.3 percent (16-for-30) of their shots in the second half.
Canisius out rebounded St. Bonaventure by a 42-40 count, with Vazquez-Simmons leading the way with his game-high 11 rebounds. Logins was credited with eight boards for the Griffs, while Turner wrapped up the night with a game-high eight assists.
The Griffs will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 5, when the team plays host to MAAC rival Marist in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius started five freshmen (Logins, Vazquez-Simmons, Coles, Elton Frazier and Robert Goldsberry)... The game in Olean, N.Y., was the 156th all-time meeting between the two schools... The Griffs shot a season-high 75 percent from the free-throw line, with Vazquez-Simmons making five of his six attempts from the charity stripe... Frazier was credited with a career-high three assists for the Blue and Gold.
