St. Bonaventure Basketball: 3 takeaways from setback at Saint Louis

In what may ultimately be the biggest game of the Atlantic 10 regular season, the Saint Louis Billikens finally recorded their first conference win of the season – and it could not have come against a more pivotal opponent than St. Bonaventure Basketball.

In a 70-59 romp – in a game that, bizarrely, was closer but never truly felt that close – the Billikens handed St. Bonaventure its first loss since December 30th, all the while upping their A-10 record to 1-2 – a desperately-needed victory for Saint Louis after enduring a strenuous month-long pause and an 0-2 start to their conference schedule.

Powered by a 21-point performance from Javonte Perkins, the Billikens – typically reliant on their inside game – instead enjoyed great success from beyond the arc, draining 40.7% (11-27) of their long-range bombs en route to averaging 1.09 points per possession.  Joining Perkins in the double-digit column was Demarius Jacobs off the bench with 11 points – while four other Billikens recorded between seven to nine points.

The Bonnies, meanwhile, got solid performances out of three members of their highly-touted starting five, with First Team All-Conference caliber guard Kyle Lofton leading the way behind 17 points, five assists, and five steals.  Joining him were Jaren Holmes (12 points) and Jalen Adaway (10 points).

For the Billikens, this win keeps their at-large hopes alive after disastrous losses to Dayton and La Salle – while it absolutely damages those aspirations for a St. Bonaventure squad that played just two non-conference games and does not have – at the moment, at least – many more scheduled opportunities to pick up quality wins.

With Saint Louis – who, entering the A-10 season, was the consensus favorite in the conference – knocking off the top team in the league, that top spot is now up for grabs.  At 9-2 overall and 7-2 in the A-10, the Bonnies are still in contention for that spot – but with few opportunities left to bolster their at-large hopes, they will need to fix some crucial issues – particularly with the A-10 Tournament looming large.