Gathers' buzzer-beater gives Bonnies upset of Saint Louis
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Jordan Gathers knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift St. Bonaventure to a 71-68 upset of No. 18 St. Louis on Friday, knocking the top-seeded Billikens out of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Gathers' shot was the third 3-pointer made in the last 39 seconds of the game and set up a meeting with Saint Joseph's in Saturday's semifinals. The Hawks beat Dayton later Friday.
Dwayne Evans had just tied the score for St. Louis on a 3-pointer at the other end but couldn't get out quick enough on Gathers, who broke free up top to get into position for Charlon Kloof's pass.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gathers said it was the first game-winning shot of his career.
"When I let it go, I knew it was going in," he said.
Matthew Wright scored 22 points for St. Bonaventure (18-14) and made three key 3-pointers in the second half, including one from the right corner for a 68-65 lead with 38.2 seconds left.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier, he made back-to-back threes -- the first to give St. Bonaventure its first lead, and the second to make it a 57-52 game with nine minutes left, capping a 10-0 run.
Kloof also scored 22 for the ninth-seeded Bonnies, who opened the tournament with an 82-72 win over La Salle on Thursday to stop a four-game losing streak. Youssou Ndoye added 13 points in the win.
Mike McCall Jr. led Saint Louis (26-6) with 21 points, Evans scored 15 and Jordair Jett had nine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Billikens coach Jim Crews said his team had trouble with St. Bonaventure's 1-3-1 zone in the second half.
"Their zone bothered us in terms of being in rhythm," he said. "We just didn't get guys in the right spots in a consistent way. I really don't know why, but we were having problems with that. So here we are."
St. Louis was trying to win the A-10 regular-season and tournament titles for the second season in a row.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Billikens clinched the regular-season title on Sunday when Jett's layup with 3.4 seconds left beat Massachusetts to snap a three-game losing streak.
Jett's turnover in the lane led to Wright's late 3-pointer for the lead. Jett looked like he was fouled on the play -- Kloof hit him across the arm -- and he lost the ball after running into Ndoye.
The Billikens used an 8-0 run to take an early 18-6 advantage and led by as many as 13 in the first half. They had a 38-28 lead at halftime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Bonnies were 6-for-9 on 3-pointers in the second half, with Wright going 5-of-7.
Game Notes
Saint Louis beat VCU in last year's final to win its first conference tournament title in 13 years.