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ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -- With the outcome long decided, the green light finally came for Osun Osunniyi.
For four years, the Bonnies center has put up dominant numbers but the opportunity to shoot from long range had only come with shot after shot in practice and warmups.
But, with the Bonnies leading by 14 and just 1:12 to play Tuesday night, Osunniyi let his second career 3-point attempt fly. It caught nothing but net as the crowd roared in approval.
Fun moments have prevailed for the Bonnies during their six-game winning streak which continued as the hosts downed Rhode Island, 73-55.
St. Bonaventure improves to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in Atlantic 10 play with the victory, reaching double-digit conference wins for the eighth straight year.
Jalen Adaway fueled the attack with a game-high 23 points, just two off his career-high. Osunniyi finished with 14 points and nine rebounds; Kyle Lofton delivered 12 points and five assists.
"Before the game, I was telling the guys to treat this like a tournament game. I'm proud of how aggressive we all came out," Adaway said. "We all know time is running up and we're just trying to leave it all out there every game."
A ragged start for both teams brought a wait for nearly four minutes for either side to see the ball go through the hoop. In the opening minutes, the only points came on a goaltending call against the Bonnies and a 4-2 score stood five minutes in.
The Bonnies eventually found traction thanks to Adaway who delivered 14 of the team's first 25 points and 19 points before halftime as the hosts went to the locker room up eight, 35-27.
St. Bonaventure came out of half strong, taking control as it grew the lead to 15.
A cold spell made things closer, however, as the Bonnies went scoreless over a 3:49 span as Rhody closed within 53-43.
Osunniyi worked his way to the line to end the drought and a three from Lofton stretched the lead back to 13 with 6:37 to play, effectively ending Rhody's chances.
Makhi Mitchell posted 14 points for Rhode Island.
GAME NOTES
St. Bonaventure has the longest active streak of 10-plus victories during conference play for any program in the Atlantic 10. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Bonnies are 93-44 in conference action… The Bonnies shot 45 percent from the floor and owned a 32-28 advantage in rebounding… Rhode Island went just 2-for-15 from long range… Reigning A-10 Co-Player of the Week Dominick Welch finished with nine points and nine rebounds… Jaren Holmes tallied 11 points and four assists… Adaway entered the day averaging 17.3 ppg in A-10 games, fifth among league players, and beat that before halftime.
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure travels to Saint Joseph's to play the Hawks at 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network Saturday evening.
St. Bonaventure 73, Rhode Island 55
RHODE ISLAND (13-13)
Makhi.Mitchell 7-12 0-0 14, Makhe.Mitchell 5-8 3-6 13, El-Amin 0-4 0-0 0, Leggett 2-5 0-0 5, Sheppard 0-4 0-0 0, Martin 4-7 1-2 9, Walker 3-5 1-3 7, Carey 1-2 4-5 7, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 9-16 55.
ST. BONAVENTURE (18-7)
Osunniyi 4-8 5-5 14, Adaway 9-17 3-3 23, Holmes 5-12 0-0 11, Lofton 4-11 3-3 12, Welch 3-10 0-0 9, Coulibaly 2-2 0-0 4, Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Durosinmi 0-0 0-0 0, Ndjock-Tadjore 0-0 0-0 0, Rossi 0-0 0-0 0, Saizonou 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 11-11 73.
Halftime--St. Bonaventure 35-27. 3-Point Goals--Rhode Island 2-15 (Carey 1-2, Leggett 1-3, Martin 0-1, Walker 0-1, Makhi.Mitchell 0-2, El-Amin 0-3, Sheppard 0-3), St. Bonaventure 8-21 (Welch 3-7, Adaway 2-5, Osunniyi 1-1, Holmes 1-4, Lofton 1-4). Rebounds--Rhode Island 27 (Makhi.Mitchell 9), St. Bonaventure 30 (Osunniyi, Welch 9). Assists--Rhode Island 9 (Makhe.Mitchell, El-Amin, Sheppard, Carey 2), St. Bonaventure 16 (Lofton 5). Total Fouls--Rhode Island 14, St. Bonaventure 12. A--3,833 (5,480).