CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Kyle Lofton had 17 points and seven assists, Jaren Holmes added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 22 St. Bonaventure beat Boise State 67-61 on Thursday in the Charleston Classic.
St. Bonaventure trailed 59-57 with 5:40 remaining after Boise State guard Marcus Shaver Jr. hit a 3-pointer. But the Bonnies locked down defensively and held Boise State to 1-for-9 shooting after that. The Bonnies, however, made five straight shots to build a 65-61 lead.
Welch led the late defensive effort for St. Bonaventure, helping keep Boise State’s leading scorer Emmanuel Akot scoreless for the final seven minutes.
Welch had 12 points and seven boards for St. Bonaventure (3-0), which starts five seniors. Osun Osunniyi, the reigning Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year, had seven points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Jalen Adaway added 10 points.
Akot finished with a career-high 24 points, including 6 of 9 3-pointers, for Boise State (1-2). Shaver added 10 points. Abu Kigab picked up his fourth foul with 16:31 to go and finished with seven points and nine rebounds.
Boise State struggled early in the first half, missing 11 of its first 12 field goals over nine minutes. Then St. Bonaventure ended the half by making just one of its last 11 shots to let the Broncos back in it.
Devonaire Doutrive scored seven straight points to start Boise State’s comeback as the Broncos ended the first half on a 27-12 spurt. Tyson Degenhart tipped in Akot’s missed 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 33-30 lead.
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