2/16/2006 - LaSalle, St. Bonaventure

Steven Smith scored a game-high 22 points and Jermaine Thomas had 17 along with eight assists as La Salle posted a 74-62 victory over St. Bonaventure in an Atlantic 10 Conference matchup on Wednesday.

Darnell Harris added 12 points and Sherman Diaz 11 for the Explorers (16-7, 8-4 A-10), who won their sixth consecutive game.With La Salle trailing 21-17 midway through the first half, Smith helped ignite an 11-0 run by hitting a jump shot followed by a Diaz jumper to tie the score. Diaz capped the spurt with a 3-pointer to give the Explorers a 28-21 lead.

After St. Bonaventure closed to within 28-26, La Salle closed out the half with a 16-5 run, led by Smith's seven points, to take a 44-31 advantage at the intermission. Smith also had six rebounds and six assists for the game.

The Explorers were never threatened the rest of the way and led by double digits for the entire second half. Harris hit a 3-point shot to give La Salle its biggest lead, 53-34, with 16:28 left.

Ahmad Smith led St. Bonaventure (7-16, 1-11 A-10) with 17 points, while Michael Lee added 15 and a game-high nine rebounds.The Bonnies have lost 12 of 13 and had dropped their first 10 conference matchups before defeating Richmond.

Both teams shot well early as the Bonnies grabbed a 13-11 lead in the first five minutes. St. Bonaventure made 6-of-10 shots while La Salle shot 71.4 percent on 5-of-7 shooting.

The win moved La Salle into sole possession of third place in the conference.