ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Saint Louis mounted a furious second-half rally to pull within two of the lead late, but Atlantic 10 Conference preseason favorite St. Bonaventure held on for an 83-79 victory Monday at the Reilly Center.
 
SLU fell to the Bonnies for the second consecutive game and slip to 17-8 overall, 8-4 in A-10 play. St. Bonaventure improves to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in the league.
 
Fred Thatch Jr. turned in 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for his second career double-double. Jordan Nesbitt led SLU with 18 points, including 15 in the first half. Gibson Jimerson (17 points) and Francis Okoro (14 points) also scored in double figures for the Billikens. Yuri Collins dished out 10 assists.
 
The Billikens trailed by 16 points at halftime, 15 points with less than seven minutes left, and 10 with five minutes left, but rallied to make it a one possession game in the final minute.
 
A DeAndre Jones 3-pointer with 1:51 remaining cut the Billikens' deficit to three. SLU later pulled to within two of the lead at 81-79 after Thatch drained a pair of free throws. The Bonnies hit one of two free throws on the other end and SLU had a chance to tie with a three with the shot clock turned off, but Nesbitt's desperation 3-pointer was off the mark and the Bonnies came away with the win.
 
The Billikens shot the ball well, hitting 56.3 percent from the floor, but they were hampered by turnovers, committing 17 for the game including 12 in the first half alone. Conversely, the Bonnies committed just five turnovers.
 
St. Bonaventure also gained an advantage by scoring inside, outscoring the Billikens 58-30 in points in the paint.
 
SLU has a quick turnaround as it faces La Salle at Chaifetz Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Game time is 7 p.m. on Bally Sports Midwest Plus.