ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Marcus Posley scored a career-high 47 points, the most by a NCAA Division I player this season, and St. Bonaventure beat St. Joe's, 98-90, on Wednesday night.
The senior guard's mark was the most by an Atlantic 10 player since David West (47) in 2003. Posley made 15 of 19 shots, 6 of 7 from three-point range and 11 of 12 from the foul line.
"Obviously, the Posley numbers jump out at you," Hawks head coach Phil Martelli said, "and we've got to look at the man in the mirror and say what all of us could have done."
The Bonnies (21-7, 13-4), who led by 15 in the first half and 13 at the break, held on despite allowing 62 second-half points to the Hawks (24-6, 13-4).
St. Joe's erased the halftime deficit with 14 straight points and led at 55-53 before St. Bonaventure pulled away for good with a 23-5 run. St. Joe's dropped into a second-place tie with St. Bonaventure and Dayton, one game behind VCU (14-3).
When a player just goes off the way Posley did, is it a helpless feeling?
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"No, you just play it out," Martelli said. "Look, we're sitting here. We scored 62 points in a half. You know what I mean? So powerless? No. Disappointed? Yes. Disappointed but not powerless."
Sophomore guard Shavar Newkirk and senior forward Isaiah Miles had 19 points apiece for the Hawks. Senior guard Aaron Brown and junior forward DeAndre Bembry added 18 each.
But despite the Hawks' scoring output, the Bonnies just seem to have St. Joe's number. The loss is the fifth straight for the Hawks to St. Bonaventure dating back to last season. Back in early February, it was sophomore guard Jaylen Adams that torched St. Joe's for 31 points on 10 of 21 from the field and 6 of 12 from downtown.
Naturally, Martelli focused more of his team's defensive efforts on Adams, who had six points and six turnovers in Wednesday's contest. Martelli didn't believe that the team had too many eyes on Adams, however.
"No real feel of the pressure of the game," Martelli said of his team's defense. "Now, we didn't overcommit to Adams. We were committing with the right guy to Adams. We had another guy going at him, but it was not Posley's man nor (forward Dion) Wright's man."
The Hawks will play their final game of the regular season when they host Duquesne at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Hagan Arena.