BY NATHAN SOLOMON, MANAGING EDITOR
St. Bonaventure jumped out to a 7-2 lead three minutes in and never looked back, taking Notre Dame wire-to-wire to win the Gotham Classic, 63-51.
Kyrell Luc scored 16 points to lead all scorers, notching all four field goals on 3-pointers. Two of his makes came in the final five minutes to close out the game.
Chad Venning and Yann Farell each registered double-doubles; Venning scored 14 points and recorded 11 rebounds, while Farell had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Daryl Banks lll had eight points off two 3-pointers, including a timely trey with 88 seconds remaining.
“Our guys showed some toughness. We defended and we rebounded,” said Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. “We showed a lot of discipline being a young team.
Moses Flowers connected on a 3-pointer with 8:48 remaining in the first half to put Bonaventure up 22-9, and the Bonnies took a 31-20 lead into halftime. Notre Dame cut the margin down to seven twice in the second half, the latest with 2:03 remaining. Bonaventure outscored the Fighting Irish 6-1 in the final two minutes.
The Bonnies shot 41% from the field and held Notre Dame to 35% shooting. Schmidt attributed the victory to Bonaventure’s improved defense.
“We can score 63 points and still win. That’s a great lesson,” Schmidt said. “We played Canisius and scored 80 and lost. We’ve made some strides on the defensive end.
“To hold them to 0-for-9 from three (in the second half), outscore them by 24 from the 3-point line and they’re a 3-point shooting team. That’s a big key.”
Bonaventure will look to extend its winning on Nov. 30, when it returns home to face Middle Tennessee State. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
