Photo: GoBonnies
BY NATHAN SOLOMON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
In a game that St. Bonaventure needed for Atlantic 10 Tournament seeding, the Bonnies pulled through.
Bonaventure jumped ahead 40 seconds in and never looked back, scoring a season-best 89 points to defeat Saint Joseph’s 89-76 and snap a five-game skid.
“We didn’t play perfect by any stretch, but I thought we played consistently,” said Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. “Hopefully this gives us a little bit more confidence.”
Daryl Banks lll surpassed 30 points for the third time this season, setting a new career high with 36 points. He connected on four 3-pointers and made 12 of his 15 free throws. Banks found a rhythm from mid-range, making a series of 15 footers in the first half.
Twenty-two of Banks’ points came in the final 20 minutes.
“I started off with a couple mid-ranges,” Banks said. “I think I missed my first two threes, but just seeing, getting those closer shots helped me get a rhythm to step out to the 3-point line and I kind of caught fire.
“Coming off a five-game losing streak, Coach [Schmidt] has just been preaching that we need to get some momentum going into the [A-10] Tournament … It was a must-win. We needed it completely.”
The Bonnies (14-16, 8-9 A-10) opened on a 12-1 run in the first four minutes to set an early tone. Saint Joseph’s (13-16, 7-10) scored the next seven points, but Bonaventure slowly extended the lead up to as many as 14 before leading by 10 at the half.
It was the most points Bonaventure scored in the first half all season.
“We shot the ball well. We got to the foul line,” Schmidt said. “One of the things we’ve been struggling with was driving and trying to finish. I thought we did a much better job of driving, pivoting and kicking it out.”
The Bonnies kept on the gas pedal in the second half, leading by as many as 20 with 2:43 remaining in route to a 13-point victory.
Freshman forward Yann Farell and redshirt junior guard Moses Flowers provided needed sparks on the shooting front. Farell knocked down three triples and ended with 13 points, while Flowers hit two and had 12.
The duo stepped up offensively as sophomore guard Kyrell Luc and redshirt sophomore forward Chad Venning battled foul trouble. Luc played just 15 minutes and hit four free throws while Venning scored 13 points, making all five of his shots.
Sophomores Anouar Mellouk and Brett Rumpel took their places on the floor. Mellouk scored six points in 20 minutes. Rumpel scored five in a career-high 25 minutes.
“I thought Brett did well,” Schmidt said. “He had his mistakes just like everybody else, but I thought he had a big layup [and] a couple of assists. I thought he was a positive for us today.”
With a week remaining in conference play, Bonaventure holds the eight seed and would play Davidson in the second round of the A-10 Tournament. While the Bonnies have just one game remaining, most A-10 teams have two.
Bonaventure isn’t fully out of the clear of avoiding the pillow fight. But at the same time, it could potentially jump spots depending on upcoming results and tiebreakers.
The Bonnies still have plenty to play – and watch – for.
solomonj20@bonaventure.edu
