BY JONNY WALKER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team steamrolled Division III Alfred University 80-41 in the teams’ annual exhibition game Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.
The Bonnies bested the Saxons in nearly every key metric, including field-goal percentage (57.1 – 30), total rebounds (37 – 30) and turnovers forced (19 – 11).
“The exhibition game is one we want to win,” said Bona head coach Mark Schmidt. “Two, we want to get all of our guys in, get comfortable, get their nervousness out of their system … And then we didn’t want to get anybody hurt. And so, I think we accomplished those three or four things.”
In the Bonnies’ first game action since March, the home crowd got a chance to see its team’s retooled roster. Bona’s starting lineup featured three returners — Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference First Team guard Daryl Banks III, forward Assa Essamvous (formerly known as Yann Farrell) and Preseason All-Conference Third Team forward Chad Venning — alongside Bonaventure’s two big-name transfers — guard Charles Pride from Bryant and point guard Mika-Adams Woods from Cincinnati.
“The guys that start the game — I don’t really care,” said Schmidt. “I guess you get introduced, and you can, you know, wave to your girlfriend in the stands … I think we have nine-to-ten really good players that, if they share the ball and play together — we have a pretty good group.”
Venning had the Bonnies’ opening four points, both coming in the low post. He finished with 11 points in just 12 minutes. Banks was held scoreless through the first half on five attempts. He finished with two points, totaling 20 minutes.
Schmidt gave Adams Woods the start at point guard over returning-starter Kyrell Luc. However, Luc still managed six points in 14 minutes compared to Adams Woods’ 10 points in 20 minutes.
All 15 of Bonaventure’s rostered players saw the floor, something fans shouldn’t expect come regular-season action.
Brothers Tyler and Casey Curran led the Saxons in minutes played. Former Bonnie Tyler Curran recorded seven points in 31 minutes. Casey Curran recorded 12 points in 32 minutes.
The Bonnies open their regular-season slate in the Reilly Center Monday against Longwood.
walkerjc20@bonaventure.edu
