PHOTO COURTESY OF GOBONNIES
BY JONNY WALKER, ADVISORY EDITOR
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team snapped its two-game losing streak Wednesday night in the Reilly Center with a 99-64 domination of visiting University of Rhode Island.
The Bonnies (11-5, 2-2 A-10) jumped out to a 26-point first-half lead, scoring 21 of those points off turnovers. The Rams (9-8, 3-1 A-10) matched their season average for turnovers per game (13) in the first half alone, struggling with Bona’s full-court press when inbounding and Bona’s perimeter trapping when operating in the half court.
“I thought that was the best performance we’ve had in a long time,” said Bona head coach Mark Schmidt. “We had good pace to our offense. We kept the ball above the foul line defensively.”
For the first time this season, Bona debuted a new starting lineup, which included redshirt senior guard Moses Flowers. Team captain and preseason all-conference guard Daryl Banks III came off the bench — something he hadn’t done in 47 previous games as a Bonnie. Banks shot over 50% for just the second time this season, scoring 14 points in 27 minutes on 5-8 shooting.
“I still gotta lead, be a leader out there,” said Banks after the game. “Getting guys ready, stuff like that, coming in doesn’t change.”
On the interior, Bona nearly doubled up URI in points in the paint (44-26). Bona big man Chad Venning surpassed his career-high single-game blocks total (4) in the first half and scored 15 points on 7-12 shooting.
On the perimeter, Bona guard Charles Pride had nine of Bonaventure’s first 15 points, including a couple momentum-building 3-pointers. His 25 points led all scorers.
Bona held URI to 40% shooting overall and 31% from three.
“We kept the ball in front of us. And that’s the key,” said Schmidt. “If you allow a team to get to the paint, it just shrinks your defense. And then they kick it out, and you’re at their mercy.”
The Bonnies begin their second two-game road stint of conference play Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia against George Mason. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.
walkerjc20@bonaventure.edu
