BY: WILL NUNN, SPORTS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
Photo Courtesy of gobonnies.com
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team traveled to Amherst, Massachusetts Saturday and defeated the UMass Minutemen 73-59.
The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the Bonnies (18-9, 6-8 A-10), and places them just 0.5 games back of the Minutemen (11-15, 6-7 A-10) in the Atlantic 10 standings.
“It’s always tough to win on the road,” said Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt. “Coming off that tough loss at Rhode Island our guys bounced back and it was good to see. We didn’t play great but we found a way to get a victory tonight.”
After missing the previous game with an injury, senior guard Chance Moore came off the bench to lead all scorers with 15 points, adding 10 rebounds to tally his fifth double-double of the season.
“That’s how we need [Moore] to play,” said Schmidt. “He has the most athleticism, and when he’s engaged, he’s a really good player.”
Four other Bonnies joined Moore in double figures. Junior guard Lajae Jones scored 14 points, senior guard Melvin Council Jr. and graduate forward Noel Brown each added 12 points, and sophomore guard Jonah Hinton added 11 points.
Leading the way for UMass was sophomore forward Tarique Foster, who poured in a career-high 14 points. Senior guard Rahsool Diggins and senior forward Daniel Rivera added 13 and 11 points respectively.
The Bonnies took control with a 10-0 run to end the first half, taking a 13 point lead into halftime, and did not look back, leading by as much as 20 in the second half.
After struggling to score inside during their three-game losing streak, Bonaventure commanded the interior, outscoring UMass 42-28 in the paint.
“We got the ball in the paint and that’s what we have to do,” said Schmidt. “We’re not a great shooting team so we have to get the ball inside.”
The win marks the Bonnies’ 13th in the last 14 meetings with the Minutemen, with the only loss being a 71-60 defeat on March 4, 2023 in Amherst.
The Bonnies return home for their next contest, when they host Duquesne on Saturday Feb. 22 at 4:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with a radio broadcast available on the Bonnies Online Network.
