BY JONNY WALKER, MANAGING EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team defeated Atlantic 10 rival Richmond 66-62 Wednesday night in the Robins Center, moving up one spot in the A-10 standings.
The Bonnies (12-11, 6-4 A-10) prevailed over the Spiders (11-12, 4-6 A-10) despite their leading scorer this season, guard Daryl Banks III, recording only seven points on 1-of-7 shooting in the contest. The result — Bonaventure’s second road win over a heavily favored opponent in five days — pushed the team into fifth place in the A-10.
The top four teams receive a double bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Seeds five through nine receive a single bye.
“The kids have grown up,” said Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt. “Going on the road, going into Virginia Commonwealth [University], going into Richmond — you’re hoping you can split. For us to go 2-0, I would say is a credit to our guys and how they played.”
Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt called the game a team win as three scorers reached double figures.
“I feel like Yann [Farell] … hit some huge shots. Moses [Flowers] is really playing with a lot of confidence. Chad [Venning] is doing what he needs to do inside,” said Schmidt. “It was a really good team victory.”
Forward Yann Farell led Bonaventure with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Three of Farell’s four made threes came in the second half. Farell’s final 3-pointer pushed Bonaventure’s lead to five with just over four minutes to play.
Forward Chad Venning had 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and 2 blocks. Schmidt complimented Venning’s inside presence after the game, saying the 6-foot-10 redshirt sophomore “hit some big shots” in the paint.
Guard Moses Flowers had 10 points in his second start as a Bonnie. Typical starter Barry Evans came off the bench in both games of the road trip, seeing just 13 minutes of action Wednesday.
Banks, who averages over 15 points per game this season, scored a combined 13 points on 1-of-13 shooting during the road trip.
“We’re not a one-man team — we never have been,” said Schmidt. “Daryl [Banks] has had some good games, and we’ve had other guys step up when he hasn’t played well. For us to win two games where Daryl hasn’t really played his best is a credit to other players.”
In both games of the road trip, however, Banks hit late free throws to help seal victories. Against the Spiders, Banks made four free throws in the final 1:30.
The Bonnies host Dayton in the Reilly Center Saturday at 8 p.m. in front of a sold-out crowd and a national-TV audience.
“I think the guys are playing with some confidence,” said Schmidt. “Going against a team as talented as Dayton [is], it’s going to take everybody. But, I’d rather be going into that game on a two-game winning streak than a two-game losing streak.”
walkerjc20@bonaventure.edu
