Photo Courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: WILL NUNN; CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF; SPORTS EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team retained the Br. Ed Coughlin Franciscan Cup Wednesday, defeating Siena University 75-66.
The Bonnies (3-0) were led by junior guard Darryl Simmons II, who scored 24 points and shot 9-of-13 from the field. Senior forward Frank Mitchell tallied 13 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
For Siena (2-1), sophomore guard Gavin Doty led all scorers with a career-high 25 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Senior forward Brendan Coyle added 14 points, shooting 4-of-7 from three.
Bonnies senior guard Cayden Charles reached 1,000 career collegiate points with a mid-range jumper just over six minutes into the game. Charles finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Both offenses started quickly, with the Bonnies holding a 19-18 advantage at the under-12 minute media timeout in the first half.
After the Saints took their largest lead of the first half, a 6-0 Bonaventure run tied the game at 29 with 3:35 remaining in the half, leading to a Siena timeout.
The Bonnies carried a 36-33 lead into the halftime break, with Simmons pacing the offense with 13 first-half points. Doty led the Saints, also scoring 13 points in the first half.
Tied at 40 with 16 minutes to play, the Bonnies used a 10-2 run to open up an eight point lead with 12 minutes to play, a lead they would never relinquish, leading by as many as 14 in the second half.
The Bonnies dominated Siena inside, outscoring the Saints 46-20 in the paint, and shooting 52.5% from the field compared to Siena’s 39.6%
St. Bonaventure next takes the floor Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Reilly Center against Youngstown State University. The game will be streamed live on YES Network and ESPN+ and will be broadcast live on the Bonnies Online Network.
