Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: WILL NUNN, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SPORTS EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team came up short in its opening game of Atlantic 10 play, falling to Virginia Commonwealth University 89-82 Wednesday.
The Rams (10-4, 1-0 A-10) were led by junior forward Lazar Djokovic, who poured in a team high 23 points, shooting 9-of-12 from the field. Sophomore guards Brandon Jennings and Terrence Hill Jr. added 20 and 19 points, respectively.
Leading the Bonnies (11-3, 0-1 A-10) offensively was senior forward Frank Mitchell. The Toronto, Ontario native tallied 24 points and seven rebounds, both team-highs. Junior guard Darryl Simmons II added 22 points, shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
It was a game of runs from the onset. Bonaventure jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes, before the Rams used a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take the lead.
VCU led by as many as nine points in the first half, but a 10-2 Bonaventure run to end the half brought the deficit to one heading into the break, with VCU leading 46-45.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair, until, with the game tied at 62, the Bonnies came alive, running out to a 11-4 run to take a 73-66 lead, matching their largest advantage of the afternoon.
With just over seven minutes remaining, senior guard Cayden Charles scored in the lane to push the Bonnies lead to 77-71. The Bonaventure offense went ice cold from there, going without a field goal until inside the final minute, as the Rams went on an 18-2 scoring run to ice the game.
The Bonnies return to the Reilly Center for their next contest, a matchup with Richmond University Wednesday, Jan. 7. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Bonnies Online Network.
