By Carson Hayek, Staff Writer
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team won its fifth straight home game with an 83-43 victory over Division II Bloomsburg on Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.
Bonnies junior guard Darryl “Buddy” Simmons led the Bonnies with 19 points, while senior forward Frank Mitchell grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
Following a three-pointer in the opening minute from both squads, the Bonnies went on an 8-2 run in the next four minutes, earning themselves an 11-5 advantage.
Bonaventure then went on an 11-2 run over the next four and a half minutes to widen their lead to 22-7. Senior forward Daniel Egbuniwe scored five points during that stretch.
The Bonnies held the Huskies to just four points and 2-of-11 from the field in the next seven minutes, expanding their lead to 40-14 with 2:37 left in the opening half.
At halftime, the Bonnies led 46-17.
For the first six minutes of the second half, the Huskies outscored the Bonnies 11-10 with four players scoring to cut their deficit to 56-28.
In the last 14 minutes of the game, Bonaventure outscored the Huskies 27-15.
Despite the 40-point win, Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt still sees room for improvement.
“I thought the first four minutes of the second half we didn’t play the game the right way,” Schmidt said. “[It wasn’t] that we were playing selfishly, but we weren’t playing hard…When we play a team of our caliber, the first four minutes of the second half are critical.”
Bonnies’ sophomore forward Joe Grahovac recorded a season-high 15 points in the win, but believes he still has room to grow.
“The physicality is a lot tougher and the speed at the Division I level is a lot faster,” Grahovac said. “Sometimes it feels like [the game] is moving a thousand miles a minute, but I feel I’m transitioning well and bring my best each day. I’m here to learn and get better, and I’m just thankful to be here.”
Bonaventure improves to 8-1, while Bloomsburg falls to 2-4.
The Bonnies and Huskies both play Saturday, Dec. 6. St. Bonaventure visits the University at Buffalo at 2 p.m., while Bloomsburg hosts California University (Pa.) at 3 p.m.
St. Bonaventure’s game will air on ESPN+, Bonnies Online Network, 100.1 FM Bradford and Olean, and 1340 AM Jamestown.
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