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Bonnies score another marquee win, defeating Providence in the Hall of Fame Showcase

Posted on by Taylor Reeves
Bonnies score another marquee win, defeating Providence in the Hall of Fame Showcase

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Follow the game, senior Melvin Council Jr. took all the hardware home.

First there was the trophy representing the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase Most Valuable Player Award.

Then there was the gold of Bonnie’s new WWE Championship belt and the celebration in the locker room.

And while awarding the WWE title to the Bona Player of the Game is a new tradition, having the Bonnies eliminate a prominent opponent at a showcase event is already old hat in the program.

St. Bonaventure scored another victory over a power conference opponent by defeating Providence 74-70 on Saturday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena in front of over 6,300 fans.

That’s 12 wins against Power 5 and Big East opponents since 2017-18.

Noel Brown also starred with 16 points and eight rebounds Lajae Jones was active throughout and scored 15 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 mark at the foul line. Chance Moore posted his second double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bonnies built a double-digit lead in the first half and then held it late into the night as the partisan Friars crowd cheered during a rally in the final minutes just over an hour from the Providence campus.

Council certainly earned his award as he scored a game-high 24 points in the second half, including 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting, and he seemed to be all over the place down the stretch.

While part of his achievements were due to his “Rochester Euro moves” as head coach Mark Schmidt He was just as important defensively as he put it, with three key steals after halftime.

With the win, the Bonnies improve to 10-1 on the season, while Providence is now 7-5.

Bona’s lead grew to 13 at one point, but was reduced to 57-53 with just under eight minutes to play.

To loud cheers from the Providence crowd, Jones hit a mid-range jump shot to secure a six-point lead.

The Friars refused to leave, despite playing without First Team All-Big East pick Bryce Hopkins.

But every time Providence threatened to turn the tide, the Council was there.

The Rochester native followed a layup with a steal and a slam to push his four-point lead back to eight. Then, with 1:21 left to play and the lead down to 69-66, Council got to the line and blocked both shots to cut the lead back to two possessions.

Providence got back within three with 21 seconds left in the game, but Moore made one of two free throws for a four-point lead. The Friars got a layup on their next possession, but not before the clock ticked down to under two seconds. Brown then scored two points at the line before the final buzzer ended the game.

Bonaventure’s defense, which started the day ranked 14thTh nationally in average points allowed, Providence had a full shutdown for the start of the competition.

The Friars couldn’t buy a basket in the opening minutes, going 2 of 17 from the floor, including 2 of 11 from long range.

While the Friars struggled to find their shots, the Bonnies built a double-digit lead of 24-11 with 6:50 remaining in the half.

Even though he played without a starting player Dasonte Bowen With the game sidelined due to injury, the Bonnies’ offense was not distracted as Brown scored 10 points to give them an early double-digit lead, while Moore and Jones had the Bona faithful buzzing with thunderous dunks in the first 20 minutes.

Until the break before the last act, SBU had a nine-point lead.

Wesley Cardet led the Friars with 13 points and Jayden Pierre added 12.

Despite their late push, the Friars never led and the Bonnies held the lead for all but 1:07 of game time.

GAME NOTES

  • St. Bonaventure improved to 12-8 against Power 5 and Big East opponents since 2017-18. It was Bona’s second win over a Big East club in that span, most recently against Marquette in the 2021 Charleston Classic Championship Game. None of those games were played on SBU’s home court.

  • The competition was a top 100 match on both NCAA NET and KenPom.

  • Bona shot 42 percent in the game while Providence shot 36 percent, although the Friars got back into the game by going 7-for-17 from distance in the second half.

  • The Bonnies held a 41-34 edge on the glass and outscored the Friars 38-18 in the paint.

  • Jonah Hinton He made his first Division I start of his career and finished with seven points and four assists.

  • Half of Moore’s 12 boards came on the attack surface. In total, the Bonnies had 19 offensive rebounds, which led to 20 second-chance points.


Quotes from head coach Mark Schmidt
“We won this game on the backboard. They average 40 rebounds a game and to beat them by seven rebounds was huge.”

“They went on a run, their crowd got into it, and I thought our guys handled it really well, a really good team.”

“In games of this magnitude against an opponent of this caliber, you have to land the first punch. You have to attack, set the tone. I thought our guys did that by attacking the paint and going to the glass.”

“We have a good team and play in a great league. Providence is a great team and there are three Atlantic 10 teams that beat them. The A-10s don’t have to take a backseat to anyone in this country. We have a phenomenal league and that will continue to show for the rest of the season.

Gallery: (12/14/2024) 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase

NEXT
The Bonnies remain on the road to play Tuesday night in Siena in the annual Br. Ed Coughlin Franciscan Cup. Tipping time in Albany is scheduled for 7 p.m

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Stay tuned to social media for the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics. Follow the Bonnies on X @GoBonnies and get men’s basketball updates @BonniesMBB. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies. Bonnie’s Men’s Basketball can be found on Instagram at @bonnies_mbb.

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