Postgame Quotes

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team jumped out to a 18-point halftime lead and never looked back as it cruised to a 72-62 season-opening win over defending Horizon League Tournament champ Cleveland State on Friday night at the Reilly Center.

The opening 20 minutes looked like anything but the Brown and White's first half of the season, as their 41-22 advantage at the half brought the crowd of 4,860 fans to their feet. St. Bonaventure was sharp on the offensive end, shooting an unheard-of 77 percent from the floor over the opening 20 minutes.

“I thought we played a terrific first half and got out to a great start shooting 77 percent from the field,” said head coach Mark Schmidt. “That was the best half of basketball from both an offensive and defensive standpoint that we've had in a long time.”

The Bonnies received a trio of big performances, led by senior Jonathan Hall's game-high 20 points that came on 10-of-14 from the field to go along with a team-best eight rebounds. Sophomore Andrew Nicholson contributed 17 points, including 14 in the first half, while adding seven boards, four blocks and two steals.

The surprise game came from sophomore Michael Davenport who came off the bench and established a new career-high with 19 points on 7-of-10 from the field in 28 minutes of work. Led by Davenport, the Bona bench out-scored Cleveland State's reserves by a 25-9 margin.

“You need some firepower off the bench and he certainly gave it to us,” Schmidt said. “He got to the glass with those two offensive rebounds off of missed free throws. Mike was just really aggressive and when he's doing that he's a heck of a player. He has to continue to do that but he was one of the big differences tonight.

For the game, St. Bonaventure shot 61 percent (28-46) from the field and held a slim 35-33 edge on the glass. The Vikings shot 39 percent (25-65) the floor, but had 19 more shots than the Bonnies thanks to 14 offensive rebounds and just 12 turnovers.

After an opening-possession bucket by Cleveland State, the Bonnies rattled off a 10-0 run that absorbed just over four minutes and was fueled by pressure defense. The Vikings went six possessions without a point, while a three-pointer by Chris Matthews and a dunk by Nicholson highlighted the run.

The Brown and White took their first double-digit lead, 18-8, on a dunk from Hall, while a reverse layup by Davenport off a nice look from Malcolm Eleby made it 20-8 with 9:31 left in the half.

With the score 23-15, the Bonnies went on a game-changing 18-4 run that started at the 7:18 mark and lasted all the way to the 1:15 mark. The end result was a commanding 41-19 lead that saw Davenport, Hall and Nicholson all contribute four points. The Vikings went just 2-of-10 from the field and committed three turnovers during their drought.

A pair of three-pointers by Cleveland State cut the score to 43-25 at the half. The Bonnies made a staggering 17-of-22 from the floor over the opening 20 minutes and held the Vikings to just a 33 percent clip (10-30) from the field and nine turnovers.

Cleveland State started to gain momentum early the second half, cutting the lead to 12 on a bunch of occasions, but could never get the deficit to under double figures. Hall poured in 12 of his game-high 20 in the second half.

Three players finished in double figures for Cleveland State, led by Horizon League Preseason All-Conference choice Norris Cole's 13 points.

Junior point guard Ogo Adegboye had six points and three rebounds in 20 minutes of work, while Eleby added five points and four assists. Matthews had a solid all-around game with five points, a game-high six assists, four boards and a career-high two blocks.

St. Bonaventure will be back in action Tuesday, Nov. 17 when plays host to BIG EAST foe St. John's in Rochester, N.Y. at Blue Cross Arena. Gametime is slated for 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on WPIG (95.7 FM), WHDL (1450 AM) and WHTK (1280 AM) in Rochester.