Location: Amherst, Mass. | Mullins Center

Box Score (PDF)   |   Final Stats and Play-by-Play

St. Bonaventure Starters: #3 G Marcus Posley, #10 G Jaylen Adams,  #21 F Dion Wright, #23 G Andell Cumberbatch, #35 C Youssou Ndoye

The Short Story:
Senior center Youssou Ndoye scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead St. Bonaventure to a 69-55 win at Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon, the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for the Bonnies. 

After allowing 82 points in both of their prior games, the Bonnies clamped down on UMass in the win, holding the Minutemen to 35 percent shooting (19-54) including 4-22 from three-point range. St. Bonaventure also forced UMass into 15 turnovers and converted those into 25 points.

St. Bonaventure led 28-19 at halftime but saw its lead trimmed to 37-34 seven minutes into the second half. The Bonnies, however, responded with a 12-0 run from that point to take control of the game. The lead never went any lower than 16 points until the final minute.

Andell Cumberbatch chipped in 12 points while Dion Wright had six points and seven rebounds. Ndoye has now grabbed 10 rebounds or more in 10 consecutive games. He also blocked three UMass shots.

How It Happened:

• The Bonnies started strong, scoring the first seven points of the day.
• UMass came back and took a 15-13 lead.
• The game remained close through the rest of the first half until the Bonnies closed the half with nine unanswered points to take a 28-19 lead into the break.
• Ndoye was assertive from the start and he totaled eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the first half.
• The Bonnies extended their run to 12-0 by scoring the first five points of the second half to open a 31-19 lead.
• It was still a 10-point lead at 35-25 when UMass regained the momentum with a 9-2 run that cut the Bona lead down to 37-34 with 12:56 remaining; Jabarie Hinds capped the UMass run with a three-pointer.
• Andell Cumberbatch stopped the run with two free throws followed by two more by Ndoye. Iakeem Alston then stole a Minuteman pass and fed Cumberbatch at the other end for a three-pointer that pushed the lead back to double figures at 44-34 with 10:23 left.
• The Bonnies' run continued with a three-pointer by Posley and then a dunk by Ndoye off Alston's lob pass. In all, it was a 17-1 run that ended with the Bonnies ahead 54-35 with 6:38 remaining. During that span, UMass missed all five of its field goal attempts while the Bonnies went 4-4 from the field and 7-7 at the free throw line.
• After that, the Bona lead stayed above 15 points until the final minute.
• Led by Ndoye's 13 caroms, the Bonnies outrebounded UMass 37-30, the eighth time this season Bona has won the rebounding battle (5-3 in those games).

Beyond the Box Score:

• St. Bonaventure was the aggressor from the start, forcing 15 UMass turnovers on the day. The Bonnies scored 25 points off those turnovers, while the Minutemen had only nine points off 13 Bona turnovers.
• UMass' 55 points were the third-lowest allowed by the Bonnies this season (51 to Binghamton, 53 to Canisius).
• The Bonnies recorded their first win in an A-10 road opener since 2009 (Fordham) and are now 5-3 in A-10 openers under Mark Schmidt.
• St. Bonaventure has now won four of its last five games against UMass.
• Youssou Ndoye's 13 rebounds tied his season high and extended his streak of games with at least 10 rebounds to 10.
• Ndoye passed Eric Stover for third place on St. Bonaventure's all-time blocks list. Ndoye now has 164 career blocks. 
• Iakeem Alston was very effective in his 11 minutes of action with two points, three assists and a steal and no turnovers.
• Denzel Gregg also played well off the bench with five points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.
• Saturday marked the end of a stretch in which St. Bonaventure played five of its last six games on the road. The Bonnies have only played at home once (Dec. 22) since the Dec. 3 win over Buffalo. 

Up Next: St. Bonaventure returns to the Reilly Center to host Dayton on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. The game will air on CBS College Sports Network.