ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – St. Bonaventure returned home to the Reilly Center for the first time in over a month in a rematch of last year's Atlantic 10 Championship Game vs. VCU as part of ESPN's Friday Night Showcase at the Reilly Center.

For the Bonnies, it became something of a Friday night statement.

St. Bonaventure (10-3, 2-0 A-10) employed a 21-4 run spanning the end of the first half and the opening minutes of the second to establish control and never looked back.

Jalen Adaway fueled the charge with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, adding eight rebounds. Jaren Holmes registered 17 points and Kyle Lofton chipped in 13 points, six assists and five steals.

With the win, the Bonnies snapped what was a seven-game winning streak for a red-hot Rams squad.

The Bonnies replicated the success they created against VCU in their A-10 Championship meeting last March in the early going.

Adaway posted seven of Bona's first nine points and the hosts grabbed a 23-14 advantage with just over 12 minutes gone.

VCU (10-5, 3-1) would close within a point with 90 seconds left before halftime, but the Bonnies used a quick sprint for a 34-28 advantage at the break.

Holmes kept the momentum out of the locker room, drilling a shot from long range on the second half's first possession for a nine-point edge. Two at the line from Adaway and the Bonnies had their largest lead to that point, 39-28, thanks to a 10-0 run.

Bona's sprint extended, encompassing the end of the first half and first five minutes of the second period, as the lead grew to 16.

While the Bonnies may have seemed sluggish at times in Tuesday's return to competition after a 25-day layoff, no such problem plagued the defending A-10 champs Friday night.

St. Bonaventure continued the attack, forcing VCU into foul trouble as leading scorer Vince Williams picked up his fourth early in the half.

A cold spell allowed the Rams to close within 63-49, but an emphatic dunk from Osunniyi with three minutes left quelled VCU's rally effort. In all, the home team would lead for over 36 minutes of game time and VCU's only leads of the night came at 2-0 and 4-2. 

The Bonnies shot 43 percent from the floor and held VCU to 38 percent shooting including 34 percent after halftime.

Marcus Tshonis led VCU with 14 points and Williams registered 12.


GAME NOTES

• St. Bonaventure scored their fourth Top 100 win based on the NCAA NET rankings as VCU entered the day ranked No. 50 in the NET. The Bonnies already had wins vs. Marquette (No. 44 entering the day) and Boise State (48) as well as Clemson (57).
• Dominick Welch became the fourth player in program history to reach 200 career 3-pointers.
• Adaway delivered his sixth career 20-point game and second vs. VCU. He posted 23 in a game in Richmond last season.
• Lofton tied his career-high in steals and with six assists tied Glenn Hagan, '78, for fourth in program history with 486 career helpers. The senior point guard also moved into 21^st all-time in Bona career scoring with 1,386 points, surpassing Delmar Harrod, '80.
• St. Bonaventure led at halftime for just the fourth time this season.
• The Bonnies went 23-for-27 at the foul line thanks to 22 fouls whistled against the Rams. 

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"Every game is important and to beat a team of this magnitude is huge for us."

"We have veteran guys that make good decisions and take care of the ball, and that showed by not turning the ball over in the open court. It was huge to get to the line as much as we did. I told the guys before that we have to get to the foul line and we want to beat them going downhill."

"The first 10 possessions of the second half are critical, and I thought Quadry (Adams) did a good job to get us those two baskets to end the first half."

"Jalen played really well and we need him to do that, we're so much better when he plays well."

UP NEXT
The Bonnies head to Dayton for a Tuesday night contest scheduled for 7 p.m.

------
For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on Twitter @GoBonnies and get men's basketball updates @BonniesMBB. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies