DAYTON, Ohio – Much of the country found itself in the icy grip of a powerful winter storm this week and, aside from a quick start in the early minutes, Dayton kept the St. Bonaventure offense cold as well in an 68-50 decision Tuesday night at UD Arena.

With the win, Dayton improves to 12-6 overall and 4-1 in Atlantic 10 play while the Bonnies now stand 10-4, 2-1.

Jalen Adaway paced the Bonnies with 15 points while Osun Osunniyi posted nine points and four blocks.  

""We missed some shots and sometimes we didn't execute the way we wanted to, but we played a very good team that did a great job keeping us out of rhythm," head coach Mark Schmidt said.

Fresh off a career-best effort of 25 points to key a win over VCU last Friday, Adaway remained red hot in the early going by scoring 11 of Bona's first 13 points as the visitors grabbed an early 17-12 edge. During the sprint, Adaway made all four of his field goal tries including three from beyond the arc to tie his career high before the under-12 media timeout.

The Bonnies would go cold from there, however, as the Flyers launched an 18-2 run for a 32-21 advantage while Bona went scoreless for nearly seven minutes. A run to the bucket from Quadry Adams broke the ice, but Dayton would ultimately take its largest lead of the half into intermission, 35-23.

Bona shook some of the Dayton momentum out of the locker room, quickly closing within single digits again thanks to a dunk from Osunniyi and a corner 3-pointer from Kyle Lofton.

Unfortunately for the Brown and White, the gap would never get closer. Dayton was able to hold the Bonnies at arm's length distance despite multiple rally efforts, with the lead sticking around 10 for the majority of the second half.

Another burst from the Flyers would stretch their edge to 54-38 with six minutes remaining, giving the hosts control they would never relinquish.

Reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week DaRon Holmes II was the difference maker on the night, sinking 10 of his 12 field goal tries for a game-high 20 points on the Flyers side. Kobe Elvis added 14 points, including four 3-pointers.

For the night, the Bonnies finished with a 35 percent success rate from the floor and went just 4-for-23 from distance. Dayton connected at a 54 percent clip, sinking 10 of 18 3-point tries.

""When they (Holmes and Elvis) shoot the ball like that, they're hard to beat," Schmidt said. "You have to give up something and they played really well. They hit shots and made it difficult on us."

GAME NOTES

• With his five on the night, Kyle Lofton surpassed Glenn Hagan, '78, for fourth all-time in Bona career assists (491).
• Tuesday's game was rescheduled from its original date of Jan. 2. The game had been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. The postponement led to Bonaventure beginning what will be a three-game road conference swing, beginning with Tuesday night's game.
• Abdoul Karim Coulibaly chipped in with eight points off the bench.
• Dayton owned a 32-30 edge on the glass, just the fourth time this year that the Bonnies have not won the battle of the boards.
• Dayton remains the only Atlantic 10 team this year's senior class has not scored a win over.

UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure heads to Pittsburgh for its second ESPN2 Friday Night Showcase game in as many weeks, taking on Duquesne in the Steel City at 7 p.m.
 
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