ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Daryl Banks III poured in a career-high 34 points to power the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team to an 81-68 win over Bowling Green Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center.

Banks went 10-for-16 from the floor, adding four blocks and six rebounds.

Chad Venning delivered 15 points and seven boards while Yann Farell chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds.

St. Bonaventure (2-2) led by six at halftime and seized all control with an 18-3 surge to begin the second half.

By the end of the run, Bona owned a 54-34 advantage.

Bowling Green (2-2) would get back into the game on a 9-0 run, but a Venning bucket ended the run and, later, Banks and Farell combined for back-to-back threes to rush back into command.

The Bonnies led by 15 with 3:30 left before the Falcons closed to within 73-64. A dunk from Moses Flowers put the exclamation mark on the victory.

Duquesne transfer Leon Ayers scored seven of Bowling Green's first nine points as the Falcons led early, but the Bonnies would soon find an answer.

Bona's found a spark from Venning, making his first start with the program, as the hosts stretched their lead to nine and eventually took a 33-26 advantage to the locker room at the break.

Banks drained a pair of 3-pointers for the first points of the second half as the Bonnies led, 41-31, three minutes into the second period to begin the game-changing run.

In all, 24 of Banks' points came during the second half and he finished with exactly half of the Bonnies second half tallies. 

Ayers finished with 18 points to lead BGSU.

The Bonnies shot 46 percent from the floor while BGSU shot at a 40 percent clip. Bona won the battle of the boards, 40-35.

.@D_Banksiii went OFF ??

He dropped 3?4? in Saturday's #Bonnies win including 7? treys ?? pic.twitter.com/ZzQO8J7YPe

— Bonnies Men's Basketball (@BonniesMBB) November 20, 2022

GAME NOTES

• Banks' previous career high in scoring came in a memorable 27-point effort for Saint Peter's in an NCAA Tournament overtime win over Kentucky last March.
• Banks also had a career-high four swats.
• The 34 points from Banks were the most by any Bonnies player since Jaren Holmes posted 38 in a January 2021 win over Saint Joseph's.
• Kyrell Luc recorded eight points, six assists and two steals.
• Venning was just two points off his career-best of 17 for Morgan State last year vs. South Carolina State.
• The Bonnies held a special halftime ceremony to honor the late Bill Kenville, '53. With Kenville's family in attendance, his No. 20 jersey was unveiled in the Reilly Center rafters in recognition of his Bonaventure career. He holds the distinction of being the only graduate of the program to win an NBA championship. For more on his career, click here.
• Bonnies All-Time Team member David Vanterpool, '95, was also in attendance. After a pro career as a player, Vanterpool served as an assistant coach in the NBA for the past decade.
• Also in attendance were NBA ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, '91, Chris LaPlaca, 79, Senior VP of Corporate Communications at ESPN, Tim Bontemps, '07, ESPN NBA writer, Mike Vaccaro, '89, New York Post lead sports columnist, and Dan Barry, '80, reporter and columnist for the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner.
• SBU evened the all-time series with BGSU, 3-3, in the first meeting between the schools in 25 years. 

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"We got off a to a good start, but more importantly, we got off to a good start in the second half. I think Chad played his best game; he defended, rebounded, and was a presence inside. I thought Yann made shots when we really needed him to. Barry had the breakaway at the end of the game and he showed some growth by backing the ball out and running some clock. Daryl really showed up when we needed him, struggled a little bit early with his shot, but definitely found it in the second half. He was one of the main reasons why we won this afternoon. I thought we defended decently and were more committed and connected with more energy on the defensive end. It became competitive for a little bit there, but we found a way to finish and win. It was the step in the right direction."
 
"We're better in transition than we are in the half-court, so we have to get more stuff off turnovers. We're at our best in the open court when we are not thinking as much. Moving forward we have to smooth things over in the half-court."
  
"It was great to honor Bill Kenville this afternoon. Unfortunately, I did not have the privilege of meeting him, but I met his family today. Clearly, he was a great player in the early days of our program and it shows with his number hanging in the rafters. From what I read and what people tell me about him, he was not only successful on the court but was a successful businessman. He was very worthy of being honored the way he was today."  

UP NEXT
The Bonnies remain at home to host Southern Indiana Tuesday night at the Reilly Center. Tip time is 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