ELMONT, N.Y. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the St. Bonaventure Bonnies entered this game with contrasting roster complexions: the Irish have one of the oldest rosters in the country, while the young Bonnies return zero minutes from last season. Despite their inexperience, Bonaventure dominated; they won wire-to-wire as the Bonnies defeated the Irish 63-51 at UBS Arena next to Belmont Park.
 
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's game:
 

1. Most Valuable Player: Chad Venning continues to wreak havoc on his opponents. Against Notre Dame, the Brooklyn native finished with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds while playing 37 minutes, another career-best. The Gotham Classic awarded Venning its most valuable player award, as he had a commanding presence in the paint on both ends of the floor. On the game's first possession, Notre Dame threw a double-team at Venning. After receiving the entry pass, the 6-foot-10 big man quickly found a wide-open Yann Farell at the top of the key, who then knocked down the game's first 3-pointer. That play served as a harbinger of things to come, as Venning's dominance inside created opportunities out on the perimeter. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey referred to Venning as "a monster inside" since his Irish could not stop him. He has averaged 17.6 PPG and 8.3 rebounds per game over the past three games.

   

2. Luc Comes in the Clutch: The 5-foot-11 guard from Dorchester, Mass., finished with a game-high 16 points and went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. With 4:46 to play, the Bonaventure lead had dwindled to just seven points. The experienced Fighting Irish had mounted somewhat of a rally, and momentum appeared to shift Notre Dame's way. But Kyrell Luc silenced the Irish as he knocked down a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Bonnies a double-digit lead again. Two minutes later, Notre Dame was not dead yet. The Irish trailed by eight points, but then Luc drained another triple from the left wing to give the Bonnies a 57-to-46 lead with 2:58 to play. The southpaw came in the clutch when it mattered most, and Brey even acknowledged in the post-game that these two shots were daggers to his team. Luc also finished with a team-high six assists and played stellar defense for all 40 minutes. He's a special player.

 

3. Beast on the Boards: Yann Farell, the 6-foot-6 guard from Libreville, Gabon, has cleared the glass like no other Bonnie has thus far. Farell recorded 10 rebounds in the first half alone against a big Notre Dame team. On multiple occasions, Farell used his athleticism to tip the ball to himself so he could properly secure the rebound. He was a big reason why Bona held a +6 advantage on the glass. The Irish finished with just nine second-chance points, limiting Notre Dame's chance of getting back into the game. Farrell finished with a game-high 14 boards, more than a third of the 38 rebounds that the Bonnies corralled as a team. He also finished with yet another double-double as Farell scored 11 points and drained two big 3-pointers to help guide the Bonnies to their fourth victory.

   

4. Perimeter Defense Shines: Notre Dame entered the game with four starters shooting better than 37.8 percent from 3-point range. The Irish had some sharpshooters around the perimeter, but the Bonaventure defense stymied the Notre Dame shooters. The Irish made just two 3-pointers throughout the entire game, as Daryl Banks III and Luc made quite the impact on the defensive end. Both players are fast and work so hard defensively, thus helping Bonaventure not lose sight of their defensive rotations. At no point during this game did the young Bonnies look flummoxed on the defensive end. Instead, they looked locked in as they held Notre Dame to shooting just 34.5 percent from the floor, forced nine turnovers, and recorded three steals. Venning also had two huge blocks inside; he should have had a third, but a questionable but the officials assessed a questionable foul to the big man late in the second half. Regardless, this was Bonaventure's best defensive performance of the season to date.

 

5. Next Up: The Bonnies return home to face an underrated Middle Tennessee State team on Wed., Nov. 30. Back in 2019, Dominick Welch scored the game-winning basket at Middle Tennessee State with 10.3 seconds to play. Welch's shot hit every part of the rim before finally falling, thus giving Bona a 66-65 victory. This year's matchup will serve as the return game of this home-and-home series, as the pandemic altered the schedule. The Blue Raiders currently have a record of 3-2, but they have two more games to play on Saturday and Sunday in the Northern Classic outside Montreal before heading to the Reilly Center on Wednesday. The game tips off from Bob Lanier Court at 7 p.m. and will again air on ESPN+.

 
Jack Milko is a current graduate student at St. Bonaventure University. He will graduate with an M.A. in Sports Journalism in May 2023. Follow him on Twitter @Jack_Milko.

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