ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – In recent years, St. Bonaventure has owned its series with regional rival Duquesne, winning 19 of the last 22 meetings against the Dukes.

That stat alone doesn't tell the entire story – nine of the last 14 games between the two squads were settled by six or fewer points.

And while Wednesday's game wasn't quite that close, St. Bonaventure raced out to a big early advantage and had to hold off a Duquesne rally late for a 65-56 victory at the Reilly Center.

Four Bona players reached double figures with Daryl Banks III showing the way with 15 points, four assists and four steals.

Chad Venning added 12 points while Yann Farell chipped in 11 points and six rebounds and Kyrell Luc posted 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

The Bonnies (10-9, 4-2 A-10) couldn't have drawn up a better start.

St. Bonaventure roared out of the gates, racing out to a 20-3 lead over the game's first seven minutes while sinking seven of eight tries from the floor overall and four of five from long range.

Duquesne (13-6, 3-3), meanwhile, entered the day ranking second among all A-10 teams in offense at 76 points per game, but that early season prowess was non-existent in the opening minutes as the Dukes stumbled to a 1-for-14 start on field goal attempts.

Bona's lead only grew in the opening stanza as the hosts pushed their advantage to 34-14.

The Dukes would gain some traction late in the half, closing to 38-23, while the Bonnies used a balanced attack that saw no player score in double figures despite their cushion.

Farell would keep the good times rolling with back-to-back threes as the Bona lead stood at 20 at the under-12 media timeout.

Moses Flowers then joined the 1,000-point club with two shots at the line.

The Bonaventure offense would grow cold, however, and Duquesne worked its way back into the game.

The Dukes embarked on a 16-2 run while the Bonnies went quiet.

Kareem Rozier's nothing-but-net three pulled the visitors back within 55-49 with still 6:30 remaining and a defensive stop appeared to give the ball back to Duquesne with the ability to cut the deficit to one possession.

A turnover collected by Farell resulted in a layup for the Brown and White, though, and the margin was soon back to 10 following a drive of the lane by Luc.

Rozier brought the score back to 61-54 after playing long ball again, but a Dukes foul sent Banks to the line where he sank a pair of shots to press the lead back to nine.

A Jimmy Clark jumper brought the score to 63-56 with 2:24 left, but the Bonnies defense did not allow the Dukes to score the rest of the way.

Clark led the Dukes with 12 points on the night.
 
GAME NOTES

• Flowers scored 844 points in three seasons at Hartford prior to this year. He joins Banks in the 1,000-point club.
• The Bonnies shot 44 percent from the floor, but connected on 15-of-24 attempts before halftime. Duquesne finished at 35 percent for the night.
• Bona led on the boards, 38-35.
• St. Bonaventure now leads the all-time series, 70-60, and has won 20 of the last 23 matchups.
• The Bonnies improved to 9-1 on home court this year.
• St. Bonaventure held Duquesne 20 points below their season average in scoring while keeping Dae Dae Grant, the A-10's season leader in treys, without a single three-pointer (0-2).

 
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure is on the road again, making its first-ever trip to Loyola Chicago in the first meeting between the programs as Atlantic 10 foes Saturday afternoon. Tip time is set for 3 p.m. Central/4 p.m. Eastern.
 
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