ST. LOUIS – After beginning conference play with two victories, the Bonnies could not find a groove in the Gateway City as they suffered their first Atlantic 10 loss of the season. The Billikens raced past the Bonnies and defeated the Brown and White, 78-55.
 
Here are five takeaways from Sunday's game:
 

1. Chad Venning's Career Day: Chad Venning, the 6-foot-10 redshirt sophomore from Brooklyn, N.Y., was one of the few bright spots for the Bonnies in St. Louis. He finished with a career-high 23 points and shot 10-of-11 from inside the 3-point arc. Venning primarily matched up against St. Louis' Francis Okoro, one of the better forwards in the conference. He dominated Okoro on both ends of the floor as the Billiken scored just six points for the Bills. The Bonaventure big man also grabbed six rebounds, which tied a team-high along with freshman Yann Farell.

 

2. The Flower Power: Although Moses Flowers has not started yet this season, the 6-foot-4 transfer from Hartford played 30 minutes against St. Louis and scored 15 points. The Bonnies made just three 3-pointers at St. Louis; Flowers hit all three of them. To date, the junior has drained 40.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc. He's also scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time as a Bonnie. Flowers should be in the running for the Atlantic 10's Sixth Man of the Year Award if he keeps playing like this.

 

3. Another Hard Lesson Learned on the Road: The Bonnies currently stand at 8-8, with a 2-1 record in conference play. Considering this young team was selected to finish 10^th in the conference preseason poll, this team has exceeded expectations. Yet, the Bonnies still have a mountain to climb until pundits consider them Atlantic 10 contenders with teams such as St. Louis. Nevertheless, Saturday's setback at Chaifetz Arena marks the seventh loss for Bona away from the Reilly Center. They have yet to win a true road game, although Bona defeated Notre Dame at the Gotham Classic on Long Island on Nov. 25.

 

4. Opening Minutes Showed Promise: When looking at the final score, one may conclude that Bonaventure got rolled from the start. But this was not the case. With 12:11 remaining in the first half, the Bonnies held a 15-11 lead in St. Louis. Their interior defense stymied the Billikens early, and they did a nice job attacking the basket. Over the next six minutes, however, St. Louis embarked on a 16-0 run that pretty much sealed the fate of this game. Bona allowed the Billikens to get out in transition, and St. Louis' phenomenal point guard, Yuri Collins, made them pay. Collins finished with 14 assists. But if these two teams meet again in Brooklyn, Bona will know they must slow down the St. Louis fast break, limit turnovers, and work the ball inside. Or else the same result will rear its ugly head again.  

 

5. Next Up: The Bonnies will look to pick up their first win of the season in the Ocean State on Wednesday. Bona faces the Rhode Island Rams, led by first-year head coach and former Dayton coach Archie Miller. The Rams enter this game with a record of 5-10, as they have only one victory over Fordham in conference play thus far. St. Bonaventure has not won at the Ryan Center since Feb. 9, 2013, when Eric Mosley dropped 21 points to lead Bona to a 67-61 victory. Tune into ESPN+ at 7 p.m. to see if the Brown and White can win their third Atlantic 10 game of the season.