SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – For much of Saturday's Basketball Hall of Fame Classic inside MassMutual Arena, it looked as though St. Bonaventure was primed to upset Florida Atlantic, last year's Final Four Cinderella who entered the afternoon ranked No. 15/14 in the Top 25 polls.

Though the Bonnies led for nearly the entire first half and controlled the early minutes of the second period, FAU ground the Bonnies to a halt following too many turnovers (21) and offensive droughts.

By the time the Bonnies made a last stand in the last two minutes with back-to-back treys by Moses Flowers – and an attempt for a third that just rattled out – it all added up to a 64-54 win for FAU.

Assa Essamvous and Chad Venning both posted 11 points and seven rebounds apiece while Mika Adams-Woods added nine points and three assists.

The loss snaps Bona's five-game winning streak and they stand at 7-3 on the season while FAU improves to 9-2.

The first half saw runs from both teams in an evenly matched first 20 minutes.

Early on, the Bonnies punched first as they used an 11-0 run to stretch their lead out to double figures.

FAU's high-powered offense, which entered the day averaging over 85 points per game through the first 10 contests of the year, sputtered in the opening minutes as the Bonnies held the Owls to just 10 points for over 13 minutes to start.

As FAU started to find its footing on the offensive end, though, the Bonnies lost theirs.

FAU finished the half on a 15-6 run as the Bonnies went quiet for over three minutes and by the time a Chad Venning potential three at the buzzer was waved off by officials, the Owls took a 27-26 lead to the break.

As the second half began, the Bonnies immediately found their spark, pulling back in front, 32-27.

The Bona lead stood at 39-34 following a traditional three-point play from Noel Brown with 13:30 remaining, but the momentum would shortly swing back in favor of the Owls.

A five-minute scoreless stretch from the Bonnies would allow FAU to surge ahead and take control.

An 11-0 run gave FAU a 47-41 lead with 8:39 to play, its largest lead of the day to that point, and the run would eventually stretch the score to a 52-41 margin before a layup from Moses Flowers finally snapped the cold spell.

Bona's effort to battle back in the final stanza took another hit when Venning fouled out with over five minutes to go.

Flowers brought a spark as the clock ticked down, nearly bringing the Bonnies to a 58-55 score with a minute left when the third of his tries from beyond the arc late hit nearly every part of the rim before bouncing out.

Johnell Davis led all scorers with 16 points for the Owls, though on 5-of-14 shooting. Vladislav Golden had 11 points inside.

GAME NOTES

• The Bonnies and Owls each shot 41 percent from the floor, but Bona's 21 turnovers to FAU's 13 proved to be one of the key differences.
• Despite FAU's size advantage, the Bonnies held their own on the boards, 36-32.
• It was a rare loss for the Bonnies when holding an opponent under 65 points – the Bonnies are 139-28 under head coach Mark Schmidt when limiting foes to that number or less.
• Charles Pride returned to the lineup after missing the last three games due to an ankle injury and posted six points, three rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes.
• FAU returned 14 of 15 players off last year's Final Four roster.
• Saturday was just the second meeting all-time between the Bonnies and Owls. St. Bonaventure won at FAU in December 2019.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"We came out of the gates really well. In the first 15 minutes, we took care of the ball, we defended really well and we scored. Give credit to Florida Atlantic, they stepped up their intensity and we didn't react well. They didn't panic. We had some opportunities and against those guys when you get an open shot, you've gotta make it."

"They outscored us 34-20 in the paint, 24-9 off turnovers, those two stats were the difference. When you turn the ball over 21 times, you won't win many games."

"Going into the game if someone would've told me we would hold Florida Atlantic to 64 points, I would have thought we'd have a pretty good chance. They showed their maturity and didn't lose focus when we got ahead early."

"We didn't take care of the basketball in the second half. We played hard, we just didn't execute. Our guys are disappointed, but competitors look at it from the angle of what do we need to do to get better. I think we have competitors in the locker room who will take this as a challenge to get better."
 
UP NEXT
The Bonnies return home to host Binghamton Friday, Dec. 22. Tip time at the Reilly Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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