ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center, the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team left no doubt who would take ownership of the Br. Ed Coughlin, OFM Franciscan Cup as the Bonnies hit on all cylinders in a dominant win over Siena, 89-56.

With the victory, the Bonnies avenged last year's loss in Albany and reclaimed the Cup against their Franciscan sister school.

Mika Adams-Woods continued his recent torrid stretch, posting a game-high 23 points on 9-for-9 shooting. He's now made 19 of 20 field goal attempts in the last two games including 10 straight from 3-point land dating back to last weekend's win at Buffalo.

Chad Venning was dominant down low as well, finishing with 20 points.

Moses Flowers delivered 12 points off the bench and Daryl Banks III contributed 11 points and four assists.

St. Bonaventure has notched five straight victories and improves to 7-2 on the season.

The Bonnies picked up where they left off Wednesday night when the offense shot just under 67 percent in a 34-point win over rival Niagara.

After back-and-forth opening minutes, the Bonnies embarked on a 15-3 run for their first double-digit advantage of the day with 8:30 left before intermission.

As the lead expanded, the Bonnies nearly couldn't miss.

They made 10-of-11 field goal tries over one stretch, powered by their point guard who legitimately could not miss.

Adams-Woods went a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and would finish the day 4-for-4 from deep.

Bona's lead surged to 46-25 at halftime as the hosts shot nearly 59 percent before the break.

The hosts continued to pull away, employing a 20-4 run over the final 3:35 of the first half and initial nearly four minutes of the second period for a 58-29 advantage.

Siena (2-8) never got closer as the Bonnies' lead grew to 39 with six minutes left before letting off the gas.

St. Bonaventure owned the paint with 40 points to Siena's 18 while also holding a 34-32 edge on the glass.

Bona's defense limited the Saints to 38 percent shooting from the floor while connecting on a nearly 60 percent clip for nearly the entire game before settling for a 55 percent success rate (32-58).

No Siena players reached double-figure scoring with Michael Evbagharu and Mason Courtney both tallying nine points apiece to lead the visitors.

• St. Bonaventure takes back possession of the Franciscan Cup, moving to 33-12 all-time vs. sister school Siena as well as 8-5 since the installation of the Franciscan Cup series in 2010.
• Kyrell Luc returned after missing the last two games due to an ankle sprain. He recorded five points and four rebounds in over 15 minutes of action.
• Charles Pride missed his third consecutive game due to an ankle injury.
• Assa Essamvous hauled in a season-high 12 rebounds in addition to seven points and four assists along with two steals.
• Noel Brown was again strong off the bench, finishing with nine points.
• Freshman Miles Rose saw his first career game action, playing 10 minutes with his first two career points.
• The Bonnies narrowly missed scoring 90-plus points in back-to-back games for the first time since 2016.
• The trophy awarded to the victor of the annual meeting between St. Bonaventure and Siena was renamed in honor of Br. Ed Coughlin, OFM, who passed away July 30, 2019. Coughlin earned his bachelor's degree from St. Bonaventure and returned to the University in the late 1970s, working several assignments including serving twice as director of the college's Franciscan Institute, overseeing the research program's academic course offerings and publications, and working on the summer faculty. In 1996, he was named provincial secretary of the Holy Name Province of the Order of Friars Minor. Br. Ed, as he was known across both campuses, became Siena College president in November 2014.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"I thought we played extremely well, especially on defense. Siena coming into the game was one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country."

"Right now, we're in a hot time of the season where we're shooting the ball really well, but that's not going to last. What lasts what's the constant is our defense.  That will be the staple and in the last three games it has been."

"The Atlantic 10 Conference games are the most important games. So we're trying to get ourselves prepared for those games. Every game in the Atlantic 10 is going to be a dogfight."

QUOTES FROM BONNIES STUDENT-ATHLETES
"Each game I think I'm getting more comfortable. I'm glad I have captains like Moses and Daryl by my side talking to me day in and day out."

"I know I don't want to do too much. I just let the game come to me and pick my spots knowing when to get in the lane, take my shots, and dish it out." – Mika Adams-Woods

"My teammates have been putting their confidence in me, telling me to keep going, keep shooting, so yeah I feel good."

"It's beautiful to watch, we have so many weapons and it makes it easier for everybody having so many weapons. It makes it hard for other teams to key in on anybody." – Daryl Banks III

UP NEXT
The Bonnies will head to Massachusetts to take on nationally-ranked FAU in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday, Dec. 16 in Springfield. Tip time on ESPNU is scheduled for 4 p.m.

------
For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on X @GoBonnies and get men's basketball updates @BonniesMBB. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies