BROOKLYN, N.Y. – For much of the St. Bonaventure men's basketball season, the Bonnies seemed tantalizingly close to turning a corner and making the type of run the program has grown accustomed to – the type leading to February and March runs to the top of the Atlantic 10.
And, at times during Wednesday's Atlantic 10 Tournament Second Round game against Davidson, the Bonnies seemed on the precipice of hitting their stride at the right time.
In the end, though, Davidson was able to hold the Bonnies at an arm's length for the majority of the contest, ultimately closing out a 65-54 decision inside Barclays Center.
"We got close, but we just couldn't make that big stop, or a big shot. We got off to a bad start in the second half and that was critical. From there we were playing from behind," head coach Mark Schmidt said. "Give all the credit to Davidson. We played ok defensively, and we fought, but they were just a better team today."
Chad Venning, returning to his hometown of Brooklyn, led the Bonnies with 16 points and six rebounds. Moses Flowers and Kyrell Luc each chipped in 10 points apiece with Bona's point guard also posting six rebounds and five assists. Daryl Banks III also added nine points, five rebounds and five assists.
With the loss, the Bonnies' season concludes at 14-18 overall while Davidson (16-15) advances to Thursday's quarterfinal matchup vs. VCU.
For the Wildcats, Desmond Watson led all scorers with 17 points while Foster Loyer contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
A pair of scoring droughts of over two and a half minutes during the opening half allowed the Wildcats to pull ahead by eight, but the Bonnies would close to a 31-26 margin at the break.
Davidson was able to build an advantage thanks in large part to a big discrepancy at the foul line as the Wildcats made nine of 11 attempts while the Bonnies had one lone try from the stripe.
Out of intermission, the Wildcats established control with five points in the first 45 seconds to stretch their lead to double digits for the first time.
The Bonnies defense would lock in, though, holding Davidson without a field goal for over four minutes.
Luc drove the lane twice in succession, fighting through traffic to bring the Bonnies within six. Then, two minutes later, Yann Farell drained a three for a 51-46 score with still 8:40 to play.
Davidson responded with layups on each of the next two trips, though, to push ahead by nine once more.
At the under-4 media timeout with 3:59 showing on the clock, the Bonnies again were within 57-50, but two Wildcat free throws, a Bonnies turnover and a dunk the other way turned the game into an 11-point margin and the Bonnies would never threaten again.
Davidson was +6 on the boards in the second half, helping thwart Bona's efforts to rally. The Wildcats finished just 4-for-22 from distance, but the Bonnies were only 5-for-19. Davidson outscored the Bonnies by 10 from the line and turned the ball over just five times.
In the end, Wednesday's game summed up much of the 2022-23 season for a completely new team that returned zero points from the previous year – close, with flashes of potential, but just not quite enough to get the consistency needed to contend at the top of the conference.
"Our players realize now what it takes in the Atlantic 10; now they've seen it. In essence, we were all freshmen," Schmidt said. "Now that they see what it takes, they need to go back and work on the things that they learned."
------
For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on Twitter @GoBonnies and get men's basketball updates @BonniesMBB. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies
