RICHMOND, Va. – Despite riding high into the contest thanks to their recent play, and a strong start in the opening half, too many miscues and offensive droughts resulted in a 65-54 setback for the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at Richmond.

Moses Flowers led the Bonnies with 15 points while Chad Venning added 13, but the Bonnies ultimately shot 38 percent from the floor and 14 turnovers resulted in 19 points for the Spiders, a key stat in what was a close game throughout.

Things clicked early for the Bonnies as Flowers powered a 12-2 run with eight points following a steal and score along with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 21-13 advantage in the opening 10 minutes.

From there, though, things went ice cold for the visitors.

The Bonnies (10-4, 1-1 A-10) suffered through a span of over nine minutes without points, missing nine straight field goal attempts during that time as Richmond pulled away with a 15-0 run.

Assa Essamvous finally broke the drought with a jumper in the lane for his first points as the clock ticked down toward a minute before the break as the Bonnies went to intermission trailing by five, 28-23.

Out of halftime, the Bonnies immediately got back within a point, 32-31, following a trey by Essamvous.

In a continuing trend, however, each time the Bonnies were within a bucket, the Spiders extended their cushion as another 10-4 break put the hosts ahead by 10.

A loose ball resulted in a floater that fell off the hands of Charles Pride to bring the Bonnies to within five with 5:40 left, but again the Spiders had an answer.

Dji Bailey dropped in a bucket off the window on the next Richmond trip down the floor, then a Bona turnover resulted in an Isaiah Bigelow layup for a 54-45 score.

It was that kind of day for the Bonnies as their effort for a 2-0 trip to Richmond went by the wayside.

The Bonnies remained within two possessions, 56-50, with 1:50 to play following two at the line by Venning, but they could do no better than trade points with the Spiders the rest of the way as Richmond made its free throws down the stretch.

Richmond (9-5, 1-0) did not need a field goal over the final 4:35 to preserve its lead.

Jordan King led all scorers by draining 18 points for the Spiders. Bigelow added a double-double effort of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Bailey posted 13 and Neal Quinn gave the Spiders a fourth scorer in double figures with 10 points.

GAME NOTES

• Pride had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
• Richmond won the battle of the boards, 34-32, and was +10 in the paint (30-20).
• The Spiders entered the day with just over eight turnovers per game, lowest in the nation, and only turned the ball over six times.
• Bona went 5-17 from 3-point land and Richmond finished 5-21.
• Bona's 23 points in the first half marked their lowest total at the break this season and the 54 total points matches a season-low.

UP NEXT
The Bonnies have this week off before returning home to host Fordham Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Reilly Center. Tip time for the nationally televised game on USA Network is set for 2:30 p.m.
 
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