FORT MYERS, Fla. – St. Bonaventure moved in front early and weathered multiple comeback attempts from host FGCU to take a 74-65 win Wednesday night at Alico Arena.

Reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Chance Moore posted a game-high 18 points along with eight rebounds and three steals to power the Bonnies. Four Bona players logged double-figure scoring: Noel Brown totaled 13 points and Dasonte Bowen along with Jonah Hinton each had 11.

After leading by three possessions or more for most of the night, FGCU closed within two with under nine minutes to go.

With the Eagles student section roaring, the Bonnies again showed their mettle down the stretch.

Following the under-8 media timeout, the visitors put together a game-changing 8-0 break.

Brown started the run with a turnaround jumper in the lane. Following a forced turnover on the defensive end, a fall-away floater from Lajae Jones extended the lead back to seven. More work by Brown in the paint pushed the lead back to 11 and the Eagles never again threatened.

St. Bonaventure (3-0) gained control early thanks to a 15-2 run resulting in a 17-7 lead just over six minutes in.

The Bonnies continued to maintain a 10-point edge at 32-22 with 4:30 left before the break, but FGCU turned the tables with a 7-0 sprint in just over 90 seconds, extending that to 9-0 to cut Bona's lead to just one.

After taking a four-point lead to intermission, the Bonnies soon enjoyed a 10-point cushion once more early into the second half and seemed poised to take control.

Once again, though, the Eagles had other plans as the hosts built another rally.

Rory Stewart charged up the crowd with three from the wing for a two-point spread at the nine-minute mark, 57-55. 

Then, the Bonnies had the final word.

Zavian McLean had 16 points for FGCU (0-3).

GAME NOTES

• Bowen and Melvin Council combined for 11 of Bona's 13 assists. Bowen handed out five while Council posted six dimes.
• Bowen tied his career high in assists.
• The Bonnies shot 46 percent for the game and 50 percent in the second half (14-28) while holding FGCU to 39 percent.
• Both teams made eight threes with the Bonnies going 8-21 and the Eagles 8-27. FGCU led on the boards, 38-35.
• St. Bonaventure's starting lineup: Dasonte Bowen, Chance Moore, Melvin Council Jr., Lajae Jones, Noel Brown.
• Bona's first man off the bench: Jonah Hinton, who checked in at the 15:32 mark of the first half.
• With the win, the Bonnies have their fourth 3-0 start since the 2000-01 campaign and first since 2021-22 when the squad finished with 23 victories.
• The Bonnies had never played at FGCU before, but they had played in an in-season tournament hosted by FGCU. SBU competed in the 2013 Gulf Coast Showcase in nearby Estero, Fla., scoring wins over Southern Illinois and Wagner before falling to Louisiana Tech in the championship game.
• Over 200 Bonnies fans were in attendance to cheer on Bona's more than 1,000 miles from home.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"It wasn't pretty, but we found a way and I thought we played really, really hard. We were good enough to get the lead up to 10 and bad enough to let them back in it. But we responded. Duane came in and gave us a lift. I thought collectively our effort was really good and that overcomes a lot of deficiencies."

"Chance did some good things. His athleticism is something that we need and really makes us better. Jonah hit some threes. Everybody will have their day in the sun. To me, that's the sign of a good team when guys can come off the bench and give you a lift."

"Our philosophy is to attack the paint. We have some athletic guys who can get by their man. We got the ball inside to Noel and he played well. We're an attacking team and that's what we need to do."

"Everywhere we go we have fans. It feels like home when you hear the let's go Bona's chants. One of the reasons we had the success we had today is because of them."

UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure returns home to host Le Moyne Saturday afternoon. Tip time is slated for 4 p.m. at the Reilly Center.

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