ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – St. Bonaventure started strong and never lost control on the way to a commanding win over visiting Le Moyne Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center, 71-52.

Five Bonnies scored in double figures in a balanced scoring attack led by Noel Brown's 15 points. Melvin Council Jr. turned in an all-around effort of 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists; Lajae Jones registered 12 points and eight rebounds; Dasonte Bowen posted 11 points, six boards and three assists and Jonah Hinton chipped in 10 points.

The Bonnies (4-0) hit on all cylinders from the outset, opening the game by going 6-for-9 overall from the floor, 3-for-4 from deep and 5-of-5 at the line as part of a 20-7 start.

Bona made good on 53 percent of its shot attempts and had the Reilly Center crowd buzzing throughout the opening 20 minutes on the way to a commanding 44-23 advantage at intermission.

SBU again showed its depth as eight Bonnies cracked into the scoring column before halftime.

The Bonnies did hit a lull to begin the second half, suffering a five-minute scoreless streak that saw Le Moyne claw back within 50-34.

Jones finally broke the icy spell with a corner three with 11:09 to play, pushing the cushion back to 19.  

From there, the Dolphins weren't able to muster another charge as the Bonnies led for all but 28 seconds of game time.

Offense came as a struggle for Le Moyne (1-4) as the visitors shot 34 percent from the floor and just 28 percent from distance.

Bona's dominated the glass as well, 43-28, and was plus-14 in the paint (34-20).

Darrick Jones Jr. was Le Moyne's lone double figure scorer with 11 points.

GAME NOTES

• St. Bonaventure's starting lineup: Chance Moore, Dasonte Bowen, Lajae Jones, Melvin Council Jr., Noel Brown.
• St. Bonaventure has started 4-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season. 
• Chance Moore tied a career-high in blocks with three. It marks the second time this year he has recorded three blocks, also doing so last weekend at Canisius.
• Jones' eight rebounds represent his new Division I career-best. 
• St. Bonaventure held the advantage in second-chance points, 15-7, and led in offensive rebounds, 12-10.
• Noel Brown played a career-high 36 minutes. His previous high was 33 earlier this week FGCU. He has set a new career-high in minutes in each of the last three games.
• Brown has totaled double-figure scoring in three consecutive games for the first time in his collegiate career.
• Bowen has registered double-figure point production in four straight games to begin the season, also a career-best.
• With the win, Bonaventure moves to 15-0 all-time against Le Moyne. Le Moyne is the only program the Bonnies have played more than 10 times with an undefeated record.
• St. Bonaventure registered a season-high nine blocks.  
• Bona has led for at least 32 minutes of game time in all four games thus far.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"I thought our guys, especially in the first half, did everything we needed to do. We defended the three-point line. They were 3-for-15. We out-rebounded them. We got the ball into the paint. We got points off turnovers. We were up by 21 and I thought we were playing really, really well."

"We did everything we needed to do. We just have to get better at attacking the zone. Getting into the gaps and sharing the ball. The other thing, rest assured, we will practice foul shooting too (after finishing 13-23 at the line Saturday)."

"We're 4-0 and that's really good, but we've got a lot of work to do. Both on the offensive and defensive ends and as a team too, playing together and playing fast and playing the game the right way all the time."
 
"The neat thing about our team, Chance was the leading scorer the last three games, and he had six today, and we won by 19. We had five guys in double figures, and I think that's the strength of our team is that we don't rely on one guy. We had other guys step up offensively. It's going to be hard to guard us because we have different options."

"We're getting better. We're not near where we need to be. We want to play our best basketball in February and March. We're going in the right direction, but we're not half way up the mountain yet. That's a positive because we're 4-0, and it would be different if we were 0-4, but we're 4-0. We're getting better, but we've got a long way to go. I think this team has a pretty high ceiling. I think we can get better. We haven't maxed out at all because some of the guys don't even know what the heck they're doing out there. I think our ceiling is high, the question is can we get there."

UP NEXT
The Bonnies remain at home to host Mansfield Wednesday night. Tip time at the Reilly Center is 7:00 p.m.

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