KISSIMMEE, Fla. – For the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team this Thanksgiving weekend, the seconds were definitely the highlight of the holiday as they responded from a setback in the opener of the ESPN NIT Tip-Off with a 68-56 win over Northern Iowa in the third-place game Friday night at State Farm Field House.

With the win, the Bonnies improve to 7-1 on the season.

Dasonte Bowen matched his career high with 17 points while Melvin Council Jr. added 15.

Chance Moore had another do-it-all performance of 14 points, five rebounds and four steals.

The Bonnies sputtered offensively early as the Panthers pulled ahead to a 26-17 advantage.

Bona totally turned the tables over the final 6:28 of the half, however, by launching a 21-6 sprint to take a 38-32 lead to intermission.

That momentum continued into the second half as a putback slam from Lajae Jones followed by a layup from Brown pushed the lead to double digits for the first time, 42-32, and brought the Bona faithful in attendance to a roar.

The Bonnies sank five of their first seven tries from the floor out of the locker room as the lead surged to 49-36.

A trey from Kyle Pock brought the Panthers to a single-digit deficit with 9:20 remaining, but Moore responded with an arrow of his own from deep.

Over the final minutes, Bona never let their control of the contest waver as they led for the entirety of the second half.

St. Bonaventure's defense forced 17 Panthers turnovers as the Bonnies mounted an impressive 14 steals.

Tytan Anderson registered 14 points to lead Northern Iowa (3-4).

GAME NOTES

• Council, who had his first double-double of the year Thursday, has tallied double figures in three consecutive games. He was named to the ESPN NIT Tip-off All-Tournament Team for his efforts.
• Moore (4), Jonah Hinton (3), Bowen (2) and Jones (2) all had multiple steals. Bona's 14 steals were the most for the team in a single game since March 1, 2022 at VCU when they finished with the same total. SBU has not had more steals in a game since compiling 15 vs. Jackson State Nov. 10, 2018.
• For the eighth consecutive game to start the season, the Bonnies led the battle in the paint, 34-28.
• Northern Iowa entered the day ranked No. 132 in the KenPom rankings.
• Bona's defense again had a strong outing, just a day after holding the nation's top offense in Utah State 26 points under its season average (98.5 ppg). The Panthers are actually the last program to score 90 points in a game against the Bonnies in a 90-80 upset over then-No. 16 St. Bonaventure Nov. 27, 2021 – now a span of exactly 100 games ago.
• Friday's game was a matchup of two of 14 Division I coaches to lead their current school for 17 seasons or more – Bona's Mark Schmidt (18 seasons) and UNI's Ben Jacobson (19 seasons).

 
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"The guys responded. I expected our guys to come out and play well and they did. Our bench really contributed. Xander, Duane and Jonah gave us lifts. In the second half we were much more aggressive. Our 1-2-2, 3/4 court; we were active, our ball screen defense was much more aggressive. Our aggressiveness defensively was a big factor. We have a long way to go, but tonight was a step in the right direction."

"Our guys were effective. Chance was top (of the zone) and he was active, being long, he creates issues. Our guys really executed well."

"They made runs at us and we had an answer. We're not the prettiest team, but our guys play hard. We just need to continue to get better in all areas, but coming off yesterday's disappointment this was a real positive step. We gave up a lead, but we didn't give up last night. Tonight we showed character to bounce back."

UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure will travel to Bucknell on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tip time in Lewisburg, Pa. is set for 7 p.m.

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— Bonnies Men's Basketball (@BonniesMBB) November 30, 2024

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