BUFFALO – A comfortable advantage for much of the second half had dwindled to single digits thanks to the three-point proficiency of Canisius bringing the crowd to life and presenting the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team with its first hostile environment of the new season.
With the Griffs looking to pull closer, down 77-69 with 3:10 left, Chance Moore swatted away a layup attempt with authority to swiftly turn the tide back in the Bonnies favor.
It was that kind of day for Moore, a transfer senior guard who dominated to power an 87-78 rivalry win for St. Bonaventure at Canisius' Koessler Center Saturday afternoon.
The Georgia native finished with 27 points, going 9-of-13 from the floor and a perfect 8-8 at the foul line. He also added three blocks and two steals.
"We were hype for this game," Moore said. "I know Canisius got us the last two years and we were looking to punch back today. We followed Coach's game plan and were able to come out victorious. We're still working on getting better shooting from range, so we're better working downhill. Coach emphasizes owning the paint and winning the downhill game and that's what we were able to do today."
While Canisius remained in the game with its three-point shooting, the Bonnies dominated the glass with a 37-23 margin in rebounding including 15 offensive rebounds leading to 17 second chance points.
Five different Bonnies finished with double-figure scoring: Melvin Council Jr. posted 17 points to go along with four assists and Dasonte Bowen tallied 12 points and four helpers while both Noel Brown and Jonah Hinton each delivered 10 points apiece.
St. Bonaventure shot better than 53 percent from the floor and went 20-24 at the charity stripe to start 2-0 on the year.
Bona opened up a 20-12 lead in the early going, but Canisius caught fire from beyond the arc to push back in front.
The visitors turned the tide after the final media timeout, however, running on an 11-2 sprint over the last 2:58 before intermission for a 40-34 advantage at the break.
Free throws from Canisius brought the Griffs within a 48-44 margin at the under-16 media timeout of the second half before the Bonnies began to show their muscle with a 9-2 break. A drive of the lane by Bowen pushed Bona's lead to double digits for the first time, 54-44, with 14:00 left on the clock.
Bona scored again on the next trip down the floor and their lead would be at least a dozen until the Griffs struggled back to a 73-63 score with 4:49 to play.
Moore tried put a cap on the rally effort with a pair of free throws, but the 13th three-pointer of the day from the Griffs brought the hosts within eight and still 3:30 to go.
A stop from Canisius set the table for the hosts to pull closer before Moore had other ideas with his emphatic block to give the Bonnies momentum for good.
The Griffs (0-2) were often electric from deep, sinking 14 of 32 tries beyond the three-point line. Paul McMillian IV drained a game-high 31 points on 11-15 shooting.
Canisius' Tana Kopa also recorded 19 points including five treys.
In all, seven Bonnies cracked into the scoring column. Duane Thompson chipped in seven points and three boards while Lajae Jones had four points off the bench.
GAME NOTES
- St. Bonaventure's starting lineup: Dasonte Bowen, Chance Moore, Melvin Council Jr., Duane Thompson, Noel Brown.
- Thompson made the first start of his collegiate career and drained a three-pointer, his first career field goal, on the game's opening possession.
- Jonah Hinton and Lajae Jones were Bona's first players off the bench.
- The Bonnies improved to 103-69 against Canisius all-time in the 172nd meeting between the Little Three rivals and snapped a two-game losing skid in the series.
- Moore's 27 points represent the most by a Bonnies player since Daryl Banks III posted 29 vs. Saint Joseph's Jan. 26, 2024. He was also just one off his career high of 28 points set while with Missouri State vs. Evansville Nov. 29, 2023.
- Brown led the Bonnies on the glass with six boards, five coming on the offensive end.
- Bona owned a 46-20 cushion in the paint and committed only eight turnovers.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"We did some positive things. We've improved since our scrimmage, to our exhibition to our opener and to today. Guys are accepting their roles and getting comfortable in our system. As I told the team, we can be happy with the win, but we need to continue to work because we aren't where we need to be."
"Chance came to play today. I thought Noel played extremely well, and Melvin. I thought Jaxon did a really good job, especially in the first half, of offensive rebounding. Duane started today and got us going with a good three and make a couple good moves to the basket. We had a lot of guys who helped us today and that's good to see."
"You win games in the paint, by defending and keeping teams out of the paint. Out-rebounding and getting to the foul line. You look at today, we got outscored by 27 points on threes, but we dominated the paint and we were able to overcome some other things. With our guys playing downhill and attacking the paint, being aggressive, that's how we need to play to be successful this year."
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure makes the first of two November trips to the Sunshine State when the Bonnies head to Fort Myers to play at Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday night.
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