BRONX, N.Y. – Valentine's Day 2024 is a holiday Assa Essamvous isn't soon to forget.

The St. Bonaventure sophomore put on a scintillating shooting showing Wednesday night, sinking all seven of his 3-point tries and eight of nine field goal opportunities overall for a career-high 23 points, powering his squad to a convincing 85-69 victory.

St. Bonaventure (15-9, 6-6 A-10) shot 60 percent from the floor, drained 12 3-pointers and saw numerous career-highs in a no-doubt triumph.

While Essamvous stole the show, he wasn't alone.

Noel Brown also set new career best as he drained 7-of-8 shot attempts for 18 points, adding five rebounds.

Mika Adams-Woods helped drive the train, handing out 10 assists for – you guessed it – another career-high.

In so doing, the Bonnies emphatically avenged a loss to Fordham at the Reilly Center last month as they led for 36 minutes of game time, and for double digits the entirety of the second half.

The Bonnies set the tone early.  

St. Bonaventure hit 12 of its first 16 shot attempts and went a dazzling 18-for-26 in the first half, racing to the locker room with a 44-27 lead following a last second bucket from Daryl Banks III.

Chad Venning scored the team's first six points, but was forced to the bench with foul trouble just over five minutes in.

The Bonnies weren't slowed, however, as Noel Brown took over in the post and scored double figures before the break.

Assa Essamvous recalled his A-10 All-Rookie campaign of a year ago, draining all five shot attempts including four from long range during the first half blitz.

Bona's made six of seven 3-point tries in the first 20 minutes, more than the team had in the entirely of last Saturday's setback vs. Duquesne.

In the second half, the Bonnies only continued to soar.

The SBU lead grew to 26 with 8:37 to play and by then the only question was how many buckets Essamvous could make in a row.

He missed just one jumper on the night while all of his efforts from beyond the 3-point line sank, barely touching the rim on nearly every try.

While Essamvous was electric from distance, the front court did its work as well for Bona as Brown and Venning combined for 29 points on 12-15 shooting.

Venning, a Brooklyn native, needed just over 14 minutes to total 15 points.

Will Richardson and Kyle Rose had 10 points apiece for Fordham (10-14, 4-7). Fordham shot 51 percent from the floor in their January win, but that number dropped to 42 percent and 30 percent from distance on this night.

The two teams finished tied on the boards last time around, but Bona held a 32-25 edge in the rematch.

 
GAME NOTES

• Essamvous matched the season high for threes in a game by a Bona player, matching the seven hit by Daryl Banks III vs. Saint Joseph's. The last time any player had a similar success rate from downtown in a Bonnies uniform – Kyle Lofton's 7-for-8 game Feb. 17, 2019 vs. George Mason.
• Essamvous set new career highs in scoring, breaking his 22-point game vs. UMass Dec. 31, 2022, and had his second career 20-point performance while also hitting a new career-best in threes. His previous high water mark beyond the arc came with five in a win at VCU last season.
• Essamvous easily topped his '23-24 scoring high of 14 in last month's win at VCU.
• Brown surpassed his previous best of 16 points in a win over Miami (OH) back in November.
• Adams-Woods reached double-digit assists for the first time in his five-year career. Earlier this year he had eight assists in a game, both at Buffalo and vs. Miami (OH).
• Bona shot over 69 percent during the first half (18-26), their best shooting performance in a half this year.
• Noel Brown entered the game with six career games of double-figures, including four this season, but had 10 points in less than 10 minutes of game time Wednesday.
• The Bonnies snapped a three-game losing skid vs. Fordham and moved to 30-20 all-time vs. their in-state rival. 

UP NEXT
The Bonnies return to the Reilly Center to host Davidson as part of Homecoming Weekend this Saturday. Tip time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

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