AMHERST, Mass. – On a day for career milestones, it was a return "home" of sorts that led to a key win in the Atlantic 10 standings for the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team.

Senior Moses Flowers, playing less than two hours from his hometown of Dorchester, Mass., delivered 15 points and powered the Bonnies down the stretch for a 75-67 victory over UMass at Mullins Center.

Chad Venning was strong with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds while Mika Adams-Woods had 14 points and five assists. Charles Pride chipped in 11 points.

The Minutemen (17-10, 8-7 A-10) were red hot from the perimeter at the start, hitting five of their first seven attempts from beyond the arc for a 22-16 lead at the 8:00 mark.

Bona (17-10, 8-7) clawed its way back in front late in the half, though UMass seemed to take the momentum into the break following a Bonnies foul on a three-point attempt and a turnover in the final two seconds which allowed the hosts to take a 38-36 edge after 20 minutes.

As the second half began, though, the Bonnies started to run.

Shots started to fall right away as a three-point play from Venning not only gave Bona momentum but for the redshirt junior center it allowed him to surpass 1,000 career points.

SBU continued to surge, pulling out to a 53-46 lead following a trey off the hands of Pride with 12:50 to play.

Flowers drained a three in front of his own bench for a 58-52 score, but Robert Davis Jr. and Daniel Hankins-Sanford connected on Minutemen treys in each of the next two trips down the floor for a 58-all tie.  

Six straight from the Bonnies put them in a sort-of control momentarily, but soon the Minutemen were back within a bucket.  The Mullins Center came to a roar on a throw-down by Matt Cross for the with 3:30 remaining.

Flowers powered the Bonnies from that point.

On consecutive possessions, Flowers' work on the offensive glass allowed second chance opportunities.

First, his offensive board created a chance for a layup by the senior guard. Then, he kept a possession alive for Adams-Woods to drain a straightaway trey for a 71-66 lead with 1:54 left.

Bona's defense locked in, setting the table for a 9-1 finish and by the time Assa Essamvous threw down a dunk to the applause of his teammates on the bench, the final score was a formality.

Josh Cohen had a game-high 18 points for UMass.

 
GAME NOTES

• Adams-Woods surpassed 400 career assists during the first half, joining three other Atlantic 10 players to achieve that career milestone.
• Venning is the fifth active 1,000-point scorer on the the Bona roster, joining Charles Pride, Daryl Banks III, Moses Flowers and Mika Adams-Woods. The Bonnies are now one of six Division I teams with five or more 1,000-point scorers on their active roster along with St. John's, Auburn, James Madison, TCU and Villanova.
• SBU had a 36-32 advantage on the glass and shot 47 percent overall from the floor. UMass finished shooting at a 40 percent clip.
• While Venning recorded his second double-double of the year, and first since a game at VCU Jan. 3, he had a 28-game streak with at least one block snapped as he did not have a swat for the first time all year.
• After UMass started 5-7 from three, they would finish 2-18 the rest of the way. 

 
UP NEXT
The Bonnies return home to host first-place Loyola Chicago on Tuesday night. Tip time at the Rally Center is on tap for 7 p.m.

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