Box Score ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – St. Bonaventure's 2024-25 season came to a close on a frosty shooting night at the Reilly Center as visiting Kent State dominated the second half on the way to a 75-56 victory in the NIT First Round.

The Bonnies close their season at 22-12 overall while Kent State moves on to play either Stanford or CSUN this weekend.

In the early going, the Reilly Center's student section was raucous as the Bonnies raced out to a 12-2 start. Bona clicked on all cylinders during the fast opening, going 5-for-5 from the floor including two treys.

Though it looked like the Bonnies might dominate the first half, Kent State quickly responded.

The Golden Flashes (23-11) embarked on a 15-2 sprint to erase Bona's early good vibes and establish control.

At the half, though, it remained anybody's game as the visitors led by just one, 29-28.

A Jonah Hinton three-pointer gave the Bonnies a bit of life out of the locker room but Kent State then launched another 12-0 sprint for a 41-31 lead at the 15:12 mark.

Bona made another attempt to claw closer by pulling within 43-36 before a Jalen Sullinger corner trey on the break helped the Flashes move ahead by double figures.

From there, it was clear sailing for the Golden Flashes.

Kent State shot nearly 56 percent from the floor during the second half while locking down the Bonnies to a 10-for-33 mark after halftime.

The Golden Flashes caught fire from beyond the arc as well, hitting eight of 11 3-point attempts during the second half.

Chance Moore paced the Bonnies with 16 points of 7-of-11 shooting. Jonah Hinton chipped in 12 points while Noel Brown recorded 11.

Delrocco Gillespie turned in a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds for Kent State.

The Bonnies wrap a season that saw some memorable highs and rollercoaster moments, ultimately finishing in the third postseason home game in in program history.

"We brought in 10 new guys and became close in the summertime," senior captain Melvin Council Jr. said. "I feel like I've known these guys for years and we just met a couple months ago."

"I don't think I could be any more grateful," Brown added after playing his final collegiate game. "I know that 10 years down the road I'm going to look back and remember the people I saw here. We're a family. I know I'm going to be back with the fans here in 10 years. I love Bonaventure 100 percent."

GAME NOTES

• Tuesday's game was the third NIT home game in Bona's program history.
• The Bonnies fell to 20-19 all-time in NIT contests.
• The Bonnies held Kent State scoreless for the first 2:48 minutes. The Golden Flashes didn't add to that total for another 3:16 after their first field goal.
• The Golden Flashes started the second half on a 14-3 run lasting 5:53.
• Kent State outrebounded St. Bonaventure 44-26 and won in the paint, 38-20. It was the largest deficit in the paint all season for the Bonnies and just the fifth time they were outscored by an opponent in the painted area.
• Brown played in 135 career games including 67 the past two seasons with the Bonnies, shooting over 60 percent overall during the past two years.
• Walk-ons Broek Ostrom and Jack DeRose each scored in the final minutes with Ostrom hitting a mid-range jumper and DeRose draining a three. The Bonnies were down to six healthy scholarship players available for Tuesday's game.
• Melvin Council Jr. recorded nine points, four assists and three steals, snapping a streak of 24 straight games of scoring in double figures.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"We got out of the blocks really well but give Kent State credit; they bounced back and we didn't have an answer. They were more aggressive. They beat us in the paint and that's one of our areas where we have to because we don't shoot the ball well, that's an area we have to win, and they dominated us. They dominated the offensive glass and they just played better than us today. We didn't play well enough to beat a good team."

"Offensive rebounds and second chance points they beat us 14 to nothing. You can't get dominated like that. The physical part of it, second chance points and points in the paint, usually we've done a really good job throughout the year, and today they got us and that's why they beat us."

"We won 22 games and got off to a 14-1 start. It's one of the highest win totals in school history and these two guys [Noel Brown and Melvin Council Jr.] have done a really good job leading our team. To be able to have an NIT home game says a lot about the type of season we had."

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