ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y.– St. Bonaventure (12-7, 5-2 Atlantic 10) scored the game’s first 10 points and led wire to wire in a 62-47 win over Richmond (12-10, 3-4) at the Reilly Center.
With the victory, the Bonnies (12-7, 5-2 A-10) maintain a share of the Atlantic 10 Conference lead with Massachusetts (16-5, 5-2) and La Salle (16-6, 5-2).
St. Bonaventure’s 5-2 start in A-10 play in the best since the 2000 team posted the same mark through seven games, while the team’s 12-7 overall record is tops since 2001-02.
Four Bonnies reached double digits in scoring for the second time in the past three games, paced by senior Andrew Nicholson‘s 14 points. Sophomore Charlon Kloof and junior Chris Johnson each added 11 points, while junior Demitrius Conger tallied 10.
A near-sellout crowd of 4,589 saw Bonaventure open the game on a 10-0 run over the first 5:26, paced by four from Conger.
The Bonnies out-rebounded the Spiders 23-9 in the first half, holding Richmond – who scored 102 points against Fordham Wednesday night — to 33.3 percent shooting (8-for-24) in the process.
The final 20 minutes saw SBU hold Richmond to 25 percent shooting (5-for-25) including a 1-for-10 shooting effort from 3-point range. The Bonnies’ first field goal of the half came from a Johnson finish at the rim from sophomore Matthew Wright, igniting the Reilly Center crowd and leading to a 7-0 run that gave SBU a 45-30 advantage with 11:43 remaining.
Conger provided a dagger of a layup with 2:50 showing, extending the Bonnies’ record to 8-1 on Bob Lanier Court this season.
Nicholson added eight rebounds to accompany his 14 points, fouling out with 3:30 remaining.
Two of the nation’s best teams from the free-throw line failed to disappoint. St. Bonaventure, who entered the game 10th in the nation from the stripe, shot 76.2 percent (16-for-21) while Richmond shot 65.2 percent (15-for-23).
Kendall Anthony led Richmond with 21 points – shooting 3-for-5 from long range — off the bench. Derrick Williams added eight points in a losing effort.
Next up for the Bonnies is a Wednesday trip to Saint Louis to face the Billikens (16-5, 4-3) in an 8 p.m. Eastern tipoff at the Chaifetz Arena.
NOTES: Andrew Nicholson surpassed the 1,800-point barrier for his career … freshman Youssou Ndoye rocked the rim with a two-handed slam … the Bonnies never trailed in the game; Richmond got no closer than five after the opening run
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