Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Daryl Banks III was red hot, pouring in a career-high 36 points as the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team snapped out of its recent funk in a big way with an 89-76 victory over Saint Joseph’s Sunday afternoon at the Reilly Center.
Unquestionably, Banks has been at his best inside The RC this season. The redshirt junior guard has averaged nearly 20 points per game on home court during the year and dropped 30-plus twice earlier this season in the building.
On Sunday, he recorded 22 points in the second half alone as the Bonnies posted their highest-scoring game of the season.
The Bonnies (14-16, 8-9 A-10) shot 55 percent in the opening half and only got better, connecting on 60 percent of their field goal tries after intermission. It resulted in a 57 percent effort for the team, easily the best of the year for the Brown and White.
While Banks showed the way, he got contributing production from Yann Farell (13 points, five rebounds), Chad Venning (13 points, six boards) and Moses Flowers (12 points, three steals).
In all, it was enough to overcome another 30-point day from Erik Reynolds II of Saint Joseph’s who finished with 33 points to lead the visitors.
Saint Joseph’s (13-16, 7-10) never could establish any type of control though as the Bonnies dominated, leading for over 39 minutes of game time. The Hawks scored the first point of the game, but would never lead again with the Bonnies stretching their advantage out to 20 at one point during the second half.
“We played much better today, scoring 89 points, I didn’t think that would be in us,” head coach Mark Schmidt joked. “When Daryl is hitting shots like that it makes our offense looks much better. He’s been in a shooting slump, but he has a pure stroke and he’s always in the gym. He got some open looks today, which he hasn’t been getting. He loves to play, he works hard and he’s a great shooter.”
“It’s always good to see the ball go in right away; it kind of got me into a rhythm,” Banks said. “I started off with a couple of mid-range jumpers and that helped me get into a rhythm and I kind of caught fire from there. It was a must win. We needed this completely to start some momentum for the tournament.”
The Bonnies started fast out of the gates on the way to their best offensive first half of the season, taking a 48-38 lead at the break.
Banks and Farell put together a combined 12-1 run to start the game and Bona’s continued to add to their lead thanks to an 8-for-9 stretch from the floor to gain breathing room. By the time Brett Rumpel completed a traditional three-point play with 4:19 to play, the Bonnies lead stood at 14.
In the second half, the Hawks attempted a rally, getting within single digits five minutes in.
Banks and Farell combined again to stomp that attempt, bringing the crowd to life on a block by Farell which led to a trey in transition for Banks as the Bonnies ran back out by 16.
Bona’s also held a 31-23 advantage on the boards, led by Venning’s six.
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