Bonnies get back to winning ways vs. Richmond

Courtesy of GoBonnies.com

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – St. Bonaventure got back to basics on Wednesday night and back into the win column by locking down on the defensive end, owning the boards and taking care of the ball in a 63-49 victory over Richmond at the Reilly Center.

Sophomore Jonah Hinton drained a career-high 19 points to lead all scorers. Chance Moore narrowly missed another double-double as he finished with 15 points and nine rebounds while Melvin Council Jr. again filled the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

St. Bonaventure (15-3, 3-2 Atlantic 10) limited Richmond to 35 percent shooting from the floor during the second half and just 1-of-5 from three-point land after the break.

The Spiders (7-11, 2-3) seemed as though they might enjoy success from distance in the first few minutes as Jason Roche, one of the A-10’s top three-point shooters, caught fire early with four treys as the game got underway.

Richmond opened the game on a 10-4 run over the initial three minutes, but the majority of the first half belonged to the Bonnies.

Hinton sparked the early offense, draining three quick treys and he had already matched his career-high of four triples by intermission.

St. Bonaventure was firing on all cylinders, launching a 15-2 run while holding the Spiders off the scoreboard for the final 4:31 as the Bonnies ran to the locker room with a 37-25 advantage at intermission.

Richmond turned the tide completely as the second half began.

The Spiders embarked on a 15-1 sprint over the first seven minutes of the second stanza, coming all the way back to re-take the lead at 40-38.

The game of runs went back the way of the Bonnies after that, though, with St. Bonaventure responding with another 8-0 break to push back ahead as the clock ticked under nine minutes.

As the game wore on, the Bonnies gained breathing room by working to the foul line and making the most of their opportunities at the stripe.

Though the Bonnies pulled away, they needed just six second half field goals to do so. The hosts made hay at the line, going 13-for-17 on free throws after halftime.

Bona was plus-7 on the glass and held Richmond to only three offensive rebounds and three second chance points on the night.

Roche paced the Spiders with 12 points.

Hinton’s career-high five threes keyed the Bonnies offense as the guard finished 5-10 from distance.