The Saint Bonaventure Bonnies (17-10, 8-7 A-10) defeated the Massachusetts Minutemen (17-10, 8-7 A-10) 75-67 on Saturday afternoon. The Bonnies completed the season series sweep over the Minutemen. The Minutemen still hold a 42-35 lead over the Bonnies in the all-time series history.
Tyler Bergantino and Managers from the 2013-14 team being honored for the NCAA Tournament Appearance during a timeout.
Photo Credit: Chris Tucci, UMass Athletics
UMass hosted Legends Day on Saturday afternoon as well as Senior Day. The Minutemen honored Ryan Marcus and Matt Cross before the start of the game. Marcus has been a walk-on for UMass for all four years and stayed through the coaching change. Ryan has been a fan favorite in Amherst during his time with the Minutemen. Cross is in his second season of being at UMass, and has had career seasons both years and was named to the Preseason All-Conference Third Team at the start of the season, and Matt has a chance to make the All-Conference First Team when the season ends. UMass took time to honor the 2013-14 team, which was the last time that the Minutemen made the NCAA Tournament. Tyler Bergantino (Class of 2016) was the only player there to represent the team, as most of them still are playing basketball professionally overseas. UMass fans also saw some big legends come back for Saturday’s game. Marcus Camby (Class of 1996), Monty Mack (Class of 2001), Chris Lowe (Class of 2008), Stephane Lasme (Class of 2008), and Luke Bonner (Class of 2009) to name a few of the UMass legends were in attendance on Saturday. The Minutemen also had their highest-attended game of the season (7,016), and the highest-attended game since the season opener for the 2014-15 season (8,187 vs. Siena).
Legends of several UMass Men’s Basketball teams were honored at halftime at center court.
Photo Credits: Kaily “KG” Godek, A10 Talk
Scoring throughout the entire game on Saturday was back-and-forth for both teams whether one team was on a run or one team being held scoreless for a stretch of the game, or both happening simultaneously. UMass started the game by committing 5 turnovers within the first four minutes. The Minutemen found some momentum after that, but St. Bonaventure wasn’t quite done in the game. At halftime, the Minutemen were up by only two points, and the Bonnies came out swinging in the second half and had the momentum for a good portion of the half. UMass had regained the momentum with eight minutes left in the game with the score tied, but it was taken away quickly after an offensive foul was called on the Minutemen.
The Bonnies had four different players in double-figure scoring. Chad Venning had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead St. Bonaventure, Moses Flowers had 15 points and 5 rebounds, Mika Adams-Woods had 14 points and 5 assists, and Charles Pride had 11 points to round out double-digit scorers. Assa Essamvous and Noel Brown each had 6 points, Daryl Banks III had 4 points, and Barry Evans had 3 points to round out all scorers for the Bonnies.
The Minutemen had three different players in double-figure scoring. Josh Cohen led the way for UMass with 18 points and 6 rebounds, Rahsool Diggins with 12 points, and Jaylen Curry with 11 points to round out all double-digit scorers. Daniel Hankins-Sanford had 9 points and 7 rebounds, Keon Thompson had 7 points, Cross with 5 points and 7 rebounds, and Robert Davis Jr. had 3 points to round out all scorers for the Minutemen.
St. Bonaventure travels back to the Reilly Center to host the Loyola Chicago Ramblers (19-7, 12-2 A-10) on Tuesday, February 27th at 7pm on ESPN+. This will be the 5th meeting between these two teams, and the Ramblers have a 3-1 lead in the series history over the Bonnies.
UMass travels to the Smith Center to face the George Washington Revolutionaries (14-13, 3-11 A-10) on Tuesday, February 27th at 7pm on ESPN+. This will be the 78th all-time meeting between these two teams, and the Revolutionaries have a 46-31 lead in the series over the Minutemen. This will be the second time they meet this season, and UMass won the last meeting 81-67 back on January 20th.
Featured Image: Chris Tucci, UMass Athletics
Kaily “KG” Godek is a current student at Western New England University (WNE). She has been a supporter of UMass Athletics for over 15 years. Kaily focuses on both UMass Basketball teams and occasionally on the other Women’s Basketball teams in the conference. While writing for A10 Talk, she works in the athletic department at WNE. When she graduates from WNE she wants to go into Sports Broadcasting and Journalism. You can follow Kaily on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kgumass23.
