On Tuesday night, St. Bonaventure defeated Siena 65-48 in “The Franciscan Cup” game in Albany, New York. St. Bonaventure is now 34-12 all-time against Siena and has won nine of the 14 Franciscan Cup games.
For St. Bonaventure (11-1), Chance Moore scored a game-high 23 points. Melvin Council Jr. and Noel Brown also scored in double figures for the Brown and White.
Major Freeman led Siena (5-6) with nine, as no Saint scored in double figures.
After draining a 3-pointer on the game’s opening possession, Siena’s offense went ice-cold, allowing St. Bonaventure to surge ahead with a commanding 20-5 lead. Bonnies forward LaJae Jones electrified the crowd with a thunderous fast-break dunk in the first half, extending the lead to six and setting the tone for the rest of the game.
A big part of this game was defensive intensity. The Bonnies had key takeaways and defense stops early in the game that translated well to the second half, as they never let up on that side of the ball. Early in the season, coach Mark Schmidt made it clear that they needed to be a good defensive team to succeed.
This has paid off for the Bonnies, as they are now 11-1 going into their final non-conference game against Niagara at 1 p.m. ET Saturday at home, with the game broadcasted on ESPN+. The Bonnies currently rank No. 17 in the Mid-Major Basketball Top 25.
