One streak ends, another continues. St. Bonaventure defeated the University of Buffalo 77-69 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo. Saturday’s game saw the Bonnies earn their fourth straight victory, improving to 9-1. Buffalo of the MAC, coached by George Halcovage dropped their first game of the season and now stands at 8-1. The game drew 5.6216. The largest at Alumni Arena since March 1, 2022. Numbers and notes:
Possessions: 67
Offensive Efficiency: St. Bona 115, Buffalo 103
Four Factors:
| eFG Pct. | FT Rate | OREB Pct. | TO Rate | |
| St. Bona | 54 | 23 | 52 | 25 |
| Buffalo | 62 | 22 | 21 | 25 |
Buffalo held a slight edge in the shooting department. Free throws and turnovers, the latter both high numbers on both counts, were relatively even. The big difference was on the glass. In raw numbers the Bonnies held a 36-21 edge in rebounding, 17-5 on the offensive end. That offensive advantage was huge as it gave the Bonnies a number of opportunities to extend their possession. Individually Frank Mitchell led all with 13 rebounds. The Bona center had seven on the offensive glass, two more than the entire Buffalo team.
Kenpom.comPlayer of the Game: Daniel Egunbiwe scored 15 points, grabbed three rebounds and handed out three assists. The Bona senior forward exemplifies how coach Mark Schmidt is going to his bench more frequently and getting positive results. Little surprise that the Bonnies held a 29–8 advantage in bench points.
Spreading the wealth. This is beginning to become a common theme and it’s a good thing for the Bona faithful. Six Bonnies scored in double digits and, as noted previously, if you have that number of offensive threats, a double-team by the opposition will prove a defensive risk. The double-figure scorers: Egunbiwe (15), Cayden Charles (14), Buddy Simmons and Ilia Ermakov (12), Frank Mitchell and Dasonte Bowen (11).
Finishing. The stat sheet tells us there were no ties nor lead changes. The visiting Bonnies led for the duration. File that stat under misleading. The game was far from a one sided affair. Bona had a first half lead that the Bulls reduced to two possessions at intermission. Buffalo began the second half strong and had the deficit to one point just over four minutes into the second stanza. Bona never lost the lead. Buffalo, meanwhile, hung around. The lead was only five in the final two minutes. At that point Charles, Simmons and Egunbiwe all went 2 of 2 from the charity stripe to close out the victory.
Chalk it all up to another ‘gut check’ road win where the Bonnies responded at a crucial juncture.
The shooting numbers:
| St. Bona | Buffalo | |
| FG% | .467 (28-60) | .540 (27-50) |
| 3FG% | .375 (9-24) | .381 (8-21) |
| FT% | .857 (12-14) | .636 (7-11) |
Next. Buffalo was paced by Ryan Sabol’s game-high 21 points. The junior guard was a challenging perimeter threat for the Bona defense as he shot 5 of 10 from long distance.
Even though the turnover rate was equal, Buffalo committed a season high 17 miscues. Bona had 13 steals leading to 21 points off turnovers.
Bonnies welcome Colgate of the Patriot League to Reilly Center on Wednesday. The Red Raiders, coached by Matt Langel, are 6-4 with a neutral court victory over fellow A10 member Fordham. Colgate scores 57% of their points inside the arc, good for 19th nationally. Interestingly, they struggle on the offensive glass with a 23% offensive rebounding percentage, 352nd nationally. Colgate also comes in riding the momentum of a four game win streak. Individually, Jalen Cox, a junior guard, leads the Red Raiders in scoring at 15 points per game.