No. 15 Florida Atlantic slides past St. Bonaventure

Field Level Media|published: Sat 16th December, 18:40 2023

Dec 5, 2023; New York, New York, USA; Florida Atlantic Owls head coach Dusty May coaches against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Madison Square Garden. credits: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Johnell Davis scored 16 points to lift No. 15 Florida Atlantic past St. Bonaventure 64-54 on Saturday in Springfield, Mass.

Vladislav Goldin added 11 points, including 4-of-4 from the field, and collected seven rebounds.

The Owls, who reached the Final Four last season, improved to 9-2.

Moses Flowers scored 12 points while Assa Essamvous and Chad Venning scored 11 points each for St. Bonaventure, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.

The Bonnies fell to 7-3.

Bryan Greenlee completed a three-point play with 7:21 remaining to complete a 14-0 run as FAU went ahead 52-41.

St. Bonaventure got within 58-52 with 1:47 left after Flowers connected on consecutive 3-pointers.

Alijah Martin then hit a layup with 55.7 seconds to go as FAU extended its lead to 60-52.

Essamvous drove to the basket and scored for a 15-10 St. Bonaventure lead with 11:42 left in the first half. Essamvous soon hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 9:39 left for an 18-10 advantage.

When Noel Brown scored with 8:43 remaining to cap an 11-0 run, the Bonnies led 20-10.

Brandon Weatherspoon snapped a long scoring drought of more than seven minutes with a thunderous dunk to close Florida Atlantic within 20-12 with 7:28 to go.

The Owls cut the deficit to 23-18 with 3:32 left after Martin hit a tough layup.

Greenlee dropped in a trey with 32.2 seconds remaining and FAU came all the way back on a 9-0 run to regain a 27-26 advantage. That score held up as the teams went into the locker rooms at halftime because Venning's apparent 3-pointer was still in his hands as the buzzer sounded.

Essamvous paced the Bonnies with 11 and was the only player in double figures on either team.

The Bonnies scored the first six points of the second half — a three-point play by Venning and a 3-pointer by Charles Pride — for a 32-27 lead.

Giancarlo Rosado hit two free throws with 12:56 left to close FAU within one, 39-38.

Goldin produced consecutive dunks for the Owls, who took a 42-41 lead.

—Field Level Media

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