COLCHESTER, Vt. - Five players scored in double figures, and the Saint Michael's College men's basketball team netted its highest point total in nearly three years with a 98-85 victory over the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) on Monday in the Ross Sports Center. The Purple Knights are 2-10, moving to 8-0 all time against the Bears in a series that began in 1964-65, while NYIT slipped to 3-9.

Senior Matt Bonds (Accokeek, Md./North Point) registered 21 points, 18 rebounds, six offensive boards, two assists and two steals in 27 minutes for the Purple and Gold, shooting 7-of-12 overall and 7-of-9 on free throws, while sophomore Levi Holmes III (East Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers Prep) had 21 points on 7-of-8 field goal shooting and a 5-of-5 effort at the charity stripe. Senior David Sullivan (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep) totaled 15 points and six boards, and classmate Zaire Williams (Paterson, N.J./Newark Academy) had 11 points. Both shot 9-of-11 on free throws. Junior Colin Richey (Upton, Mass./Choate Rosemary Hall) notched 10 points and seven assists off the bench while hitting all four freebie tries.

Sophomore Winston Jones II (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream Central) contributed six points and a career-high eight rebounds, while first-year Jordan Guzman (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian) tallied a pair of steals. All 11 Purple Knights that appeared for more than one minute scored and grabbed at least one rebound, as the hosts held a 52-40 advantage on the glass and a 50-38 edge on scoring in the paint. Saint Michael's attempted 16 fewer shots while shooting 46.9 percent, and went 35-of-44 on free throws, falling just two made freebies short of a 45-year-old school record. The hosts shot 3-of-6 from three-point range compared to NYIT's 8-of-27 showing.

Bonds finished with his ninth 20-point game and seventh double-double of the winter while moving into 25th in program history in scoring (1,212), passing BJ Robertson '06 (1,192) and Brian Pannuzzo '99 (1,207) in the process. With 923 rebounds, he is two shy of matching Fran Laffin '74 for third in school annals. Holmes knocked down his 79th and 80th three-pointers during the contest, becoming the 27th Purple Knight to drain 80 threes in a career. He has appeared in 37 contests, while the other 26 all saw time in at least 50 games.

Sophomore Kieran Hamilton paced NYIT with 21 points, while classmate Walter King had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Graduate student Jon Feiler totaled 17 points and 17 rebounds, including 10 of his team's 18 offensive boards. Senior Kachi Nzerem added 14 points. The Bears led 31-12 in points off of turnovers but received only 10 points from their reserves to 28 for the hosts.

Feiler's lay-in gave NYIT an 11-6 lead at 15:55 of the opening half before the Purple Knights countered with a 24-7 stretch during which seven players scored. Bonds' team-high six points included a breakaway dunk, Holmes went for five points, and Richey turned in four points and four assists. Saint Michael's led by double figures for much of the remainder of the stanza, twice extending the advantage to 13, and led 50-38 at halftime.

Holmes scored the first seven points of the second half to create a 17-point margin before NYIT cut the deficit to nine three times, including on sophomore Zach Moore's two free throws at 11:56. However, Williams scored four points and kicked to Holmes for a three in a 9-2 response, with Holmes' fastbreak bucket making it 74-58 at 9:47. He had the final five points of the run.

Richey's lay-in made the lead a game-high 18 at 83-65 with 5:45 to go before NYIT produced a 10-1 run that took 2:02 to elapse, and the Bears were down just 84-77 on King's lay-up at 3:30. Still down seven after forcing a missed shot with 2:32 remaining, NYIT yielded an offensive board to Bonds, and Williams converted two ensuing free throws. Hamilton's transition basket kept the Bears within 89-81 at 1:10, but Sullivan made four straight freebies by 55.1 seconds to help the hosts shoot 9-of-10 at the charity stripe in the final 1:07.

Saint Michael's returns to Northeast-10 Conference play by hosting Southern Connecticut State University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Owls, who qualified for the last three NCAA Tournaments, are third in the latest D2SIDA East Region Media Poll.