ALBANY — A career-high 21 points from sophomore Dominick Welch was not enough as St. Bonaventure fell at rival Siena, 78-65, Tuesday night at the Times Union Center.

Welch led all scorers on the night, with five of his seven field goals coming from beyond the arc. Kyle Lofton added 14 points and seven assists while Justin Winston finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

“Dom came out of his shooting slump, Justin played well,” St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt said. “The young guys need to continue to improve and games like this hopefully will help us. We just have to attack more.”

In the first half, each team put together runs in a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes.

Seven straight points gave the Bonnies a 26-22 edge, but an immediate response from Siena pushed the hosts out to a 38-30 advantage late in the first half. A Justin Winston corner three ended that sprint, and the Bonnies went to break only down three, 38-35.

The margin stayed that way for most of the first 13 minutes of the second half as the Saints kept themselves just out of reach.

St. Bonaventure was down just four, 60-56, following a bucket from Matt Johnson, but Siena then ran off the next nine points as Lofton was whistled for his fourth foul.

By the time an Alejandro Vasquez layup fell, it was a 69-58 game with just 4:08 remaining.

From there, the Bonnies never got any closer.

“Siena was physical; give them credit. They had 16 fast-break points. They were just much more aggressive than we were,” Schmidt said. “We didn’t attack the paint and it shows in the fast-break points. We were too perimeter-oriented.”

Four Saints were in double figures, led by 19 points each from the trio of Elijah Burns, Donald Carey and Jalen Pickett. Manny Camper produced 15 points and 17 rebounds as well.

One of the biggest statistical differences came at the line — Siena went 22 for 29 at the charity stripe while the Bonnies, though connecting at a perfect rate, had just seven attempts at the foul line.

NOTES: Siena captured the Br. Ed Coughlin Franciscan Cup for the first time since 2015. The Cup was renamed in honor of Coughlin, who earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure and returned to the university in the late 1970s, working several assignments including serving twice as director of the college’s Franciscan Institute, overseeing the research program’s academic course offerings and publications, and working on the summer faculty. In 1996, he was named provincial secretary of the Holy Name Province of the Order of Friars Minor. He became Siena president in 2014. … St. Bonaventure employed a starting lineup of Kyle Lofton, Matt Johnson, Dominick Welch, Bobby Planutis and Amadi Ikpeze. Johnson picked up his first start in a Bonnies uniform. … The Bonnies surpassed their previous season high in 3-pointers as they hit their fifth trey of the game by the 10:53 mark of the first half. For the game, the Bonnies sank 10 attempts from distance. … Welch matched his fifth-best career scoring output in the first half alone, pouring in 13 points before intermission. … Lofton set a new season high in season assists. His career high is nine, set vs. Canisius last year. … The Bonnies shot 38 percent from the floor (24 of 63) while Siena connected on 25-of-54 attempts for 46 percent. … Siena finished with a 39-30 advantage in rebounding. Both teams finished with 11 offensive rebounds. … Winston reached 10 points for the second consecutive game to tie his career best.

UP NEXT: The Bonnies head north of the border this weekend, playing at ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto against Rutgers as part of the James Naismith Classic. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of Tennessee vs. Washington.

ST. BONAVENTURE (65)

Planutis 0-1 0-0 0, Ikpeze 3-8 2-2 8, Johnson 3-8 0-0 7, Lofton 5-11 2-2 14, Welch 7-19 2-2 21, Carpenter 0-1 0-0 0, Winston 4-10 1-1 10, Vasquez 2-5 0-0 5, Okoli 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-63 7-7 65.

SIENA (78)

Burns 8-12 3-4 19, Carey 4-13 9-9 19, Hein 2-4 0-0 4, Pickett 6-10 4-4 19, Camper 4-5 6-12 15, Friday 1-3 0-0 2, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Ratliff 0-3 0-0 0, King 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 22-29 78.

Halftime–Siena 38-35. 3-Point Goals–St. Bonaventure 10-28 (Welch 5-12, Lofton 2-5, Vasquez 1-3, Winston 1-3, Johnson 1-4, Planutis 0-1), Siena 6-18 (Pickett 3-5, Carey 2-7, Camper 1-1, Ratliff 0-1, Hein 0-1, King 0-3). Fouled Out–Lofton. Rebounds–St. Bonaventure 26 (Welch 7), Siena 36 (Camper 17). Assists–St. Bonaventure 12 (Lofton 7), Siena 12 (Pickett 6). Total Fouls–St. Bonaventure 20, Siena 11. A–5,680 (15,229).