Kyle Lofton, seen in a game earlier this season at the Reilly Center, paced St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night with 19 points and six assists in a 74-61 Atlantic 10 victory over UMass at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. P-J file photo by Tim Frank

ROCHESTER — In the program’s 100th season, St. Bonaventure men’s basketball has added another milestone to remember by matching a school record with a 4-0 start to Atlantic 10 play.

A convincing second half effort pushed the Bonnies to a 74-61 victory over UMass Wednesday night in the Alesco Advisors Roc City Hoops Classic at Blue Cross Arena, the seventh consecutive victory for the program in Rochester.

Kyle Lofton paced the Bonnies scoring attack with 19 points, adding six assists – one of four Bona players finishing with double-figure scoring. Dominick Welch delivered a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds while Jaren English and Bobby Planutis each posted 12 points apiece.

St. Bonaventure (12-5, 4-0) controlled much of the early going, building a 15-point advantage with 2:32 remaining in the first half.

Foul trouble caught up with the Bonnies before the break, though, as both Osun Osunniyi and Amadi Ikpeze were forced to the bench after whistles. That allowed UMass to grab some momentum heading to the locker rooms as the Minutemen finished the half on a 10-2 run to close within 40-33 after 20 minutes.

UMass (7-10, 1-3) got as close as 47-41 at the 16:14 mark of the second half, but the Bonnies then exploded for a 14-2 burst highlighted by thunderous dunks from both Osunniyi and Planutis.

From there, there was little doubt of the Bonnies extending their win streak.

The Bonnies shot 44 percent for the game including a 9-of-19 mark from distance while holding UMass to 37 percent shooting. Bona also won the battle of the boards, 37-30.

For the Minutemen, nearly everything went through Tre Mitchell who had an impressive stat line of 28 points and six boards.

NOTES: St. Bonaventure matched the 1999-2000 and 2015-16 teams for the best Atlantic 10 start in school history. Bona joined the conference, then known as the Eastern 8, in 1979-80. … Wednesday marked the 27th game for the Bonnies all-time at Blue Cross Arena, formerly known as War Memorial. … The Bonnies again used a starting lineup of Kyle Lofton, Dominick Welch, Jaren English, Osun Osunniyi and Justin Winston. … Freshman Robert Carpenter saw some important minutes during the first half, playing six minutes and sinking a bucket off the bench.

NO. 2 BAYLOR 68, IOWA STATE 55

WACO, Texas (AP) — Davion Mitchell had 17 points, scoring just before and after halftime as No. 2 Baylor started stretching its lead, and the Bears beat Iowa State 68-55 on Wednesday night for their 13th win in a row.

Baylor (14-1) is the only Big 12 team to make it through the first four conference games without a loss.

Jared Butler had 19 points and five assists to lead the Bears, whose only loss came against Washington in Alaska the first week of the season. They had road wins last week at No. 23 Texas Tech and No. 6 Kansas, the latter its first ever at Allen Fieldhouse.

Rasir Bolton and Prentiss Nixon both had nine points for Iowa State (8-8, 1-3 Big 12).

SETON HALL 78, No. 5 BUTLER 70

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Myles Powell scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half and Romaro Gill matched his career high with 17 points to lead No. 18 Seton Hall back from a 10-point halftime deficit for a 78-70 victory at No. 5 Butler on Wednesday night.

The Pirates (13-4, 5-0 Big East) closed the game on a 13-4 run to win their seventh in a row. They are the only team still unbeaten in league play.

Quincy McKnight had 11 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.

NO. 9 FLORIDA STATE 54,

VIRGINIA 50

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Devin Vassell scored 18 points, including a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in the final seconds, and Florida State beat Virginia.

Anthony Polite came off the bench to drill four 3-pointers for the Seminoles (15-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won eight straight and 15 of their last 16.

SOUTH CAROLINA 81,

No. 10 KENTUCKY 78

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Freshman Jermaine Couisnard hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded and South Carolina rallied from 14 points down in the second half to stun Kentucky.

Couisnard had a career-high 26 points, including his game-winner that banked in for the Gamecocks (9-7, 1-2 Southeastern Conference).

GEORGETOWN 83,

No. 25 CREIGHTON 80

WASHINGTON (AP) — Omer Yurtseven had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Mac McClung scored 19 points and Georgetown beat Creighton.

The Hoyas (12-6, 2-3 Big East) went on a 13-2 run early in the second half and never looked back as coach Patrick Ewing picked up his first win over the Bluejays in five tries.

The Hoyas snapped a five-game losing streak to Creighton and beat a ranked opponent for the second time this season.

Marcus Zegarowski led the Bluejays (13-5, 2-3) with 20 points while Denzel Mahoney added 19 off the bench.