By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Atlantic 10 play has not been kind to the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team thus far, but there is a chance to right the ship on the horizon as it prepares to welcome Dayton to the Reilly Center on Jan. 28.
The Bonnies, who have dropped each of their last three games and five of their last six, saw its four-game win streak over the VCU Rams come to an end on Jan. 24. A tough game in a tough environment, they found themselves with a solid lead going into halftime thanks to a complete defensive effort. But it was the mistakes they made in the second half that allowed the hosts to surge back and snatch the win.
“I thought we played really well in the first half,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt said of the VCU game. “I thought we defended, I thought we rebounded, we had a lot of second-chance opportunities. I thought we played extremely well, we got back on defense, we kept them in the half court, and in the second half, we got off to a good start. Then, you know, we turned the ball over a couple times, we missed some opportunities. But at the same time, with six minutes left, we had the ball, down three. So, it was really from the six-minute mark until the end of the game.”
But what made the task of completing a comeback against the Rams that much more difficult was that Bona had no points coming from its bench after getting 18 points from non-starters in its previous game. But not only did those bench players not score, they didn’t get in the game. Xander Wedlow and Noah Bolanga were the only players who subbed in from the bench, but combined they were on the court for just six minutes.
A part of the reason for this, Schmidt said, was due to the environment and how he believed that it would be a lot for the younger guys to try to handle. Another reason was because Chance Moore was back in the lineup after missing about a game and half with a foot injury.
“It’s hard for those young guys in that type of environment,” Schmidt said. “We put Noah in there for 1:46 and it was -8, you know, we lost eight points. … It’s a hard place for a young guy to play. And Chance wasn’t 100% but we needed him out there, and I thought he played, especially in the first half, relatively well. But we’re going to need those younger guys. It’s just that type of environment is a little bit difficult.”
Luckily for the Bonnies, while their next opponent will be no easier to overcome, it will at least have the advantage of being at home.
The Flyers stumbled in the early goings of A10 play this season, dropping three of their first four in-conference games. But since then, they have responded with three consecutive wins.
Offensively, Nate Santos, Enoch Cheeks, Malachi Smith and Zed Key have been crucial to Dayton’s scoring with each averaging double figures per game.
Santos leads Dayton with a team-high 14.6 points per game and Schmidt is aware of how much of a crux he is to his team’s offense.
“He’s playing really well,” Schmidt said. “He’s a four-man, they run a lot of stuff for him, a lot of staggers and twists.”
But while Santos may be the most high-volume scorer on the team, Schmidt also has his eyes on Smith, who is in his fourth year with the Flyers.
“It seems like he’s been there for 10 years,” Schmidt said. “He’s a good player, he’s had his injuries, but he’s a leader on the court. He’s the quarterback, and he hits big shots. The ball is always in his hands when they need a basket. He’s just a tough, gritty player that knows exactly what his game is, knows what (head coach) Anthony (Grant) wants, and is just a really good leader.”
But it’s not just the individual weapons Dayton has that make it dangerous. Its ability to move the ball, break into the open court and punish teams with fast-break points and 3-pointers in transition makes its game plan similar to what Bona has seen in teams like VCU and Duquesne.
“(Dayton) gets a lot in transition, they’re really good stealing the basketball,” Schmidt said. “We got to have ball security, we got to be able to get back in transition, get our defense set and try to do the best job we can with their ball screen stuff. They run a lot of different things. They got good players. They’re very similar to what VCU does, to (what) Duquesne (does). They get by people and they make that extra pass. And when they shoot the ball, they’re really hard to beat.”
As for Bona, it will look towards similar contributors on the offensive end. Chance Moore, in his return from injury at VCU, netted 21 points and roped in eight rebounds. Also scoring in double figures against the Rams was Noel Brown, who recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, Jonah Hinton, who finished with 12 points, and Melvin Council Jr. who scored 10 points, all in the second half.
As for the latter on that list, Council, who owns the highest point tally on the season for the Bonnies, has had slower starts over his last two games, scoring nine points — all in the final 4.5 minutes — against George Mason prior to his empty first half against the Rams last time out.
But Schmidt is far from worried about his team’s “alpha.”
“The more tape that’s out there, the more they know about a guy, and they’re trying to put more emphasis on him to stop him,” Schmidt said of how teams are taking Council away early. “He’s not a true point guard. It’s the first time in his life that he’s played it and I think he’s playing really well. … He’s got a lot on his shoulders. He’s running the offense, he’s got to score, he’s got to defend, he’s playing a lot of minutes. So, I’m not worried about Melvin. Melvin is a baller and he’s going to compete and he’s going to do the best job he can.”
Council will lead St. Bonaventure into battle once again on Jan. 28 against Dayton. Tip-off for that game is set for 8 p.m.
