By SPENCER BATES
KINGSTON, RI — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, after seeing its 13-point second-half lead evaporate, has now been added to the catalog of teams Rhode Island has managed to beat thanks to a game-winning effort with mere seconds left on the clock.
On Jan. 4 and Jan. 18, the Rams collected Atlantic 10 wins over George Mason and Davidson respectively, both on the back of game-winners from Sebastian Thomas.
And after watching a Melvin Council Jr. layup attempt roll off the rim with 16 ticks left on the clock, Thomas found himself with the ball in his hands yet again. But this time, as he drove into the lane and forced the Bona to collapse, he kicked out a pass to an unmarked Jamarques Lawrence in the corner, who drained the game-winning 3-pointer and was fouled in the process.
“We had (Thomas) going to his right, that’s what we wanted to do,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt said of the play. “We just broke down. We helped from the ball-side corner, and you just can’t do that. That’s a cardinal mistake in basketball. You never help from the ball-side corner. We did that and got to the shooter a little bit late.”
The basket broke Bona hearts after having put together a solid first half which it closed on an 8-0 run, shooting 50% from the field and 38.5 % from 3.
St. Bonaventure guard Jonah Hinton (8) drives into the paint against a Rhode Island defender. Hinton scored a team-high 18 points for the Bonnies. (Rhode Island Athletics)
However, the interval seemed to stall whatever the Bonnies had brewing as those numbers fell to 36% and 25% respectively while Rhode Island brought itself back into the game behind 51.9% shooting from the field and 41.7% from range in the second half.
“We played hard,” Schmidt said. “They made the plays we didn’t make, some were plays at the end. We had some breakdowns, I thought our guys really competed, but you can’t allow them to shoot 51% in the second half. That was really the key. We played well in the first half. At times, we played well in the second half, but we had some breakdowns. But I’m proud of the effort, we just have to close out games better.”
One look at the second-half rebounding, second-chance points and turnover stats puts that call from Schmidt for a better late-game effort into perspective.
At halftime, as Bona held a 12-point lead, it was winning the rebounding battle 17-14, the second-chance points category 6-0 and the turnover margin 10-6. By the end of the game, Rhode Island ended up winning the battle on the glass 32-31. Bona still won in the second-chance points and turnover categories 8-7 and 13-11, respectively, but that means Rhody won the battles in the second half alone by 7-2 and 7-1 margins.
“They’re a good rebounding team,” Schmidt said. “We won points-off-turnovers, we won points in the paint, we won second-chance points, we won fast-break points. We won four of those five categories. Usually when you do that, you win, but we just came up a little bit short.”
Lawrence ended up sinking the free throw after his game-winner which gave him a new career-high in points as he led Rhody on the night with 20 points. Behind him, David Green supplied 18 points and Thomas, who was held without a point until just under 16 minutes left to play in the second half, contributed 15.
What didn’t help Bona was the absence of Chance Moore, who sat out the game with an injury. As to the severity of it, Schmidt is unsure, but he is hopeful it won’t be serious. In his spot, Noah Bolanga stepped into the starting lineup and while he only scored two points on the night, the four other starters around him managed to all finish in double-figures.
Jonah Hinton led the Bonnies with 18 points. Council and Noel Brown tallied 16 apiece and Lajae Jones scored 10 in support.
“I was proud of the effort, we just didn’t finish the way we needed to on the road,” Schmidt said. “Being short Chance, I thought Noah went in there, didn’t shoot the ball great, but he had some rebounds. Injuries are part of the game and just got to have the next man up.”
St. Bonaventure guard Lajae Jones (10) goes up for a layup through contact from a Rhode Island defender. (Rhode Island Athletics)
Hinton drained four 3s on the night, and after having struggled with his shot last time out, Schmidt noted it was good to see him back amongst the points and how they would not have been in the game if it were not for him.
“He made some shots, made some big shots,” Schmidt said. “That’s what we need him to do. So, from an offensive standpoint, he did a good job for us.”
St. Bonaventure will hope for a similar level of individual success, but a different outcome in its next game, a road fixture against UMass on Feb. 15 at 12 p.m.
