By SPENCER BATES
PITTSBURGH, PA — A team with something to fight for is a dangerous one.
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team has something to fight for and that’s extending the duration of the Mark Schmidt era for as long as humanly possible.
Down 11 points in the second half to No. 5 seed George Mason, the No. 13 seed Bonnies could have packed it in. After all, they had not won consecutive Atlantic 10 games all season long and any slight scoring run they had was immediately erased by the Patriots.
But there was more on the line than just the placement of another tally in the win-loss column.
Head coach Mark Schmidt, following his team’s final game of the regular season, announced he would retire at the conclusion of the campaign — so as to not have to be “in a wheelchair getting pushed around Cape Cod.”
The future endeavors of Schmidt seemed not so far away as his team faced a double-digit lead with just over 15 minutes left to play. But a resounding effort, fueled by the bond that exists between this year’s team and the man at the helm, delayed Schmidt’s sight-seeing for at least another day as the Bonnies stormed all the way back behind a 30-13 run, claiming a 63-57 victory.
“Im really proud of our effort,” Schmidt said. “It’s a life lesson. Things weren’t going well, we’re down by 10 at halftime, got down by 11, and our guys didn’t quit. They fought, they made winning plays. We’ve struggled, we’re 0-9 in games decided by five or less points. The season could have been totally different in terms of record, but I wouldn’t want to win those games because of how we played today. We had adversity and we overcame it.”
At halftime, not a single Bona player had double figure points, and they had been pegged back time and time again by George Mason’s Jahari Long, who had 14 points through the first 20 minutes.
Frank Mitchell had the team-high in points with eight at the intermission with Dasonte Bowen not far behind him with seven.
In the second half, they would be the ones leading the charge in the biggest moments of the season. Bowen exploded for a career-high 20 points, collecting six rebounds and dishing three assists as well. Mitchell finished with 14 points and was a massive factor on the defensive end, grabbing seven boards and six steals.
Cayden Charles was equally as important down the stretch. While he only made two shots from the field, he repeatedly threw himself down the lane, drew contact and made his free throws. He finished with 12 points and was the only other Bona player outside Bowen and Mitchell to hit double figures.
The scoring wasn’t all that picked up in the second half for the Bonnies either. In the first half, they lost the turnover battle 6-2. In the second half, they flipped that stat line completely on its head, conceding just one turnover and forcing eight from the Patriots.
George Mason head coach Tony Skinn admitted that the fuel that was added to Bona’s fire following Schmidt’s retirement announcement unnerved him. And that fire grew to a blaze in the second half, burning his Patriots.
“They’re playing for a guy that’s arguably one of the best coaches in A10 history,” Skinn said. “I couldn’t sleep last night just knowing that at the end of the day, (St. Bonaventure) is going to go to war for him. And that’s what happened tonight.”
St. Bonaventure’s Frank Mitchell (00) flies in for a layup against George Mason. Mitchell recorded 14 points and seven rebounds in the Bonnies’ win over the Patriots. (Hunter O. Lyle)
Schmidt has spoken a lot about the quality of the players in his team. Not just in terms of their talent, but who they are as individuals. Bowen, the team’s captain, agrees.
It could have been easy for the Bonnies to throw their hands up and chalk up the game as a loss considering they have seen this kind of story play out before. But that didn’t happen, and Bowen credited the mentality of the team in getting the job done.
“I think that’s just credit to Coach (Schmidt) and the type of character he built for our team,” Bowen said. “We’ve got a bunch of high-character guys. When things hit the fan, we just stuck together. We knew if we stuck together and took it play by play, they were going to fold eventually, and that’s what happened. When it wasn’t going our way, we just had to stay positive and trust that if we did the right things each possession it would work out in the end.”
Schmidt echoed that statement.
“We have character guys, we have competitive guys,” Schmidt said. “They weren’t happy losing nine games by five or less points. But it’s a confidence thing. Once it starts spiraling, it’s hard to stop. And the only way you stop it is by one day, planting your feet, and saying I’m not going back any further. Today was that day.
“I thought we defended extremely well. We always play hard, but I thought we played with much more of a purpose. And we have good leadership. Dasonte, he got the belt today because he deserved it. He’s a great leader and we have great followers. It was a good victory. We overcame adversity and we came out winners.”
Bowen received the Bona Belt for his career performance but was quick to acknowledge that it truly deserved to remain in the possession of the man that earned it after the team’s first-round win over La Salle: Schmidt.
“Coach deserves the belt,” Bowen said. “(Giving him the belt yesterday) was honorable. The guy has put in so much time. This is our chance to send him out the right way, so that’s our goal entering every single game. So, being able to kind of give back to him in some type of way, it felt amazing.”
St. Bonaventure’s Cayden Charles (24) pulls up from mid-range against George Mason. Charles scored 12 points for the Bonnies in their win over the Patriots. (Hunter O. Lyle)
With the win, Bona is now the first No. 13 seed to ever reach the quarterfinals of the A10 Championship. The win extends the team’s streak of consecutive quarterfinal appearances to three and it has made it to this stage of the tourney in 11 of the last 13 seasons.
This will be Schmidt’s final postseason run with the Bonnies. And while that may add an emotional layer to these wins to the fans and the players, to him, it is no more special than the last.
“They’re all special,” Schmidt said. “This group is no more special than the one we had last year, or my first year in 2007. Every year, my wife and I have 13 step-kids. And the crazy thing about this business is that sometimes you spend more time with your step-kids than you do with your own three boys. And that’s one of the reasons why retirement can’t come soon enough; to be able to spend more time with the people that really care about me.”
So, delay the retirement party. There’s still a chance that this Bona team has more to celebrate before then.
St. Bonaventure will take on No. 4 seed Dayton at 2 p.m. on March 13 in PPG Paints Arena.
