Bonnies in full form during 45-point woodshed route of Point Park

By HUNTER O. LYLE

lyleoleanstar@gmail.com 

ST. BONAVENTURE, NY – Taking the hardwood one final time before the regular season action gets underway, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team welcomed Division II Point Park to be the inaugural guests at the Reilly Center. Their departing gift for the visitors: a 94-49 blowout. 

If nothing else, it was a confidence builder.

From the initial jump, it was clear there would be no challenge for the Bonnies’ for the next 40 minutes of play. After five of those minutes had passed, SBU built a 17-6 lead. After another three, their cushion grew to 26-8. And by the time the first half finished out, they had dominated in every single statistical category available. 

Shooting: 53.1 percent from the floor to 26.9. Rebounds: 21 to 13. Assists: Ten to one. Turnovers: only six for the Bonnies compared to 15 from the Pioneers, of which, SBU capitalized on for 20 points-off-turnovers to a flat zero from the Pioneers. 

The second round of 40 minutes fared much the same, and by the final buzzer, the Bonnies’ left the court with a ‘feel good’ win to head back to the lab with.

“I thought that was a really good team effort, another step in our development,”  said St. Bonaventure men’s basketball head coach Mike MacDonald. “I felt like we did everything we had to do as far as defensively we were very aggressive and offensively we were very unselfish. I think if we do that, good things can happen.”

But while there was no serious test for the Bonnies’ arsenal, the afternoon at the Reilly Center did showcase everybody at what seemed like 100 percent. All fourteen players on the bench saw action, with all but two of them finding their way into the scoring column. At the top of that column was Taj Au-Duke.

After news broke of Mason Blackwood’s injury and prolonged absence from action, the question of who might pick up the slack, given Blackwood’s efficient night against Penn State a week prior, arose. Au-Duke, a junior who arrived by way of Indian Hills, filled those shoes against Point Park. After putting up nine points against the Nittany Lions, he surpassed that watermark with 12 in the first half, ultimately tallying a team-high 17 before finishing the final 15 minutes of the blowout on the bench. Au-Duke earned those points efficiently too, going 6-for-8 (75 percent) from the floor and 2-for-3 (66.6 percent) from beyond the arc, also recording six rebounds and four assists. 

Filling the open starting spot against the Pioneers, Ari Fulton also made some waves early on. Out of the gates, Fulton led the charge, garnering six of the Bonnies’ first 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting. Although his scoring did drop off in the second half, finding just two more on a powerful dunk deep in the period, Fulton’s impact translated to other areas, as he ended with six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

“I thought he was great. In a secret scrimmage we had and against Penn State he was great coming off the bench, but he brought the energy right from the beginning. He can do that,” said MacDonald. “He’s got great energy. He got an offensive rebound right off the bat. He’s got a good nose for the ball, and I think if he can do that, it’s going to really help us.” 

Alongside the pair was a full cast of Brown and White, with everyone seeming to find ways to chip in points as they relentlessly dominated Point Park. In all, the Bonnies’ found nearly half of all their points (45) from the reserves, an effort led by Akbar Waheed III’s 16 points on 4-for-8 shooting. While dressing 14 players certainly isn’t probable when the regular season arrives, it paints a picture of what SBU might need to lean on this year, albeit, an exaggerated one. 

“I think we’re going to have to do that. Obviously we had two guys who played (against Penn State) who didn’t play (tonight) in Joe (Grahovac) and Mason, so we had to let other guys play a little bit and they did a really nice job,” said MacDonald. “I think we’re going to be a deep team, it’s just a matter of making sure everybody is ready when it comes time to play.”  

Regardless of the outcome or the value garnered from their meeting with the Pioneers, the next time the Bonnies take the floor it will be back at the Reilly Center for the christening of the 2026-2027 season.