By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Righting its wrongs from the last time it faced Duquesne, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team put on a show in front of a packed Reilly Center on homecoming and senior night and collected a 70-63 win as a reward.
The first time the Bonnies and Dukes squared off this season, in Pittsburgh on Jan. 18, the latter “shot the lights out,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt recalled. They unloaded from deep, they were efficient from everywhere on the court and ruthlessly punished any mistake the Bonnies made.
But in the reverse fixture, Bona flipped the script.
This time, on its home floor, Bona knew Duquesne’s game plan would go relatively unchanged, and the preparations it made to shut down the visitors, for the most part, worked like a charm.
The Bonnies held the Dukes to 36.4% shooting from the field and 28.1% from 3-point range. A stark difference compared to the 46.7% and 41.2% they shot in those respective areas in Pittsburgh.
“We had some breakdowns, they made nine 3s, shot 9-for-31 (from 3), but if you look, they shot 36% (from the field) and 28% from 3s,” Schmidt said. “When you can keep teams below 40% and 30%, you got a legitimate chance. And part of that was we had 14 assists, we only had seven turnovers (and) they only had six points off of turnovers.”
St. Bonaventure guard Lajae Jones (10) passes the ball to a driving Melvin Council Jr. (11). Jones scored a game-high 24 points for the Bonnies with Council having chipped in 20 against Duquesne. (Taylor Komidar)
And it was what the Bonnies did on the back of their much-improved defensive efforts that played just as significant a role.
On offense, they gave the Dukes a taste of their own medicine, forcing 10 turnovers, grabbing eight steals and getting out in transition. They out-scored their guests 15-5 in fast-break points and dominated in paint points, winning that category 30-18.
And while they may have ultimately been shown up in the rebounding department, losing the battle by a 39-24 margin — 13-2 on offensive boards alone — the fast-break and paint points made up for that.
“That’s the difference,” Schmidt said. “If you’re going to lose the backboard, you better win some of those blocks and (categories) in the bottom of the stat sheet. I thought points in the paint was important, we won by 12 there, fast-break points we won by 10. And those are important numbers. To keep them to six points off of our turnovers, that’s critical. You’re not going to win every block, but those are the main ones (needed) in order to beat a team as talented as Duquesne.”
And as for how Duquesne managed to gain the upper hand on the boards, Schmidt said it was a matter of the personnel it had on the floor.
“They’re a big, physical team,” Schmidt said. “They started big, they started two 5-men. They played the two 5s a number of minutes. So we knew that was going to be an issue. You never want to get out-rebounded like that, but we found a way to win.”
The big star of the night for Bona was Lajae Jones. His 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting — which included four 3-pointers on six attempts — four rebounds, five steals and just one turnover paced the hosts. And where he went, Melvin Council Jr. followed.
Council, who was one of three seniors honored during the senior night festivities along with Noel Brown and Chance Moore, scored 15 of his eventual 20 points in the second half alone and helped Bona a great deal down the stretch.
Moore, who scored his also played a big role in the scoring department, getting to the free throw line numerous times and finishing with a tally of 12 points.
“(Lajae) played really well,” Schmidt said. “Him and Melvin were the two reasons, from an offensive standpoint, where we won. Other guys (helped), Chance got to the foul line, but Lajae and Melvin were offensive guys. They shoot 16-for-25, 6-for-11 from 3s and when they’re doing that, we’re a better team.”
But for as much as Bona controlled the game, having held the lead for 90.7% of the affair, some late-game points were desperately needed as Duquesne managed to cut the Bona lead to one possession in the closing minutes. They got just that from Council, who hit a big 3 which put the wind back in the Bonnies’ sails and got them over the line.
“(Melvin’s) got a tough job … he’s playing out of position,” Schmidt said. “But he hasn’t let that affect his game. He plays with that joy, that energy. He leads us … he makes big shots when you need them and he makes big plays. We wouldn’t be here without the efforts that he’s given us all year.”
St. Bonaventure guard Chance Moore (0) rises up for a dunk against Duquesne. (Taylor Komidar)
The win bumps the Bonnies up to seventh place in the Atlantic 10. A move up the ladder, but still leaves them very much in the thick of things as far as the standings go. And with just two games separating fourth and 11th place and three games left on their regular season schedule, Schmidt knows every win is important, but that you can’t win out unless you win the next one.
“We’re all jumbled up and every game is really, really important,” Schmidt said. “You’re trying to get that double-bye and or the single-bye, you don’t want to play on the first night and have to win five games (in the A10 tournament). But right now, we just have to continue to work hard and get better and try to do everything that we can to play well against Saint Joe’s. Winning takes care of everything, but you have to take it one game at a time.”
And as far as what the win over Duquesne showed this Bona team, Council, one of the team’s co-captains noted it filled them with belief.
“As long as we got effort, we can compete with anybody,” Council said.
St. Bonaventure’s next game will be away from home on Feb. 26 at Saint Joseph’s. That game will tip-off at 7 p.m.
