Bonnies hit the road to face experienced Davidson in regular season finale 

By SPENCER BATES

batesoleanstar@gmail.com

DAVIDSON, NC — The conclusion of the regular season for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team is just around the corner, its only remaining task before shipping out for the Atlantic 10 Tournament: an away date at Davidson.

One last game before the tone shifts to win or go home, and one last chance to grab some momentum heading into the conference championship.

The Bonnies already have some wind in their sails, claiming three wins in their last four games for the first time since Jan. 4. Their most recent coming in a 73-72 nailbiter of a victory over UMass which rounded off their regular season at home.

In that game, Bona was spurred on by a full-team effort on the offensive end of the floor with four of its five starters finishing the game with double-figure points. Jonah Hinton was the one starter that fell just short of that mark with nine points to his name. But luckily, the team got some extra help off the bench in the form of Duane Thompson, who picked up eight points and four rebounds in 14 minutes of action.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well … but I thought we shared the ball,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt said. “When you have four guys in double figures, it makes it harder for the defense to try to control one guy. But at the same time, I thought the difference in the game was Duane. I thought him coming in, getting eight points and four rebounds, and defending at the 5 (where) he’s undersized, he was the key to the game.”

And it is more than likely Thompson will see more court time, possibly at that 5 spot, with backup center Xander Wedlow currently sitting out with a knee injury.

“You’re not going to play your natural position all the time,” Schmidt said. “And anybody wants to play, you know? So, if it’s the 1, 2, 3, doesn’t matter. When you’re in there, you try to play the best you can. And Duane did a really good job for us against UMass. Hopefully he can do that the rest of the year.”

Bona will need another well-rounded performance when they square off against Davidson, a team that has struggled at times this season, currently sitting with a 6-11 A10 record and 16-14 overall record. But do not let the record deceive you, the Wildcats are led by, statistically, the most devastating scorer in the entire A10 in Reed Bailey.

“I think if they were having a better year, Bailey would be, probably, the player of the year,” Schmidt said. “He leads the team in scoring, assists and rebounds. … Bailey is a handful. He’s a 4 man playing the 5. So, he creates matchup problems.”

Bailey currently averages 19.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game for Davidson and sits at the top of the scouting report. But alongside him, Schmidt acknowledged, are two more very capable scorers. Bobby Durkin and Connor Kochera average 14.2 and 14.0 points per game respectively and with their abilities paired alongside Bailey, the Bonnies’ defensive mentality will be similar to the one they brought into their clash with Saint Joseph’s.

“(Davidson) has three guys that really score,” Schmidt said. “Durkin and Kochera are really good players, but everything goes through Bailey, he has the ball in his hands all the time. He’s like the point-forward, and he gets shots for those guys. When Durkin and Kochera are shooting the ball well, they’re really hard to guard. You know, we’re not going to stop them, but we got to somehow try to control them. If Bailey and Durkin and Kochera are going for 60 together, we’re going to be in trouble.”

And with the high volume of shots that the Davidson’s trio takes, limiting them to one possession will be key for Bona. Bailey and Durkin each average over 6 rebounds per game with Kochera not far behind averaging just over four per game. So, once again, Schmidt will be stressing to his guards ahead of the matchup that they will need to make a big impact on the glass. Something they achieved last time out against UMass.

“They don’t have a guy that’s getting double-digit rebounds, but rebounding is always a key,” Schmidt said. “We got to limit them to one shot. They take a lot of 3s, (and) long shots create long rebounds. So our guards have to go in there and get some rebounds. But trying to limit them to one shot is always a key.”

But shutting down the Wildcats will be far from as simple as “close down the shooter and grab the rebound.” Just about every player that gets meaningful minutes for them has more than a year in the program. Five of their top eight scorers are in their second or third year in the system and the other three are freshmen. This experience, Schmidt noted, allows them to run more complex sets and play with a better understanding of one another on the floor, which will only create more problems for the Bonnies’ defense.

“The more experience you have in (a system), the better you’re going to be in it,” Schmidt said. “They’ve had guys there. Bailey’s been there for three years, Durkin has been there, and Kochera has been there for three years, he’s a grad student. They’re system guys, They know how to play in it. And, like I said, the more experience you have in it, reading screens and so forth, the better you’re going to be, and they’re really good at it.”

So, for St. Bonaventure, grabbing a win in its regular season finale at Davidson and, along with it, momentum heading to Washington D.C. for the conference tournament will be no small task. It will be one more stern test which will tip off on March 8 at 2 p.m. in the John M. Belk Arena.