By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — With 42 seconds on the clock, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team and Youngstown State were locked at 80-80.
Over two hours of wire-to-wire basketball would be decided by four possessions.
The contest saw 11 lead changes, 11 ties and both teams’ largest lead was just six points. There was hardly a chance for the Bonnies or Penguins to blink, as they might’ve wound up on the back foot if they did so.
It would take a clutch effort in a high-pressure environment to get the job done for either team. Fortunately for Bona, Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II, Cayden Charles and Frank Mitchell live for the big moments. On the final four possessions, respectively, Simmons sank a critical go-ahead jumper out of a timeout, the Bonnies forced a turnover to get the ball back, Charles drained two free throws and Mitchell roped in the rebound on Youngstown’s last-ditch heave.
The Reilly Center, which had been louder than it had been all year thus far, erupted once more at the final buzzer as its team sealed the 84-80 win.
“That’s basketball,” Bona head coach Mark Schmidt said. “Anybody who has ever played competitive basketball knows that’s how it is. You score, they score. You want to run, and they want to run. It was two good teams competing and thank God we had a four point lead at the end.”
It was no surprise that the Penguins were going to be a significant test for the Bonnies. Already this season, they had scored a victory on the road over Grand Canyon — a team that had just one home loss over the last two seasons — and were holding a lead over another power-conference opponent in Pittsburgh before ultimately falling in that affair.
“Give Youngstown a ton of credit, that’s like an Atlantic 10 team,” Schmidt said. “They’re going to win a ton of games, just like I think Siena is going to. (They’re) well-coached, run good stuff, and got good, older players. They beat Grand Canyon by nine … they were leading Pitt for 30 minutes, so we knew this was going to be a really difficult game.”
In his pregame media, Schmidt noted that if his side were to concede too many 3-pointers, it could spell trouble. Well, that is exactly what happened out of the gates as Youngstown launched an all-out assault from deep. At the half the Penguins had drained seven of their 17 3-point attempts while only making six baskets from inside the arc.
Something needed to change for Bona. Fortunately for the hosts, their 3-point defense was cleaned up in the second half. Youngstown still managed to do some significant damage in the paint, scoring 36 points from short range, but with only three 3s in the last 20 minutes of action, their biggest threat had been snuffed out.
“We did a much better job on the ball,” Schmidt said. “We switched some ball screens. And when (you do that) you have your 5-man on a guard, and that’s not always advantageous, but I thought Frank did a good job with that. But they’re a good team, they were going to get their baskets, but I thought we did a better job of contesting 3s in the second half.”
St. Bonaventure’s Joe Grahovac (32) rocks the rim with a dunk against Youngstown State. Grahovac had five points and five rebounds for the Bonnies in the win. (Hunter O. Lyle)
Youngstown’s biggest weapon was its 3-ball. For Bona, it was its depth.
Through four games this season, the Bonnies’ bench has shown that it has the ability to change games. Against the Penguins, it was Amar’e Marshall that provided that punch in a big way. Charles led all scorers on the night with 18 points, Simmons netted 17 and Mitchell finished with 16 to go along with seven rebounds. Bona’s big three got theirs. But Marshall’s 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting, five rebounds and three assists put the team over the top.
“I thought Amar’e was tremendous,” Schmidt said. “He came off the bench and gave us a lift. He got the (Bona) belt today. Buddy hit that big shot at the end with a little isolation. But I thought it was a team effort. I told the guys in the locker room, the guys that didn’t play, everybody’s going to have their day in the sun. It was a difficult game for Joe (Grahovac), because they spaced us out and they played with four guards. That’s why we went to Amar’e and had Cayden at the 4. … We’re not going to go undefeated, but teams got to know that they’re getting into a game when they play against us.”
It was Marshall that highlighted the team’s depth on the night. But Andrew Osasuyi and Achille Lonati have each flashed their ability to impact a game as well early on this season. It’s a layer to his team that Schmidt knows can pay dividends down the line.
“We need a punch off the bench, not just offensively, but defensively,” Schmidt said. “Amar’e, we’ve been on him to rebound the ball, and he had five rebounds (tonight). He’s being more aggressive there. We need some firepower coming off (the bench) and it was Amar’e’s day today.”
The depth is something that Bona’s players have embraced as well. Each knows that they can impact the game, it doesn’t matter if they are in the starting five or not. This was the mindset of Marshall on a night in which he put up his season-high in points.
“I’m just playing my role and trying to help in any way I can to help the team win,” Marshall said.
St. Bonaventure’s Amar’e Marshall (2) drives along the baseline after losing his defender. Marshall finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Bonnies. (Hunter O. Lyle)
The Bona offense flourished in the latter half, shooting just under 74% from the field. Schmidt’s bunch missed just six shots in the final 20 minutes. But there is still work to be done according to him. The good news is, they will be able to work on those things on the back of a victory as opposed to a loss.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we persevered,” Schmidt said. “We found a way to make plays, to get the stops we needed to. There’s a ton of things that we can work on, but it’s a positive to be able to work on them when you come off a victory.”
The tests keep on rolling for St. Bonaventure as its next two games will be against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season in Robert Morris and North Carolina, respectively. The Bonnies are set to host the Colonials on Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.
