By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — There was a tone of relief in the voice of St. Bonaventure men’s basketball head coach Mark Schmidt following his team’s win over Duquesne on Jan. 28.
“We finally won a game where we held a lead and we held on in the last five minutes,” Schmidt told ESPN+ broadcasters after the game.
His side had been in the midst of a troublesome start to life in the Atlantic 10 this year, going 1-6 in its first seven conference games. Throughout that stretch of time, he has been on record noting how it is going to take time for the plethora of first-year Div. I college basketball players he has to catch up to speed.
Well, the time may have come for Schmidt to finally start seeing a return on his investment.
Against the Dukes, Frank Mitchell, who has arguably been the most consistent figure for the Bonnies all season, scored just four points and grabbed just three rebounds, a stark contrast to the 16 points and 9.9 rebounds he averages every contest.
Luckily, two of those first-year guys in Joe Grahovac and Andrew Osasuyi were there to step in, and according to Schmidt, save the day.
“I thought the difference in the game was that Joe and Andrew came in and really gave us a lift,” Schmidt said. “They haven’t been rebounding the ball great, but they had 13 rebounds (against Duquesne). Physically, you look at their bodies compared to other guys’ and they’re not there yet. But the more they’re playing, the more comfortable they get … the better they’re going to be. They played with confidence. Andrew, even though he only had two blocks, he was really a guy that protected the rim. And Joe had five rebounds. I think that’s the most he’s had since the Bloomsburg game. So hopefully it gives them more confidence as we go forward.”
Of course, Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II’s 31 points on 72.7% shooting were a significant part of the win as well.
Simmons has been on a tear as of late, averaging 23 points on 50.8% shooting in his last three games. But his points are not solely of his own creation. The ever growing ability and confidence of his teammates has helped his recent form. The more effective the players around him are, the more opposing teams have to dedicate bodies to them, which frees up the space for Buddy to go to work. And with the likes of Grahovac and Osasuyi also making an increased impact on defense, that has allowed him, someone with an affinity for a transition 3, to catch fire more often.
“If you look at the games against Loyola and Duquesne, we got a lot of stuff in the open court, driving kicks and a lot of points off turnovers, a lot of fast break points,” Schmidt said. “And Buddy’s short, so he has a hard time in the half court sometimes when they put length on him. But in the open court, he’s getting open shots. He’s got a great stroke, and if we can get him some space, he can be that much more effective. … He’s getting open shots because of what we’re doing on the other end.”
That defense, and what the Bonnies can get out of it on the offensive end, is once again going to take center stage in their next game, a home affair against George Mason.
The Patriots currently reside at 19-2 overall with a 7-1 A10 record. And in the words of Schmidt, when it comes to George Mason’s squad, there are three things that have made them as effective as they have been this season: strength, size and age.
“You look at their team, they’re fifth-year seniors and seniors,” Schmidt said. “They play downhill. They don’t necessarily shoot the ball great, but they’re top 10 in the country in foul shots made and foul shots attempted. They’re a downhill team. They got good size inside. They pound the ball inside. That’s one of the reasons why they’re 19-2 and 7-1 in the league. They run a good system, but they have guys that can break guys down and get to the basket. And that’s critical, especially at the end of games.”
George Mason’s roster consists heavily of players in their first year with the program. But head coach Tony Skinn, even without his most veteran player in Brayden O’Connor, who has been injured for all but one game this season, has got the best out of the new faces. The Patriots run deep, with 10 consistent players averaging double-figure minutes per game. But leading the pack are the likes of Kory Mincy and Riley Allenspach.
Mincy leads George Mason with averages of 16.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He shoots just under 48% from the field and is their go-to option when they need a basket. Allenspach is currently listed as day-to-day after picking up an injury against Rhode Island. But if he is fit to play, Bona’s defense will have to find a way to stop the 6-11 Samford transfer that can wreak havoc inside.
“Mincy makes big shots, he’s their best shooter,” Schmidt said. “When they need a basket, from a perimeter standpoint, he’s the one that has the ball in his hands. He can score at all three levels. And (Allenspach) can shoot 3s and he’s strong inside. He’s got great footwork and that’s one of the reasons why they’re effective. They have good, outside, perimeter players and they got big guys that can play physical and can score with their back to the basket.”
St. Bonaventure lost handedly when they hosted the current conference leaders, Saint Louis. It will look to have a much improved performance on Jan. 31 at 6:30 p.m. when it hosts second-place George Mason.
