By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — There is a dichotomy within the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team.
This season, it has managed to string together positive minutes. For example, it stormed all the way back from an 18-point deficit against Duquesne.
But it has also had some significantly poor minutes. Having fallen behind 18-points to Duquesne in the first place being the example yet again.
It has been two sides of the same coin for the Bonnies this season. They are good enough to stage dramatic comeback attempts, but struggle enough to where they are forced to have to try and win from behind consistently.
“We’re good enough to come back from down 18 points, but we’re bad enough to get down by 18 points,” Bona head coach Mark Schmidt said. “But our kids are fighting, they’re just not making the play when we need to get that play, get that rebound, make that layup, or whatever it is, and the other team is making those plays.”
Bona had come all the way back against the Dukes on Feb. 14, holding a slim lead late. But two timely 3-pointers was all the latter needed to swing the result back in their favor. And despite how impactful those late buckets were, they were not the main cause of defeat in the eyes of Schmidt. Instead, it was the first half stretch that saw the hosts fall behind by nearly 20 points.
Following the game, Frank Mitchell noted that at times the team is “scared to make a mistake, and that leads us to make a mistake.”
The 8-1 turnover margin and 14-0 points off turnovers differential in the first half alone exemplified that feeling. But the reason as to why or how that feeling has rooted itself within the team is a bit of a mystery to Schmidt.
“I don’t know why (they feel that),” Schmidt said. “We’re playing eight guys, Frank’s playing 35 minutes a game. They’re allowed to play through mistakes, so I’m not sure.”
But the positive spin he had on the matter is that while the team may have its struggles, his players are taking their fair share of accountability. The team started the year with the mantra “no agendas,” and so far Schmidt has seen that carried through the Atlantic 10 gauntlet.
“We got character guys, when you lose, everybody holds themselves accountable, coaches, players, managers, that’s just how it is,” Schmidt said. “But we’re fighting. We haven’t given up. We’re right there. The record could be five, six, seven, eight more wins if everything goes perfect. … We have six games left, hopefully we can get some momentum and the ball bounces our way and we can finish some of these games.”
Now, Schmidt has previously spoken about how the offensive identity of the team does not change on an opponent-by-opponent basis. But that does not mean there aren’t areas that, if his team were better at, he wouldn’t go to. The 3-point shooting of his team is a prime example.
Following the Duquesne game, the Bonnies ranked in the top 50 in all of Div. I men’s basketball in 3-point percentage, but ranked 328th in 3-point attempts per game. According to him, it’s a matter of getting the shot selection right.
“We have a hard time getting 3s off,” Schmidt said. “I wish we could shoot more 3s, but if we’re not getting them in the open court, we have a hard time getting 3s off. It’s not like we’re passing up 3s. If we can get some more 3s in the open court, and off turnovers, that’s when we’re at our best. We’re shooting a high percentage, but we’re not shooting enough, and that’s not because we’re telling them not to shoot, it’s just that we’re having a hard time getting them.”
Outside scoring will be of increased importance for Bona as it is set to host Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 18. This will be the second meeting of the season between the sides and in the first round, the teams combined for 13 blocks, seven coming from the Hawks.
“They’re a good team,” Schmidt said. “They got a big guy inside that’s an all-league defender. They got good guards, long guards in there. They’re playing well.”
In the matchup back on Jan. 14, Bona was able to get the better of the St. Joe’s defense, which currently ranks sixth in A10 play, by winning the paint 38-30. But the Hawks also rank fourth in rebounds and second in blocks — first in the latter stat if taking the entire season as the sample size.
But ultimately, Bona lost that game 68-64 after having been up seven points with 8.5 minutes left, and up four with just over two minutes to play. In that game, scoring was streaky for the Bonnies. In the first half there was a stretch of time in which Mitchell scored 18 straight points. But in the second half, it was both Cayden Charles and Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II who carried the baton as Mitchell was held to just two points in the second half.
Getting a consistent output from Mitchell will be key for the Bonnies if they are to avenge their loss.
“He missed a lot of gimmies, a lot of close ones,” Schmidt said. “The kid defending him is big, but they didn’t do anything different in the second half than they did in the first half. Frank had just as many opportunities. He just missed some. And at the same time, we got some offense from our perimeter guys in the second half. … We did the job inside, we just got to be able to finish.”
The home stretch of the regular season is upon us and with just six games remaining, wins are a hot commodity. Bona is looking to avoid the bottom four seeds, which would mean skipping out on the first day of the tournament with a bye. But, Schmidt noted, that does not mean any change occurs within the routine or preparation ahead of these final games.
“We’ll go over special situations and shot clock stuff, but no, in terms of (changing anything),” Schmidt said. “We do scouting reports, we do highlight tapes, kids watch tape with the coaches. We do individuals. Nothing changes.”
St. Bonaventure, looking for what would be a major win over a top-half-of-the-conference squad, will tip-off against Saint Joseph’s at 7 p.m. on Feb. 18 in the Reilly Center.
