By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Ever since Atlantic 10 play started, defense has been largely a mystery for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team.
Even when its offense has clicked, like it did at Richmond recently, it hasn’t been enough as defensive struggles have overshadowed their scoring.
The Bonnies surpassed the 90-point threshold against the Spiders but still fell by a 99-94 margin. Against Rhode Island on Feb. 26, it hit the same number of points, but this time the defense showed what it was capable of.
They played as one unit, were active on and off the ball and made life difficult for what head coach Mark Schmidt promised would be a physical Rams squad. As a result, the penultimate home game of the regular season at the Reilly Center went down as a commanding 94-76 win.
“We played better defense, they still shot 45% (from the floor and) 47% from 3s, which is not great, but I thought our energy was there,” Schmidt said. “We gave up a few at the end, but we were more active. … We weren’t perfect. They got some layups, some open 3s, but we got enough turnovers and points off turnovers, and those are the two things that you have to beat Rhode Island with: points off turnovers and fast break points. That’s when they’re really good and that’s where we won.”
Through the early minutes of the game there was not much to split the sides. Rhody picked up its first lead of the game at 21-20 with 8:21 remaining in the first half, but that advantage lasted all of 10 seconds as Bona immediately erupted on a 10-0 run and never looked back. By the end of the first half, the hosts were flirting with a double-figure lead.
In the words of Frank Mitchell, who had one of the Bonnies’ two 20-point double-doubles on the night — finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds, the offense was exactly the kind that they have been trying to run. It was fast, it was clinical, it was punishing.
“We’re trying to play the right way,” Mitchell said. “We’re trying to move the ball, trying to be less selfish and just trying to get up and run. I think we’re our best version of ourselves when we’re running and not getting set up in the half court offense. … We were just playing unselfish and playing the right brand of basketball and it’s been rewarding us.”
Cayden Charles, who had the other double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, pointed out that a significant factor in the offense was, in fact, the defense. Rhode Island entered the game as one of the best teams in all of the A10 in terms of forcing turnovers and getting steals. Bona flipped that script, nabbing 11 steals on 13 of the Rams’ turnovers.
“Our defense led to our offense,” Charles said. “I think we did a good job guarding off the bounce, probably the best that we’ve done all year, definitely in conference play. Getting out and knowing personnel, sliding our feet, and we made plays off of that. Not trying to get into half court offense and really pushing the pace and going, that’s where we’re at our best, and I think we did a good job tonight.”
St. Bonaventure’s Cayden Charles (24) looks to launch a 3-pointer against Rhode Island. Charles recorded a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Bonnies in their win over the Rams. (Hunter O. Lyle)
Four of the five Bona starters hit double figures on the night, with Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II recording 17 points, four assists and two steals and Dasonte Bowen racking up 14 points, seven assists and two steals. The outlier was Daniel Egbuniwe who, on the back of a joint-career-high 22-point game at Richmond in which he hit a career-high six 3s, hit a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to save himself from an empty outing. However, the low scoring output was not of concern to Schmidt, who noted Egbuniwe’s impact went beyond the scoreboard.
He roped in the players that came off the bench on the night in that conversation too. While the Bona bench had just 16 points and no one player hit double figures, the impact they had on the non-statistical side of the game did not go unnoticed. Amongst those bench players was Joe Grahovac, who finished with a full stat line of seven points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
“Being productive is not necessarily points, it’s getting stops, it’s getting rebounds, being in the right position, it’s getting a deflection,” Schmidt said. “Daniel had 22 points the other night, and he had three tonight, and he might have had more influence tonight than he did the last game. For a lot of people, points tell you if he played really well, but that’s not the case. A lot of times, it is guys that don’t score a lot of points that have the biggest impact on the game. Those guys coming off the bench, they didn’t score a lot of points, but they had an impact, and that’s what we need.”
For as good as the Bonnies were in the first half, they were even better in the second. Scoring the most points in a half all season long with 55, they left the Rams in the dust, jumping ahead by 21 at one point. Schmidt’s team won every ‘points from’ category besides bench points, dominating the paint 40-26 and winning fast break points 16-9. But ultimately, how well his offense performed did not shock him. He has known what they are capable of on the offensive end. What mattered more was that the defense stepped up.
“We’re fourth in the league and in offensive efficiency, so that hasn’t been the problem,” Schmidt said. “It’s been our defense, and we haven’t done a good job keeping the ball in front in league play, for the most part, and we did a better job tonight. You can’t rely on your offense. We’re not going to shoot 55% and 45% from 3 every night. You live and die with your defense, and that’s going to be the staple. That’s what it’s been in the past, and we’ve gotten away from it a little bit. We got to get back to it if we want to win the next three games.”
Former Bonnie, Jonah Hinton made his return to the Reilly Center after an offseason move within the conference to Rhode Island. He had a quiet night with five points — well below the near 14 points per game he averages, four rebounds and three assists.
St. Bonaventure’s Dasonte Bowen (5) matches up with former Bona player Jonah Hinton (5) on defense. (Hunter O. Lyle)
Bona now embarks on a two-game road trip before returning to close out the regular season at home. The first game on the docket is a reverse fixture at George Mason. The Patriots defeated the Bonnies 77-73 back on Jan. 31.
St. Bonaventure will tip-off against George Mason at 2 p.m. on Feb. 28 in Fairfax, Virginia.
