By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — The end of the regular season for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team is officially just 40 minutes away.
After rounding out its final road trip of the season with a 91-82 overtime loss at George Washington on March 4, just one game stands before Bona and the completion of its schedule.
But while they may have lost their final true away date, the game against GW had many important positives as the season nears its close.
For one, Cayden Charles bounced back from the one-point outing he had in the team’s prior game at George Mason. He finished with 20 points and five rebounds and as Schmidt noted, he got back to playing his style of basketball.
“He played his typical game, he was aggressive and went to the basket,” Schmidt said. “Against Mason, he was a little bit hesitant and got off to a tough start. But he played much better against George Washington.”
Andrew Osasuyi also had a solid game in the nation’s capital.
In response to the Revolutionaries’ size, Schmidt gave Osasuyi his second start of the season — the first having come in the season-opener against Bradley back on Nov. 3. He had his difficulties staying out of foul trouble, but still, he finished with six points, seven rebounds (five offensive), two steals and two blocks. He was the only Bona player to finish with a positive number in the plus-minus category.
“When he’s on the floor, he’s effective,” Schmidt said. “He got in foul trouble from jumping around and not being patient enough, but we went big because (GW’s) big and they played their two power guys. When he’s out there, he can change the game, defensively.
“He’s not an offensive player. I tell people all the time, he’s half a player. Not to kill him, but his defense is so far ahead of his offense, and he’s not strong enough. He gets blocks, but it’s not like he’s blocking his guy. He’s getting blocks from the backside. But his future is bright. He’s going to be a really good player. He just needs more time, more strength, more reps. He’s the typical guy that Bonaventure gets and by the end of his sophomore year or his junior year, people are like, ‘where’d you get that kid?’ The problem in today’s world is that he’ll be at an SEC school when you say that.”
The Bonnies will be hoping for more impactful performances as they look to keep their record from dipping below .500 for the first time this season. To do so, they will need to take down a Davidson team that is 9-8 in Atlantic 10 play and 3-2 in its last five games.
Statistically, where the Wildcats are best is on the defensive side of the floor.
In their last six games, three of which have been losses, they have not given up more than 70 points to their opposition. They hold the second-best rated defense (allowing just 67.8 points per game this season) and the fourth-best turnover margin (11.7) in all of the conference.
“They’re fundamental, they’re always in the right position,” Schmidt said. “They play the ball screens hard. They’re active. They’re smart players. They have physicality to them. They don’t pressure, they just play that pack line. They do a decent job on the backboard, not a great job, but they keep the ball in front and they force contested jump shots, and they’re good at it.”
As for the offense, Davidson is very guard-heavy with its top nine scorers all being listed as guards. Leading the scoring is Roberts Blums, who provides a punch off the bench with a team-high average of 12 points per game. Behind him, Parker Friedrichsen scores an average of 10.9 per contest. But in the eyes of Schmidt, Josh Scovens, who is tied for the second-best scorer on the team with an average of 10.9 points and a team-high 4.0 rebounds per game, will be the one to watch.
“Scovens is the guy, he’s the low-post presence, he’s the guy that’s really hard to guard,” Schmidt said. “He can shoot 3s, he can back you in and the guards play off of that. They’re good, they’re smart, they can shoot the ball, they can take you off the dribble just good enough. They have good enough quickness, and they’re smart. They slip screens, they twist stuff and they run good stuff. But Scovens, he’s the guy that gives them that toughness inside. They’re five-men are big, but they’re more dribble-hand-off guys where Scovens is a guy that is really the physical presence inside.”
The Davidson fixture will also be Senior Day for St. Bonaventure as the program gets set to honor a number of its players ahead of their final regular season game in the Reilly Center. Granted, Schmidt noted he feels as though the tradition has taken a new shape with the transfer portal becoming so prominent.
“It’s different now with the whole portal thing,” Schmidt said. “You only have guys for a year … it’s not like they’ve grown up in the program for four years and became part of the community. It’s a little bit different. But at the same time, they’ve been here for seven, eight months, and they’ve had good careers wherever they’ve been prior, they’ve done a good job here, and we’re proud of what they accomplished. Hopefully we can win and have them go out on a high note.”
One such player that Schmidt will hope to see go out on top is Frank Mitchell, someone he officially dubbed as the greatest rebounder of his tenure.
“He’s the best rebounder that I’ve coached,” Schmidt said. “He’s got great hands, strong hands and he can rebound out of his area. He is the best rebounder, and we’ve had Andrew Nicholson. He’s the best rebounder that I’ve coached. He’s not the best guy guarding ball screens. He’s not the best guy finishing inside. But he’s the best guy rebounding the ball.”
St. Bonaventure will tip-off for the final time in the regular season in the RC against Davidson at 12 p.m. on March 7.
