Bonnies’ exhibition loss to Penn State gives glimpse into team identity

By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com

BUFFALO, NY – After stepping under the bright center stage lights for the first time in over seven months, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team then walked out from under them 40 minutes later with a sour taste in their mouth. 

The shiny new tools they added to their workshop over the offseason initially glistened under the spotlight of the Keybank Center, but heading into crunch time, the rust appeared. The offense dried up, going from shooting 55.2 percent from the floor in the first half to 26.1 percent in the second, their ball handling broke loose, tripling their turnovers in the final 20 minutes and their steadfast early defense turned against itself, ending with two players fouling out and Penn State getting to the charity stripe 17 times down the stretch. 

Despite being just an exhibition game, St. Bonaventure head coach Mike MacDonald admitted it was hard to just shrug it off in the locker room.

“The guys were ticked off. They wanted to win,” said MacDonald. “Our guys are competitive and you saw it. We’re not there yet, we’re not ready yet but we will be.” 

On the surface, the Bonnies’ 68-65 exhibition loss showed that the bugs still need to be worked out. But it also started to form answers to the questions that have followed the Bonnies since last season.

Question No. 1: Where are the points coming from? 

Losing five significant players from last year, including four starters, the Bonnies saw the glaring void in the stat sheet when looking over their roster. In all, SBU looks to fill in the gaps of 64.7 points, or 85 percent, of their scoring on a nightly basis. 

Bringing a wealth of new faces into the fold, a handful of which would earn their first Division I minutes, the thought of who would pick up the torch and carry it for the Brown and White was an area of speculation. The answer against the Nittany Lions, especially early on, was by committee. 

Jumping out to a double-digit lead, one that held for the vast majority of the first half, was produced by several chefs cooking in the same kitchen. Eight of the eleven players who saw action in the first half found a way to put the ball in the hole as SBU shot north of 50 percent. Daemen transfer Benjamin Bill led the opening frame with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting, while Mason Blackwood (seven points, 3-for-6 with a 3-pointer), Taj Au-Duke (five points, 2-for-2, 1-for-2 from the free throw line) and Joe Grahovac (five points, 2-for-3 with a 3-pointer) off the bench followed in suit. 

During the Bonnies’ second half struggles, when shots both inside and away began to miss their mark, Blackwood began to separate from the pack. Finding several buckets in clutch moments, including scoring four of the SBU’s final six points in the last four minutes, when the game was a one-score contest, Blackwood ended as the only Bonnie to reach double digits, finishing with 15 on 5-for-12 shooting, connecting on two of his six shots from long range. Blackwood also was a valued asset under pressure, going a cool 3-for-4 from the charity stripe on a night where the team struggled to connect on free points. 

“His work ethic is outstanding. Our coaches work very hard with him. He’s getting better,” said MacDonald of Blackwood, who averaged 12.2 minutes a game at Penn State a season ago. “ I think he feels confident being here and I think he sees that his role is expanding here.” 

Question No. 2: Does size matter?

In their first time on the hardwood, the Bonnies opened up small. Starting Blackwood, Bill, Au-Duke, Ilia Ermakov and Zach Philipkoski, SBU’s starting lineup was collectively undersized by half a foot by Penn State, especially in the paint where 7-foot Ivan Juric loomed. However, the pairing of Bill and Blackwood held their ground. 

Through the opening 20 minutes, the down low duo all but shut out the Nittany Lions’ frontcourt, holding the five forwards that saw the floor to a combined 10 points and 25 percent shooting. Bill, who posted 1.75 blocks a game during his tenure at Daemen, Blackwood and Philipkoski all notched blocks throughout the night while SBU managed to stay competitive on the boards, ending the game in just a six-rebound deficit. 

“We’re still working through some things but I do like the way that flow goes and I think it’s a good lineup to have,” said MacDonald on his starting five. “I don’t think it really hurt us on the boards. (Penn State) had three offensive rebounds.” 

What ultimately punched a hole in the Bonnies’ defense between the blocks was when their intensity turned to physicality. Early in the second half, Penn State began punching inside, force feeding their bigs under the boards, who barged their way inside. Attempting to evict their oversized competitors gave way to fouls and midway through the period, Bill, Blackwood and Philipkoski all were nearing the DQ marker. 

The dam ultimately broke when Bill fouled out with five minutes to go – Penn State then went on to outscore SBU 13-6 and outrebound them 6-4. 

Question No. 3: Can they handle pressure?

From the jump of the second half, the Nittany Lions kicked off a stress test. Full-court-presses, double teams down low – especially on Bill’s first touch in the post – and a mounting comeback pushed the Bonnies to the brink, and it had its intended effect. 

After giving up just two turnovers in the first half, SBU surrendered the ball seven times in the second, resulting in seven empty possessions and nine Nittany Lions points-off-turnovers. Bill scored eight points early and then went silent. Getting to the line 24 times, the Bonnies’ rattled nerves produced just 15 makes (62.5 percent) and just two-of-six (33.3 percent) in the last five-and-a-half minutes of their three-point loss. 

With flashes of last year’s struggles coming to mind, where the Bonnies lost seven of their first ten A-10 contests in games where they held a lead or tie within the final six minutes of regulation, this area of concern is exceptionally sore. 

The answer to the third question of the night, so far, is not yet. 

However, it is blatantly too early to judge a team off a single exhibition game three weeks before the officially opening night of the regular season. Adjustments can be made. Film can be studied. Experience can be gained. For a team consisting of a quilt of different levels of skills and experience, coming close to knocking off a power conference school is a sufficient starting place.

“Let’s have perspective and look at it and say, ‘we’re not perfect’ but I thought we competed really hard, I thought we were competitive,” said MacDonald. “I think we have some things to clean up, which we will, but we’re better than we were last week and hopefully we’ll be even better next week when we play Point Park at home.” 

St. Bonaventure will have one last exhibition game before the start of the season, returning home to play Point Park next Saturday at the Reilly Center at 4 p.m.