PHILADELPHIA — For some members of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, it might be like déjà vu.
Two years ago around this time, the Bonnies went into La Salle on a five-game winning streak, sitting near the top of the Atlantic 10 standings. They were facing an Explorers team in last place, and had a massive game against a ranked opponent (that year, it was No. 15 Dayton) on the horizon.
Most fans remember all too well how it played out: Seemingly a lock to win, the Bonnies lost, 71-64, putting a major dent in their NCAA Tournament hopes.
Tonight inside Tom Gola Arena, the circumstances are nearly identical.
This year, the Bonnies (18-6, 8-4) come into La Salle on a six-game winning streak and tied for second in the league standings. They’re taking on an Explorers group (10-15, 4-8) that sits tied for 11th, a game out of last. Once again, they have a huge game against the first-place team waiting in the wings: Friday’s showdown with No. 16 Rhode Island.
Bona is far enough removed from that 2015-16 debacle to where it shouldn’t linger into tonight, coach Mark Schmidt said.
“Most of our guys weren’t on that team,” the 11th-year coach noted. “Two years ago, we went there and we lost. Well, we’ve lost there a lot of times, so …”
The players who were on that team, however — Jaylen Adams and Idris Taqqee among them — say it can serve as a reminder not to overlook the Explorers, to keep their focus on Tuesday, at such a critical point of the season.
“For sure, it’s something that I’ve thought about, and we’ve brought it up in the locker room,” Taqqee acknowledged, “but we’re looking at it as building on what we’re doing this year, not really dwelling on what happened in the past.
“They’re a good team and they’ve got talent. We’re just focused on doing what we’ve gotta do to finish the season strong.”
Bona received three points in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. It marked the third time this season it’s appeared in the “also receiving votes” category. It now ranks No. 41 nationally, according to that poll, and No. 43 in the Ratings Percentage Index — close to where it would need to be for at-large consideration.
A high-powered offense is the primary reason for the rise.
With Adams leading the way, Bona now ranks No. 1 in conference play in scoring (80 points), No. 1 in 3-point percentage (41) and No. 2 in free throw percentage (76). Adams is up to No. 3 nationally in 3-point percentage (50.0), and tonight the Bonnies will go against a La Salle team that ranks last in the league at defending 3s.
The Explorers, however, are also strong offensively.
Senior guard B.J. Johnson, a 6-foot-7 Syracuse transfer, is the A-10’s leading scorer at 21 points per game (Adams ranks No. 2 while teammate Matt Mobley checks in at No. 6). Guards Pookie Powell (17 points) and Isiah Deas (10) also average double-figures for the Explorers, who average just over 75 points.
La Salle is similar to Duquesne, Schmidt said, which gave Bona everything it could handle in an 84-81 decision earlier this month.
“They can really score the basketball,” Schmidt said. “They can go small, they can go big. Their attack is very similar to Duquesne — they want to go off the bounce, they space you out, they drive and kick. They’ve got really good scorers, they’re really hard to guard.”
Johnson is a volume shot-taker, but is shooting over 45 percent from the field and has gone over 25 points on seven occasions (Adams has done it four times in 18 games). Bona held Johnson to 13 points (4-for-11 shooting) and La Salle’s high-scoring offense to just 65 points in the Reilly Center last year.
“Just have fun guarding him … make sure that we’re taking care of business,” said Taqqee, when asked how the Bonnies slow the Explorers’ leader down. “We know that he’s the head of his team. I know that we can do it and we can take care of business on that end.”
The Bonnies are riding their first six-game conference win streak since 1982-83. For the last couple of years, however, Gola Arena has been a momentum-killer for Schmidt’s team.
In 2011-12, Bona lost its regular season finale at La Salle, its only loss in an eight-game stretch before making the NCAA Tournament. In 2013-14, it lost in Philly as part of a four-game losing streak to close the regular campaign.
Then, there was the nearly season-killing setback in 2015-’16.
The Explorers are 0-7 on the road in league play, but are 4-1 at home with wins over UMass, Fordham, Saint Louis and Saint Joe’s.
“I don’t know the last time we won at La Salle,” said Schmidt, whose team’s last win there came in February 2010 on the strength of Andrew Nicholson and Chris Matthews. “We’re not talented enough, we’re not that well-coached to look by anybody.
“La Salle’s talented enough. They’ve done it before and they can do it again. (They) have our attention, I can tell you that.”
Said Taqqee, who was captured memorably in a photo with his face buried in his jersey in the waning seconds of that 71-64 loss to La Salle: “I’m ready to take care of business, which we didn’t do last time.”
NOTES: Bona junior forward LaDarien Griffin, who missed Saturday’s game against Richmond due to a sprained ankle, is questionable for tonight. He practiced on Monday, but in a limited role. Sophomore forward Josh Ayeni remains suspended for a violation of team rules.