ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — He’s the first to admit it’s been an unexpectedly trying season.
How could it not be?
Osun Osunniyi went down with a knee injury just 24 minutes into this sophomore campaign and watched his teammates go 1-4 in his absence. He missed the second half of the Boca Raton Beach Classic championship with a separate knee ailment.
And just as he was beginning to turn a corner, he suffered a concussion against UMass, forcing him to the sideline for arguably the three most difficult league games on St. Bonaventure’s schedule.
“(I’m) disappointed, sad,” he acknowledged prior to Tuesday’s practice. “I’m out the first couple of games, then get back and get a concussion and I’m out even more games. So personally, I’m sad, but I’m happy to be back and happy to be helping my team again.”
Yes, with ‘Shoon back in the lineup, the Bonnies have returned to their winning ways, taking the last two, including Saturday’s 74-65 triumph over George Mason, to move into a five — yes five — way tie for third in the Atlantic 10 standings.
The hope now is that Bona (14-8, 6-3) has a healthy Osunniyi for what has become its most critical and historically successful stretch of the year: the second half of the A-10 schedule. It’s a segment that begins with an opponent that ‘Shoon has dominated: tonight’s rematch with George Washington (7 o’clock, WPIG-FM, WHDL-AM, Stadium-TV) inside the Reilly Center.
“I know, and my coaches and teammates know, that when I play, I’m a big impact (on things),” said Osunniyi, with whom the Bonnies are 13-0 when he plays at least 18 minutes (and 1-8 when he doesn’t). “So being back and getting the last few games back, I think we’re starting to get back together, and this is the time you want to start going on a roll and getting things going and playing your best basketball in February and March.
“I think we’re getting there, we just have to keep getting better and keep working on things.”
The 6-foot-10 center’s numbers in two games, both on the road, against the Colonials are staggering. He’s averaging 19 points on 16-of-17 shooting, 12.5 rebounds and four blocks. But if Osunniyi is going to have another monster night, it’ll have to come against a seemingly improved Colonials (10-12, 4-5).
Since Bona’s 71-66 A-10-opening triumph in D.C. on Jan. 5, GW has begun to find its way under first-year coach Jamion Christian, winning four of its last six, including last Wednesday’s thrilling 107-104 quadruple-overtime victory over Davidson, though only one of those victories (at UMass) has come away from the Smith Center.
The key to that uptick?
The Colonials’ individual parts are beginning to play better collectively. Buffalo native Maceo Jack (11.5 points) poured in a career-high 35 against Davidson, including a 7-of-13 effort from 3-point range. Freshman forward Jamison Battle (12.4 points), who scored 20 against the Bonnies in D.C., had 25 versus the Wildcats.
Point guard Armel Potter (14.5 points, 5.5 assists) and freshman Jameer Nelson Jr. (10.6 points), son of the former Saint Joe’s great, are also in double figures for GW.
“They’re playing better,” coach Mark Schmidt said of the Colonials, who have moved up to ninth in the A-10 standings. “They’re shooting the ball better, they’re getting more accustomed to the style, they’re defending better. The young guys are no longer young guys. I think they know their system better and when you know your system better, you play with more confidence.
“They’re doing everything you need to do to win in this league and they’re playing with confidence.”
The Bonnies have fared well against GW of late, winning three in a row and four of five, their most successful stretch in the series since taking five-straight from 1987-’89. Tonight, they’re aiming for their third season sweep in as many contests after doing so against Fordham and George Mason in the last week.
Those victories have Bona here: 6-3 at the midway point and well within the mix for the coveted No. 4 spot and double-bye at the Atlantic 10 Tournament, with a softer second half of the league campaign.
How does Schmidt assess where his team sits with just over a month remaining in the regular season?
“We wish we were 9-0,” he said with a laugh. “I think we’re getting better. We still have a long way to go. Six and three is fine, but we’re only halfway through. This is the time where we have to start playing better and playing more consistently and see where it goes.”
In game 1, Bona broke a 43-all tie with 11:10 remaining on a Bobby Planutis jump shot and maintained a small advantage from there, though it was challenged from start to finish by GW, which still ranks 12th in the league (No. 208), per KenPom.
The biggest takeaway from that game?
The Bonnies’ young roster, which was missing Jaren English that day, got a good look at the Colonials, “so they know,” Schmidt said. “It’s not as much where you have to tell them, ‘this is what they do.’”
And that’s what Bona will bring into the rematch, where it will look to continue the origins of another February surge.
“ … we understand that we have to continue to get better,” Schmidt said. “We can’t be comfortable with where we’re at. We can’t be satisfied with where we’re at. We’ve just got to continue to work and know that we’re only halfway through and these are the most important nine games, the last nine, and it’s really this one here against GW.”
