It was once an unheard of proposition.

Indeed, from its Atlantic 10 arrival in 1982 through 2012, a span of 30 seasons, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team won at Saint Joseph’s on just TWO occasions — in postseason campaigns of 1995 and 2000. Whether Bona was good or not, it often didn’t matter. It was simply understood: The Bonnies weren’t going to win on Hawk Hill (or, with Temple still a league member, in Philadelphia, period).

Under Mark Schmidt, however, that narrative has changed.

Beginning with a surprise triumph on Jan. 23, 2013, Bona has all but owned Hagan Arena, winning five of the last six, with only a seven-point defeat in 2018 standing in the way of six-straight. But it hasn’t just been in Philly. After struggling for years in the houses of horror that were UMass and George Washington, Bona has begun to win with some regularity in those venues, too.

Yes, for as well as they’ve played at home over the last seven years, Schmidt’s teams have been objectively solid on the road as well. And this year’s group will look to continue that string of Philly success when it meets the Hawks tonight (6 o’clock, WPIG-FM, CBS Sports-TV) inside Hagan.

“You can’t win championships or compete for championships or get into the top four without being successful on the road,” Schmidt said. “Our guys understand that, and that’s how we’ve been successful. You go on the road, you gotta bring your defense, and we’ve done that. It hasn’t been perfect. But one of the reasons why we’ve had some success here as a program is because of how we’ve played on the road.”

BONA (18-7, 10-4), at 3-3 in true road contests, has only been average in that regard this season. Additionally, this one’s the very definition of a “trap game,” as Tuesday’s massive road rematch with VCU awaits.

All the signs, however, would seem to point in the Bonnies’ favor:

This, after all, is a team that’s once again peaking at just the right time, bringing a six-game win streak into tonight’s rematch. It’s also playing a Joe’s squad that’s not only struggled of late, losing its last five games, but one that Bona has dominated, winning 14 of the last 15 overall.

Hawk Hill, in any year, is a tough place to play. Despite being one of the Atlantic 10’s smaller venues, it can also be one of its loudest. But this Bona core, especially, knows that, having won here in both 2019 and ‘20. And despite being away from the Reilly Center for the first time in two weeks, they have no intentions of faltering now.

“We have a veteran team, and they understand how difficult playing on the road is and how difficult it’s gonna be (tonight) with their fans and their students sitting behind the basket,” said Schmidt, whose team just completed a 4-0 homestand. “But we’ve seen it before and we gotta go out there and we gotta play really well. We gotta play much better than we’ve played at home if we’re gonna win against Saint Joe’s or beat anyone on the road.”

DESPITE their struggles, the Hawks (10-16, 4-11) have remained competitive.

Of those five-straight losses, two were in overtime – at first-place Davidson and home against George Mason – and one was a two-point loss at UMass. Coach Billy Lange’s team also hung tough in losses last week to Saint Louis and Dayton.

Then, too, in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 29 at the RC, Bona led by just four (33-29) at halftime and surrendered a then-career-high 21 points to freshman guard Erik Reynolds before ultimately pulling away for an 80-69 victory.

Still, the expectation will be making it seven-straight, thereby setting the stage for a contest with major NCAA “bubble” implications on Tuesday at VCU. And it’s a game that would push Bona that much closer to securing the No. 4 spot, where it currently sits, after its lead was extended with Saint Louis’ loss to Richmond last night.

But, facing a team that boasts the likes of Reynolds (12 points), sophomore guard Jordan Hall (14 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) and fifth-year veteran Taylor Funk (13 points, 7 rebounds), the Bonnies are wary.

“They run realy good offense, they got really good players,” said Schmidt, when asked what’s allowed Joe’s to remain a tough out, despite being in 12th place. “They got one of the top freshmen in the league (Reynolds). Hall is one of the better players in the league; the big guy inside (Ejike Obinna) gives them a presence inside.

“They’re playing connected, Coach (Lange) is doing a really good job with them. They gave us a game at our place. It’s gonna be another difficult game.They’re a talented team with a good big guy.”

IN GAME one, Reynolds’ effort aside, Bona held leading scorers Hall and Funk, averaging 27 between them, to a combined 18 points on 6-of-21 shooting. It also mostly kept Obinna, who tallied 10 points and seven rebounds, in check.

Tonight, the task will remain much the same, though that becomes amplified as the 3-point shooting-happy Hawks, who still rank No. 4 in the league in 3s per game (8.9), now have the comfort of being at home.

But for Bona, the reward would be this: remarkably, a sixth sweep of Saint Joe’s in seven years of playing home-and-homes since 2014-15. And that, not what’s looming against the Rams, is priority No. 1.

“Our whole focus is on playing well at 6 o’clock (tonight),” Schmidt maintained, “and we’ll move on from there. You can’t look ahead, you can’t look behind. You just gotta keep your eye on the next opponent and that’s what we’re doing.”

Of the prospect of another “road kill,” he added: “We take pride in going on the road and playing well. Hopefully we can do that (tonight).”