ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — If you can’t figure out this year’s St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, take a number.
After an encouraging 5-2 non-conference start, the Bonnies staggered through a 1-5 December. At 6-7 it appeared coach Mark Schmidt’s crew, as feared, was paying its dues of an entirely turned-over roster.
A stretch of four losses in six games in January seemed to verify that concern, especially the last one, a 79-68 loss to Fordham at the Reilly Center which Bona fans found galling.
They didn’t realize that while the Bonnies had beaten the Rams in 16 of the previous 17 meetings, this was a resurgent Fordham team under new coach Keith Urgo.
After the defeat, Schmidt was quick to point out, “Fordham is good.”
And while he didn’t like the way his team played that night, he conceded the Rams were the better team.
To be sure, Fordham is now 18-5 and fifth in the Atlantic 10 at 6-4 after being predicted to finish 11th in the 15-team conference’s preseason poll.
BUT A funny thing happened to St. Bonaventure after that loss.
Next up was a game against Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond, a team that had beaten the Bonnies in five of the last six games on the Rams’ home court.
It was surprising VCU was only an 11½ -point favorite over a team on a two-game losing streak, including to Loyola Chicago, previously the only A-10 winless team in conference games.
Then came the shocker.
After a dismal 18-point first half, the Bonnies put up 43 points after intermission and hung on for a stunning 61-58 victory. Four days later, Bona made it a sweep of Richmond, this one on the Spiders’ home court, 66-62.
And Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 4,850 at the Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure completed the trifecta with an emphatic 68-59 victory over Dayton, the A-10’s preseason favorite to win the conference, and a team that had beaten the Bonnies 22 of the previous 24 meetings.
THE VICTORY improved Bona to a modest 13-11 overall, but its 7-4 A-10 record is good for third in the conference, the same as the Flyers, but with the advantage of the head-to-head victory.
Afterward, when asked about three straight victories against the conference’s elite teams, two on the road, Schmidt allowed, “We’ve got a young team in terms of age and experience here at St. Bonaventure, but I think we’re learning and I think we’re getting better.
“Going on the road and winning those two games gave our guys confidence and showed them if they play the game the right way and, if they execute, they can win. It carried over to tonight.”
He was particularly appreciative of the white-clad crowd as, though there were some empty seats, the turnout was into the game from the outset, particularly the student section as Bona improved to 10-2 on its home floor.
“We had a great crowd,” Schmidt said, “the crowd really supported us and without them we probably wouldn’t be sitting here as victors.”
The players agreed.
Junior guard Moses Flowers pointed out, “The Reilly Center is amazing, something like I’ve never seen … you feed off the energy of the crowd.
“The crowd gets us going … you hit a three and you hear that roar, it just makes you feel good … we just feel stronger.”
SCHMIDT is quick to admit this year’s Bonnies are not going to win with offense.
“These last three games we’ve averaged (65) points,” he noted.
His formula for victory is defense — no team has scored over 69 points in any of Bona’s 13 victories, and the last three average just under 60 — protecting the ball and rebounding.
Currently, Bona is third-best in the A-10 in fewest points surrendered (66 per game), first in defending the three-point shot (27.7%) and third in turnover margin (forced as opposed to made).
The one area where it’s lagging is rebounding, ranking in the middle of the pack.
“We’re getting better, we’re not where we need to be … we want to be playing our best basketball in late February and early March,” Schmidt said, repeating a theme. “But we’re going in that direction … we just can’t get satisfied and comfortable.”
Especially with six regular-season games yet to play.
(Chuck Pollock, an Olean Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
