It was a case of closing the game out. St. Bonaventure took a 4 point lead into halftime. The Bonnies were challenged the final twenty minutes yet never lost that lead en route to a 62-48 victory over Duquesne at Reilly Center. The Friday evening nationally televised contest improved the Bonnies to 4-1 in the Atlantic Ten and 6-1 overall.
Possessions: 61- More of a grind it out affair but not out of the ordinary as both teams entered averaging 65 possessions per game.
Offensive efficiency: St. Bona 102, Duquesne 79
A good defensive game by Bona. When Duquesne found some perimeter space and knocked down a few threes it didn’t look that way. The visitors gradually cooled off shooting 7 of 21 (33%) from deep. Duquesne was also forced into an exceptionally high 26% turnover rate. The Bonnies checked in with a noteworthy 13% in the same category.
Kyle Lofton of St. Bonaventure led all scorers with 28 points. Michael Hughes paced the Dukes with 14.
Touches:
Borrowed this from Rockmnation, a Missouri site on SB Nation. Rock is involved in advanced stats. They had a metric measuring touches. The formula is as follows:
Touches FGA + FTA + Assists + Turnovers
This estimates “the number of times a player touched the ball in an attacking position on the floor,” per Rockm.
The idea of measuring touches specifically brought to mind Lofton. The Bona lead guard had the ball in his hands and made numerous plays during crunch time. Lofton came up big to seal the Bona victory and, for now, first place in conference. But what were his touches in relation to his teammates? Here is a list of touches for the Bonnies logging ten or more minutes:
Touches Minutes
Lofton 35 40
Holmes 21 40
Osunniyi 12 39
Adaway 9 34
Vasquez 6 19
Welch 5 23
Now at look at Duquesne (ten or more minutes):
Touches Minutes
Weathers 24 29
Dunn-Martin 21 33
Hughes 12 27
Baker 7 20
Murphy 7 14
Okani 6 22
Kelly 6 12
Acuff 4 26
Harris 3 12
Lofton’s 35 touches came through the following:
FGA – 8-16
FTA – 12-14
Assists – 2
Turnovers – 3
Lofton’s frequent trips to the line were aided by his ability to get in the gut of the defense. In addition the ball was in his hands as the Bonnies were icing the game and Duquesne was in a fouling mode to extend the contest. For Lofton, the type of performance Bonnie fans have come to expect, and admire.
ESPN’s Seth Greenberg praised both programs. Greenberg naturally spoke highly of Lofton as an outstanding lead gerd. He also mentioned team chemistry and hoe coach Mark Schmidt has established an outstanding culture. Greenberg also observed that in non covid times Reilly Center would have been packed with the fans “raising the roof.”
Greenberg cited the work of Duquesne mentor Keith Dambrot. The Dukes are now 3-5 (2-4) and at one point did not play a game for a month. They came off a tough road loss at Dayton on Wednesday with a short preparation to head to Olean. “They (Duqueesne) had players leave, no practice facility, no home court and some tough breaks,” Greenberg observed. “Still coach Dambrot makes no excuses, keeps working and is trying to get his own culture instilled. He will get it done,” Greenberg predicted.
Duguesne hosts Rhode Island Wednesday while the Bonnies entertain VCU.
