Two straight. St. Bonaventure, by virtue of a strong second half, defeated Southern Indiana Tuesday night at the Reilly Center. The 80-66 decision improved the Bonnies to 3-2 while Southern Indiana dropped to 2-3. Numbers and notes…
Possessions: 75
Tempo was in line with Southern Indiana’s 74 possessions per game. The uptempo pace proved to be very much to the Bonnies’ liking though as they enjoyed a 26-10 advantage in fast break points. .
Offensive efficiency: St. Bona 107, SI 88
It’s Feast Week per ESPN. On this night it was ‘Feast Night’ for the Bona offense. They posted an excellent offensive efficiency. On the evening, Mark Schmidt’s Bonnies connected on 53% from the floor.
Bona defense deserves accolades as Southern Indiana averages a 99 offensive efficiency and 80 points per game. They were kept below their average on both counts.
Four Factors:
eFG pct: St. Bona 60, SI 45
FT rate: St. Bona 47, SI 27
OREB pct: SI 28, St. Bona 20
TO rate: SI 20, St. Bona 23
Rebounding was deceptive as the Bonnies won the boards in raw numbers by a 33-31 count. Another way to look at the offensive rebounding numbers, the way the Bonnies shot, especially the final twenty minutes, there were not as many offensive rebounding opportunities for the brown and white.
Turnovers, still need to be addressed while the situation of getting to the line and keeping opponents off it is improving.
Bona was white hot from three shooting 7 of 16 for 44%. On defense they limited the visitors to a 9 of 28 (32%) from downtown. On the season Southern Indiana averages 39% from three.
Message was sent, Bonnies responded. Leading up to the game Schmidt prepared by telling his team how dangerous the Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana were. The Bona mentor pointed out their ability to put points on the board with multiple threats from beyond the arc. Southern Indiana, in their first year of Division I, already has a win over Southern Illinois and played Missouri and Notre Dame tough in losses on the road. In simple terms, Schmidt warned the Bonnies that if they were not at the top of their game, a loss would be impending. Message sent and the results vouch for how well Bona responded to the coach’s message.
Southern Indiana is now a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Coached by Stan Gouard, the school was previously a DII power with 28 NCAA Tournament appearances, a national championship and two runner-up finishes.
Kenpom.com MVP: Kyrell Luc, Bona guard enjoyed a stat stuffing night with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and two blocked shots. Luc was a perfect 8 of 8 from the charity stripe as well.
Chad Venning, who is playing very well of late, led the Bonnies with 21 points while grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking three shots. Yann Farell, the A10 Rookie of the Week, added 13 points and Daryl Banks chipped in with 12.
Isaiah Swope led the Screaming Eagles with a 21 point effort (3 of 7 from three). Trevor Lakes added 13 points.
Fast start. The final stanza started with the Bonnies ahead by six. The first three minutes of the second half saw Bona set the tone by going on a 10-3 run, opening a double digit lead that forced the visitors to play catch up.
Next up is an Indians team with a bit more of a DI history. Bonnies take on Notre Dame in the Gotham Classic Showcase Game on Friday afternoon at UBS Arena on Long Island
