First it was the first loss at home in six tries. Add to it, a second consecutive setback. It all resulted in Florida Gulf Coast defeating St. Bonaventure 71-58 at the Reilly Center. Friday’s game dropped the Bonnies to 6-5 while Pat Chambers’ Eagles improved to 9-3. Numbers and notes…
Possessions: 63. Tempo was right on the mark for FGCU, a team averaging in the mid sixties in possessions.
Offensive Efficiency: FGCU 113, St. Bona 92. Efficiency numbers tell a great deal of the story. Bona was subpar on both the offensive and defensive sides. And the final score shows.
Four Factors:
| St. Bona | FGCU | |
| eFG Pct | 41 | 56 |
| FT Rate | 30 | 32 |
| OREB Pct | 29 | 45 |
| TO Rate | 16 | 24 |
Bonnies took care of the ball better than most outings to date. Trips to the line were about even. Outside of shooting, the most glaring difference was rebounding. In raw numbers FGCU out-rebounded the Bonnies 41-28. On the offensive glass the difference was 14-11 in favor of the Eagles. Being beaten on the boards meant FGCU could extend possessions after missing an initial attempt. Also meant the cold shooting Bonnies had less opportunities to do the same. Zach Anderson and Caleb Catto led the Eagles with six rebounds each. These numbers illustrate the fact that the visitors’ rebounding was a team effort with a number of contributors. “When you get out-rebounded by 13 it is hard to win,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt told gobonnies.com. “The game is won below the foul line and we didn’t block out well enough to win.” To further illustrate Schmidt’s point, the Bonnies were on the short end of a 32-18 difference in points in the paint.
Cold spell. Bonnies led 33-31 at intermission. In the final twenty minutes they managed 25 points. FGCU shot 14 of 26 (54%) over that stretch while Bona managed just 6 of 25 (24%). FGCU utilized a 10-2 run to take the lead. Bonnies were within two possessions down the stretch before the Eagles finished and sealed the deal. “We played hard,” Schmidt said. “It seemed like in the last five seconds they would break us down and get an extra shot or possession.”
Kenpom.com MVP: Chase Johnston, FGCU. The 6’3″ junior buried four treys en route to a game high 22 points. Johnston also added four steals.
Bonnies were led by Daryl Banks with 18 points. Chad Venning added 15 plus 7 boards and Tyrell Luc 10. Yann Farell scored three points but did add a game high 10 rebounds. Venning and Farell hit the boards for the Bonnies. The pair, however, did not get as much support. under the glass.
This was the first meeting of the schools in men’s basketball. The two met previously in the women’s game. In 2012 Jim Crowley’s Bonnies defeated FGCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was Bona’s first NCAA Tournament win and preceded a victory over Marist that sent the Bonnies to the Sweet 16.
Bonnies have two road games prior to the start of A10 play. Next up is a trip to the Capital region. Bonnies will face Franciscan sister school Siena. It will be a tough matchup as Siena represents a rivalry game. In addition the Saints have wins over Florida State and Seton Hall. The common opponent to date is Canisius. Siena defeated the Griffa at home while Bona dropped an OT decision at Canisius.
“We just didn’t have the step we needed against a good team…We just have to play with more energy and execute better on both ends.” – Mark Schmidt
