The Bonnies were on the cusp of a resume boosting upset. In the end, it was not to be. A late second half run and some outstanding defense added up to a 64-54 victory by Florida Atlantic. Saturday’s game in the Hall of Fame Classic in Springfield (Mass) saw fifteenth ranked FAU improve to 9-2 while Bona is now 7-3.
Possessions: 70
Offensive efficiency: FAU 91, St. Bona 77
Bonnies entered the game with a 111 offensive efficiency. The numbers obviously bear out the job Dusty May’s Owls did on the defensive end.
Four Factors:
| St. Bona | FAU | |
| eFG pct | 49 | 46 |
| FT Rate | 23 | 41 |
| OREB pct | 16 | 27 |
| TO Rate | 30 | 19 |
In raw numbers FAU outrebounded the Bonnies 10-5 on the offensive end. That was definitely a reason Bona was beaten 14-6 in second chance points and 34-20 on points in the paint. Overall, the Bonnies had the rebounding edge on the taller Ows by a 36-32 count.
Turnovers. Bona committed 21 to 13 by FAU. The result, a 24-9 FAU advantage in points off turnovers.
“Those two stats (points in the paint and points off turnovers) were the difference,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt told gobonnies.com. “When you turn the ball over 21 times you won’t win many games.” Especially against a team, willing and able to exploit your mistakes, like FAU.
Spurts. Bona utilized an 11-0 first half run to build a double digit lead. FAU responded with a 15-6 run of their own to cut the deficit to one at intermission. In the final stanza a five minute scoring drought and 11-0 run turned the tide.
Down double figures Bona used two late game three pointers by Moses Flowers to draw within six. Flowers narrowly missed an attempt that would have cut it to one possession. FAU regrouped and closed out the victory.
Notes. Johnell Davis of FAU was the Kenpom.com MVP, with game highs in scoring with 16 points and rebounds (9). Flowers paced the Bonnies with 12 while Assa Essamvous and Chad Venning added 11 each.
Essamvous and Venning tied for team rebounding honors with 7. FAU’s 7’1” Vladislav Goldin scored 11 ;points with 7 boards (3 offensive). Bona’s Mika Adams-Woods, on a hot streak of late, was limited to 9 points, on 4 of 9 from the field and three turnovers in 33 minutes.
Bona defense did a commendable job holding FAU’s high powered offense, 118 efficiency (7th in the Country) 27 below their norm. As previously noted, FAU did an outstanding job, especially the final 20 minutes, on their defensive end thus ending the five game Bona win streak.
Sixty five was not a magic number in this contest. During Schmidt’s tenure Bona has a 139-28 record when holding opponents under 65 points.
Charles Pride returned to the Bona lineup with a six point, three rebound effort in 26 minutes. Pride was out the prior three games with an ankle injury.
FAU has 14 of their 15 from last year’s team that went to the Final Four and narrowly missed getting to the title game. That veteran experience proved to be a significant difference on this day as FAU played with poise and did not panic despite being down early. The Owls took care of business in the second half run and, when Bona made the late charge, experience helped immeasurably in closing out the contest.
Next up for Bona is a home date against Binghamton on December 22. A December 30 game against Akron will close out the non-conference schedule.
The other classic matchup saw a meeting of two charter members of the A10 ( then Eastern Eight). UMass defeated West Virginia 87-79 in that one behind Josh Cohen’s 19 points.
“We didn’t take care of the basketball in the second half. We played hard, we just didn’t execute. Our guys are disappointed but competitors look at it from the angle of what we need to do to get better. I think we have competitors in the locker room who will take this as a challenge to get better.” – Mark Schmidt
