The road can be very unforgiving. That, plus a poor overall performance on both ends resulted in a 77-53 victory by Loyola Chicago over St. Bonaventure. Tuesday’s game at Joseph J. Gentile Arena saw Loyola Chicago improve to 14-8 (5-4) while the Bonnies are now 17-7 (5-6). Numbers and notes…
Possessions: 67
Offensive Efficiency: Loyola 115, St. Bona 79
Four Factors:
eFG Pct.- Loyola 70, St. Bona 43
FT Rate- St. Bona 23, Loyola 12
OREB Pct.- Loyola 24, St. Bona 20
TO Rate- St. Bona 24, Loyola 25
Points of Emphasis:
Momentum. The Bonnies suffered through a first half dry spell that allowed Loyola to build a 10-point lead with six minutes remaining. Bona regrouped, and responded with a 9-0 run of their own to close within a point. Loyola then closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 33-24 lead into the break. A nine-point deficit is not astronomical. Given the momentum swing from the Ramblers’ latter run it proved to be definitive. Drew Valentines’ club opened the second half on a 14-2 burst to build a 21-point lead six minutes in.
“We played decent defense in the first half,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt told gobonnies.com. “Then they got on a run and our offense stalled.”
Shooting. Loyola shot 31 of 52 for 60% on the night. The Ramblers also drained 11 three pointers for a 37% mark from beyond the arc. The Bonnies were 20 of 52 for 39%, 5 of 18 (28%) from three. The eFG mark by the Bonnies tied the season low. They also had a 43% showing in the season opening win over Cal St. Northridge. Meanwhile, the 70% allowed by Bona was a season high. The damage was not all on the perimeter as the Bonnies were outscored 38-28 in the paint. It was the second time all season the Bonnies were on the short end in the points in the paint category. Noel Brown was defended extremely well, often facing a double team in the low post. Brown finished with four points, shooting just 0 for four from the field. “We’re not going to win many games when Noel does not have a field goal,” Schmidt said.
Efficiency. Bonnies posted their lowest offensive efficiency this season. Their second lowest was a 91 in the mid-January loss at Duquesne. It was the 11th time this season the Bonnies surrendered a 100 or more defensive efficiency. The century mark is the cutoff. You want to reach that number while holding the opposition below that figure.
Kenpom.com MVP: Miles Rubin. The 6’ 10” Loyola sophomore scored 15 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and blocked three shots. “That was one of the best games I’ve seen Miles play,” Loyola coach Drew Valentine commented.
Loyola placed four players in double-figures. Beside Rubin, Des Watson posted a game-high 17, Jayden Dawson had 14 and Sheldon Edwards 11.
Melvin Council led the Bonnies with 13 points. Chance Moore scored 11 and Jonah Hinton 10.
Notes. Loyola won the rebounding battle 33-23. Chance Moore and Lajae Jones had three rebounds each for Bona.
Bonnies entered the game averaging 10 turnovers per outing. For the game Loyola forced 16 Bona miscues and had a 20-18 advantage in points off turnovers.
The last time they met the Bonnies scored a double OT victory over the Ramblers in last March’s A10 Tournament quarterfinals.
Loyola has won 19 of their last 20 games at home. The 53 points is the least allowed in A10 play since they joined the league in 2022-23.
Winners of two straight, Loyola visits Duquesne on Saturday. The Bonnies return home to Reilly Center to host George Washington on Sunday afternoon. The Revolutionaries are 4-6 in A10 play. Chris Caputo’s club is on a two game slide having lost at La Salle and at home against George Mason. George Washington is 13th in the A10 in offensive efficiency (conference games only) with a 99 showing. On the defensive end their 98 efficiency places them fourth. The Bonnies check in second in the A10 behind VCU with an offensive efficiency of 108. On the defensive side they are 13th with a 110 average.
“We couldn’t get the ball inside; our offense started 40 feet from the basket and we just didn’t have any answers. Now we have to bounce back and defend our home court.” – Mark Schmidt
