It was too close for comfort. For St. Bonaventure faithful there were several anxious moments in the stretch. The Bonnies were able to hang on, though, posting a 74-72 victory over Fordham. Saturday’s game at Reilly Center saw the Bonnies improve to 17-6 (5-5) while Fordham is now 10-12 (2-7). Numbers and notes…
Possessions: 62
Offensive efficiency: St. Bona 119, Fordham 116
Four Factors:
eFG Pct.- St. Bona 60, Fotdham 55
FT Rate- St. Bona 37,Fordham 21
OREB Pct.- St. Bona 28, Fordham 27
TO Rate- St. Bona 13, Fordham 15
Points of Emphasis:
Killer instinct. The Bonnies had a 16 point lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half and appeared to be in the driver’s seat. By intermission the Bona lead was reduced to 11. In the second half Tray Woodall’s Rams kept chipping away. With just over two minutes remaining the score was tied at 68. The Bonnies regained the lead on a 5-0 run. Fordham got it back to one possession. The final seconds were tense for the home five. Lajae Jones hit one of two free throws to increase the lead to two. Japhet Medor’s long distance attempt for the win came up short. As noted, taking nothing away from Fordham, this proved to be too close for comfort for the Brown and White.
“When you have a team down, you have to keep on playing.” Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt told gobonnies.com. “You can’t relax. And give them credit, they’re a good team, well-coached. Tray (Woodall) does a good job, and you know, they kept on playing…they got momentum and it’s hard once you give up the momentum to give it back.”
Defense. The Bonnies poised an excellent 119 offensive efficiency. The eFG mark was outstanding as well. Bona shot 56% for the game, 58% the final twenty minutes. Fordham shot 47% from the field but their second half three point shooting was a concern for Schmidt. Fordham’s 5 of 11 (46%) accuracy from three, allowed the Rams to get back in the game and put them in a position to pull off a win.
“We shot better in the second half than we did the first, but it was our defense,” Schmidt said. ”The last 15 minutes of the game we were on our heels and they were attacking us.”
It’s a win. The old coaching axiom tells us there has never been a coach who would ‘throw one back’. No matter how it played out execution-wise or how it might have fallen short of expectations, it’s still marked on the ‘W’ side of the ledger. The best thing for the Bonnies is to review and learn from any mistakes. The A10 is now beginning the second half of the schedule. With eight conference games remaining there are many opportunities for the Bonnies to establish momentum and move up in the standings where they are currently 6th.
Kenpom.com MVP: Noel Brown. The Bonaventure senior center scored a game-high 22 points. Brown shot seven of nine from the floor while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
“I’m old school,” Schmidt said. “You win the game inside- out and Noel has done that, for the most part, all season. Noel will attest, he needs to make those foul shots (8-12 for the game), but when we need a basket, going inside something good is going to happen.”
Three other Bonnies were in double figures. Melvin Council scored 13, Lajae Jones 11 and Xander Wedlow 10 in seven minutes of action. “He (Wedlow) is getting better,” Schmidt said. “He gave us a lift. He has a good feel around the basket.”
Jackie Johnson paced the Rams with 20 points. Japhet Medor scored 18 and Joshua Rivera 12 for Fordham.
Notes. As close as the contest turned out, it was a game Fordham never led and the Bonnies were ahead for 38 minutes.
Bonnies led 50-32 on points in the paint.
Bonnies also won the rebound battle 30-29, the 16th time this season they out rebounded the opposition. Dean Ramad led the Rams with eight boards, tying Brown for game-high honors.
Brown recorded his 16th game this season in double-figures.
Chance Moore narrowly missed double-figures. The Bona senior forward scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds.
Melvin Council handed out a game-high seven assists.
Bona’s 2000 NCAA Tournament team was honored on Saturday as well.
Fordham is at home to face Rhode Island in their next game on Wednesday. The Bonnies head to the Windy City to face Loyola Chicago on Tuesday. The Ramblers of Drew Valentine defeated Saint Joseph’s 58-55 at home on Saturday. They are currently 4-4 in conference play.
“I thought for the first 15 minutes we played extremely well…then they went to a 1-2-2 zone and that stopped us a bit in the last 4 minutes of the first half.” – Mark Schmidt