They needed an extra session. Regardless, George Washington posted an 83-81 overtime victory over St. Bonaventure at the Reilly Center. Sunday’s game, in front of a Homecoming Weekend crowd, saw the Colonials improve to 13-14 (7-7). The Bonnies, now in a four game slide, are 13-15 (7-8). Numbers and notes….
Possessions: 81
Offensive efficiency: GW 102, St. Bona 100
Four Factors:
eFG Pct: GW 57, St. Bona 44
FT Rate: GW 46, St. Bona 24
OREB PCT: GW 25, St. Bona 23
TO Rate: St. Bona 10, GW 24
Bonnies came up short in every category. They did ‘win’ the turnover battle, forcing GW into 19 miscues and enjoying a 22-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
First half the worst half. The initial 20 minutes saw Bona shoot 8 of 33 (24%) from the field, allowing George Washington to open an 11 point lead. Chris Caputo’s Colonials played a 3-2 zone with a double team on Chad Venning in the post. Regardless, there were looks for the Bonnies but not many shots fell as they posted a 60 offensive efficiency prior to intermission.
Comeback. Bonnies trailed by 18 with less than 10 minutes remaining. Bona then found the range, turned forced turnovers into scores and rallied. A 13-3 run closed the deficit to one with 18 seconds left. Brendan Adams, hit one of two from the charity stripe. On the ensuing possession, Bona missed two shots before Kyrell Luc rebounded and hit a ten footer from the left side to force overtime.
`In the extra session with momentum on their side, the Bonnies had an 81-77 lead with 40 seconds to play. Adams buried a three with 27 seconds to play. Bona missed a free throw giving the Colonials a last chance. They seized the opportunity as James Bishop IV was fouled attempting a three pointer with seconds to play. Bishop IV canned all three attempts. With 2.2 seconds to play, following a timeout, Bona had one last chance. A full court pass was intercepted by George Washington to end the contest.
“The guys gave a great effort and showed character to come back,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt told gobonnies.com, “That just makes it more disappointing that we couldn’t make a foul shot, get that rebound and not foul at the end. We’ll learn from it and get better.”
Kenpom.com MVP: Brendan Adams, GW. The GW senior, the younger brother of a frequent MVP and Bona great Jaylen Adams, scored a game-high 28 points. Running mate James Bishop IV added 25. Chad Venning led Bona with 22. After going zero for the first half, Daryl Banks III scored 18 points, hitting 5 of 12 from downtown. Moses Flowers added 15 and Kytell Luc 12 for Bona.
Maximus Edwards of GW was the game-high rebounder with 15 while Venning paced Bona with eight.
Thoughts and next. Bona was beaten on the boards 43-35. GW shot 51% from the floor. Bonnies shot 38% but did hit 49% after intermission. George Washington is 3-0 in A10 overtime games.
In recent years February was a month the Bonnies would jell. To date, the current month sees the Bonnies at 2-4. The Bonnies have also dropped below .500, five or more games into an A10 season, for the first time since the 2017-18 season. As Schmidt noted, the team is still learning, even this late in the campaign. The lesson they are still trying to master is the art of finishing a close game on the winning side.
Bonnies have three games left, at Davidson, home for Saint Joseph’s and at UMass. Neither one will be easy. Next is Davidson on Wednesday. This is not your vintage Davidson of recent past. Regardless they will be tough at Belk Arena and are coming off a come from behind victory over Saint Joseph’s this past Saturday.
“The guys made a great effort to get back in the game. It was almost like (GW) won, we won, and then gave it back to them.” – Mark Schmidt
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