For the Bonnies, it was the second straight win and ninth in ten games at Reilly Center this season. St. Bonaventure defeated Duquesne 65-56 on Wednesday evening. The victory improved the Bonnies to 10-9 (4-2) while Duquesne dropped to 13-6 (3-3). Numbers and notes…
Possessions: 67. Almost perfectly on the target pace of both teams. Bona verages 67 possessions and Duquesne 68. At this pace you have half court with some, but not all out, transition.
Offensive efficiency: St. Bona 97, Duquesne 84. A significant number from the Bona defensive perspective. Duquesne was held 20 points below their season scoring average. In tempo free numbers, Duquesne averages a 105 offensive efficiency in A10 play. That puts them fifth in the conference (Bona is 7th at 103). Obviously Keith Dambrot’s Dukes are a dangerous offensive team but on this night the Bonnies did the job and shut them down.
Four Factors:
eFG pct: St. Bona 52, Duquesne 40. This metric, beside the offensive efficiency, spelled out the ability of the Bonnies getting it done on the defensive end. Duquesne shot 35% overall and 27% from three. Bona game plan was to limit threes and contain the perimeter. Mission accomplished as Duquesne was 6 of 22 from long distance.
FT Rate: St. Bona 42, Duquesne 30. Another good sign. Bona coach Mark Schmidt had emphasized getting to the line and keeping the opposition off it. Bonnies took care of business in that category as Duquese was 8 of 18 (44%) while Bona shot 13 of 21 (62%).
OREB Pct: Duquesne 24, St. Bona 22. A bit deceptive as Bona enjoyed an overall 38-35 rebounding advantage.
TO Rate: Duquesne 15, St. Bona 19. A little higher than the last few games for the Bonnies. Still, they were under the desired 20% cutoff.
Fast start. Bonnies ‘won’ the first four minutes of the game 10-3. A Kyrell Luc three and a Barry Evans slam dunk ignited the students who were back on campus. From that point, the lead grew to 20-3 and was 15 at the half.
Weathering the run. Coach Schmidt constantly preaches the idea that good teams will make runs. It’s not a sign of defensive weakness, rather, it’s something to be expected in the flow of the game. Following a rough first twenty minutes, Duquesne found the mark and went on a 16-2 run to cut the deficit to six with just under seven minutes left. Bona had gone cold yet responded, forcing a turnover and converting. When it mattered most, the Bonnies were able to stop the bleeding.
“At those times (when the opposition is on a run),” Schmidt told gobonnies.com,” we just have to slow down and execute.”
Kenpom.com MVP: Yann Farell. The Bona freshman scored 11 points (3 of 3 from deep) while pulling down six rebounds. Daryl Banks III led all scorers with 15. Luc had a team high eight rebounds in addition to 10 points and four assists. Chad Venning was Bona’s fourth double figure scorer with 12. Moses Flowers scored five but did register his 1000th career point.
Duquesne was led by Jimmy Clark with 12 points. Rodney Gunn posted a 10 point, 10 rebound double-double for the Dukes. Dae Dae Grant, the A10 leader in three pointers, did not hit a single shot from three. Grant scored four points, 11 below his 15 ppg average, while shooting zero for three from long distance.
The series. Long before the A10, Bona and Duquesne battled it out as independents and regional rivals. Last night was the 130th meeting with Bona holding a 70-60 lead in the series. Bona has now won 20 of the last 23 against their rivals from the Steel City. In one respect, the series has been competitive as nine of the last 15 games have been decided by six points or less.
Next up for Bona is a trip to the Windy City on Saturday as the Bonnies face Loyola.
“Thought we came out with a lot of energy. We played great defense and got a lot of our offense off of our defense. Chad (Venning) did a good job on ball screens and we had a guy at the rim. Defensively we just played really well.” – Mark Schmidt
