By Paul Gotham
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — A week break from games can cause concern for a head coach. Will a team come out refreshed and energized? Or lethargic and sluggish?
Add to that the potential for complacency created when the opponent’s leading scorer is suspended for the game.
St. Bonaventure’s Bonnies left little doubt that the respite served as a positive.
Andrew Nicholson led four in double figures as St. Bonaventure dismantled the Fordham Rams 95-51 in Atlantic 10 action Saturday on Bob Lanier Court in the Reilly Center.
Nicholson scored 13 as SBU took a 49-18 lead into halftime.
After connecting on four consecutive free throws, Nicholson caught a pass in the lane from Jordan Gathers, used a drop step for the basket and a 28-9 lead.
The assist was one of 12 for 15 field goals in the half.
“We emphasize all time the three aspects of the game: defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball,” SBU coach Mark Schmidt said. “In all three facets I thought we excelled. When we play like that, we are hard to beat.”
Bona finished the game with 22 dimes on 31 field goals.
“I’ve been a part of teams that in games like that, you have some selfish players that go out and look for themselves,” Schmidt added. “We got good guys that share the ball.”
Cook paced Bona to a 10-2 lead by the first media timeout.
The senior forward opened the scoring with a turnaround jumper in the lane. After free throws by Nicholson and Matthew Wright made it 6-2, Cook finished a lay up in traffic. Wright stole a pass and went the length of the court and Bona was off to the races.
Wright scored back-to-back baskets for a 10-point advantage. Charlon Kloof found Wright open on the baseline for a catch-and-shoot jumper. Wright intercepted another pass and went the distance for the basket.
SBU poured it on from there.
Gathers connected from long range and the Brown and White led 28-9.
The lead bulged to 24 when Nicholson and Cook combined on a high-low pass with Nicholson hitting a jump hook in the look. Nicholson completed the traditional three-point play with a free throw.
“He’s a beast,” Fordham coach Tom Pecora said of Nicholson. “He affects every possession even if he doesn’t touch the ball. You’ve got to do so many things to try to eliminate the number of touches he gets.”
Wright drove the lane and was fouled. A technical was assessed to the Fordham bench, and Wright took advantage for the 47-18 lead.
Cook ended the stanza with free throw line jumper.
“Da’Quan was terrific tonight,” Schmidt said. “That’s the best he’s played, in my opinion, since he’s been here. This was a type of a breakout game. Hopefully, it’s a game that can give him a lot of confidence.”
Cook finished with 18 on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
“My mindset just was to be aggressive throughout the whole game,” Cook explained. “When I was open, the guards did a good job of finding me in the right spots to take advantage and score the basketball.”
The 18 points were a season-high for the redshirt senior and the most since he scored 21 against St. Louis last year.
The Bonnies didn’t skip a beat after the break.
Charlon Kloof and Nicholson combined on an inside-out pass with Kloof finding the range from three. Cook finished another around the rim. Then Nicholson grabbed his own miss, used a dribble before stepping through a pair of defenders for the basket and 60-27 lead.
Gathers drained a pair of treys leading to a career-high of 12.
“We played well,” Schmidt added. “Offensively, we did a great job of sharing the ball. It’s good to see. It gives our guys some confidence and hopefully we can take that game we just played and carry it over on the road.”
Fordham played the game without leading scorer Chris Gaston who was called for flagrant 2 technical in the Rams win over Rhode Island.
“Hopefully, he’ll grow up from it,” Pecora remarked. “With greatness comes responsibility.”
Gaston leads the A-10 with 11 double-doubles this season and 47 for his career.
Wright added 13 on 4-of-8 shooting.
All 12 Bonnies put numbers on the stat sheet including walk-ons Zach Moore and Danny Farrell who brought the crowd to its feet with late baskets. Moore a transfer graduate student from D3 Pitt-Bradford hit two from the charity stripe and finished on a baseline drive. Farrell found the measure from long range with a trifecta from the top of the arc.
Bryan Smith paced the Rams with 13.
The Bonnies scored 21 second-chance points to Fordham’s six outrebounding the Rams 45-27.
The margin of victory was the largest ever for Bona over an A-10 opponent. The 44-point win matches the 92-48 triumph over Prairie View A&M during the 1992-93 season.
SBU improves to 3-2 in A-10 play and 10-7 overall. The Bonnies have won six straight at home and 5-of-7. Bona travels to Rhode Island, Wednesday.
Fordham falls to 1-4 and 8-10. The Rams play at Richmond on Wednesday.
Leave a Reply