By Paul Gotham
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – A timeout, an adjustment and everything thereafter.
Trailing 17-9 less than nine minutes into Saturday’s contest, St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt rounded up the troops. The Bonnies employed a 1-2-2 three-quarter court press from that point and outscored the South Dakota Coyotes 22-4 to close the half en route to a 68-46 triumph in the season opener.
Charlon Kloof led a quartet of Bonnies in double figures with 16 points. The senior point guard dished out a game high seven assists collecting four steals, one block without committing a turnover.
“That’s how we need Charlon to play,” Schmidt said. “Hopefully, it’s a confidence booster. Sixteen points, seven assists, four steals I’ll take that every night. He struggled a little bit last year, and I think his confidence is back. He’s played really well in practice, and that carries over.”
Coming out of the timeout, Kloof used a Youssou Ndoye high ball screen to get into the lane and feed Marquise Simmons for a layup. At the opposite, the senior point guard took an outlet pass, led the break and found Ndoye in transition for a basket.
Moments later Kloof’s steal and lead pass to Dion Wright resulted in a layup and a tie score at 19.
The turnover was the third in four possessions forced by the Bonnies.
“The defense really shows how the team knows each other,” Kloof commented. “That’s the best way to get new guys, young guys into it. As a freshmen if you get a steal, and a dunk or a fast break or an assist, that really lifts you up. We really lock in and try to get everyone comfortable.”
Jordan Gathers gave the Brown and White its first lead of the night and young season when he weaved through and finished in traffic.
SBU led 21-19.
Kloof nailed a pullup three for a 24-21 Bonaventure edge. Matthew Wright used a spin move in the lane for a layup. Simmons converted a rebound and putback, and the Bonnies hit three of six free throws for the 31-21 halftime lead.
Brandon Bos led the way early as the Coyotes connected on three-of-seven three-point attempts in the game’s first ten minutes, but only managed one three after that finishing the game four-of-eighteen (22.2 percent) behind the arc.
“Bos went off a little bit early,” Schmidt noted. “But I thought the last ten minutes of the first half and the second half we did a pretty good job getting to the three-point shooters.”
The defensive switch to the 1-2-2 press created six turnovers in the final 10 minutes of the half, a period of time where South Dakota connected on just two field goals.
“We want to get our offense off our defense,” Schmidt explained. “We picked up the pressure. We were playing a lot of just half-court man-to-man. They were running their motion offense. We were getting a little bit stale and on our heels a little bit. We thought we needed to pressure them and get into them a little bit and use our athleticism and our length. That’s what we did, and the kids responded. It was good to see.”
South Dakota trimmed the lead to five early in the second half, but the Bonnies quickly responded.
Ndoye knocked down a pair of free throws. Kloof had a steal and layup. By the time Gathers finished in traffic the Bona lead was double digits again at 42-31, and there was no looking back.
Bonaventure outscored the Coyotes38-14 in the paint.
“Just watching tape from last year they played the ball screens really soft,” Schmidt stated. “We shock him, and they would third man and go underneath ‘em. We really wanted to have our guards attack the paint and put their big guys on their heels. We didn’t start off. We were a little bit hesitant. They play that little pack line a little bit softer than we do, and they did a good job early on. Then I think our guys recognized what they were doing. The goal was to get to the paint.”
Simmons and Dion Wright added 12 points apiece. Simmons pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Gathers chipped in 11 points. The junior guard handed out three assists.
SBU outrebounded South Dakota 43-28.
The Coyotes handed out just eight assists while committing 17 turnovers.
SBU hosts Abilene Christian Monday night. A 7 p.m. tip time is scheduled at the Reilly Center.
South Dakota continues their Western New York swing as the Coyotes visit the Koessler Center on Monday also for a 7 p.m. start against the Canisius Golden Griffins.
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