By PAUL GOTHAM
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Any coach will tell you a single play does not decide a game, but an isolated sequence could impact a season.
Such was the case for St. Bonaventure, Saturday night.
Less than four minutes remained in their Atlantic 10 conference opener against the Davidson Wildcats when the Bonnies’ leading scorer, Dion Wright fouled out of the game after having played less than 20 minutes.
The Bonnies had just turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead over the reigning conference champions. Momentum teetered.
As Mark Schmidt went to his bench for s substitute, Davidson’t Bob McKillop gathered his team around him.
The teams left their sideline huddles. Peyton Aldridge went to the free throw line and converted one of two. The Wildcats dropped into a 1-3-1 half-court defense.
It was a shrewd move by McKillop whose team had given the Bonnies a steady diet of man-to-man throughout the second half. The veteran coach looked to steal a possession from the unsuspecting Bonnies.
Instead SBU responded patiently and with the shot clock winding down, Denzel Gregg threaded a pass from the top of the key through the teeth of the odd-front zone defense to the low block where teammate Jordan Tyson caught and finished at the rim.
It was Tyson’s lone field goal of the night and just his second of the season. Bona led 82-76 on their way to a 97-85 victory.
“That was big,” Schmidt said. “Jordan’s getting his legs now. This is a game that will give him some confidence.”
After missing the first eight games of the season due to a torn ligament in his wrist suffered during the off-season, the redshirt freshman corralled a career-high five rebounds in a career-high 19 minutes. For Schmidt the emergence of the 6-10 forward offers possibility.
“Going into the season the five position was going to be a weak point,” Schmidt explained. “I thought one through four we were going to be really good. The five was the question.”
Tyson split time at the five with Derrick Woods who played 16 minutes opposite Wright in the post. The 6-8 freshman delivered a career-high 11 points. He matched a career-high five rebounds.
“A game like this can really go a long way towards their development, their confidence,” Schmidt added. “Once you have confidence and you’re young that’s the biggest thing. Right not they’re still unsure of themselves, but a game like this can go a long way.”
Wright and fellow starter Marcus Posley, saddled with early foul troubles, played eight and nine minutes respectively in the first half. Bona’s leading scorers came in averaging more than 34 points per game. The duo contributed nine during the first half Saturday.
Woods netted nine in the first twenty on four-or five shooting. He converted a rebound and putback and followed on the next possession with a spin move in the post to give Bona an early 10-5 lead.
“Derrick’s getting better,” Schmidt stated. “He’s understanding more. He’s practicing a little bit better, more consistent. That’s the thing as a freshman. You don’t understand how hard you have to work. You have to sustain your effort all the time. It’s hard for a freshman to come to practice every day and have to work two and half hours and have the coach on him and trying to get the maximum effort out of him.”
Bona heads out on the road for their next two games. They head to George Mason on Wednesday and UMass on Saturday.
“The longer they go through the season, the better they’re going to be. They’re going to understand.”
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