By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
For the 14th time in the last 16 tries and the first time this season, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies were victorious at the Reilly Center, dismissing Jackson State 67-36 on Saturday afternoon.
Jackson State’s 36-point offering was the lowest amount of points St. Bonaventure has allowed since Jan. 7, 1995, when it held Appalachian State to 32. No one on the current team was born yet.
Some takeaways from a dominant Bonnies victory:
Co-Players of the Game: Jalen Poyser and Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure. Poyser scored 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-9 from three-point range, to lead all players. Osunniyi blocked seven shots, swiped four steals and took two charges to power the defensive effort. Both players were deserving of Player of the Game honors.
Poyser needed a good shooting day after failing to convert on a three-pointer in the season opener against Bucknell. He doesn’t need to be an automatic shooter for the Bonnies to win games, as his ability to drive to the basket and hit high-percentage layups or get to the free throw line will serve him well in Atlantic 10 play. But he does need to take and make open threes, which he did on Saturday.
Bona fans have been treated to high-octane offensive performances for the last four years. While the new team looks for its identity on “O,” Osunniyi is building the fans’ appreciation of defense. Since Youssou Ndoye graduated in 2015, Bonaventure has lacked superb shot-blocking and focused on taking charges. Not only is Osunniyi an elite shot-blocker in the making, he has recorded several charges over the first two games. The Bona faithful have enjoyed watching their new center.
Honorable mention: Kyle Lofton, St. Bonaventure
Stat of the Game: Jackson State made just six of its 35 shots from the field in the second half, a 17 percent shooting percentage. The Tigers shot even worse from the foul line in that period, making one of their seven free throw attempts (14.3 percent).
Stat to Pay Less Attention To: The Bonnies had a poor assist-to-turnover ratio, with 10 assists and 16 turnovers. Nine of those turnovers came in a sloppy first half and Bona shot 6-of-23 from three.
The ball movement was adequate, the execution wasn’t. In the end, 10 assists on 20 field goals is a good percentage.
Stretch of the Game: After Venjile Wallis made a three-pointer to cut Bonaventure’s lead to 41-30 five minutes into the second half, the Bonnies went on an 11-0 run and didn’t allow a point over the next 8:23. The stretch dashed any hopes the Tigers had of making it a game.
Quote of the Game: “Hopefully (Poyser) is out of his little funk. We need him to score. I thought he played much more aggressively, smarter… hopefully he can continue to do that.” -Mark Schmidt
Miscellaneous Notes: LaDarien Griffin did not play due to a knee injury. Tshiefu Ngalakulondi started in Griffin’s place and scored four points, including a fast break dunk… Lofton was 8-of-8 from the free throw line and has missed just one of his 19 free throw attempts.
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