By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
By all accounts, the St. Bonaventure athletic training staff conducts a thorough concussion protocol. But if the trainers needed any help clearing Nelson Kaputo of his head injury, the senior helped them out in a pivotal moment at Richmond on Saturday night.
Kaputo made a corner three-pointer with three minutes to play to give the Bonnies a four-point lead in their eventual 66-57 victory at the Robins Center. The Canadian’s only three points of the game came a mere 39 seconds after Bona freshman Kyle Lofton broke a 51-51 tie with a three-ball from the right wing.
The Bonnies (8-12, 4-3 Atlantic 10) made just four shots from behind the arc, missing eight of their 12 attempts. They shot an unremarkable 40 percent in the second half (11 for 27) and 42 percent for the game (24 for 57). Players not named Kyle Lofton, Courtney Stockard and Osun Osunniyi combined to make just four field goals.
A defense that held its opponent to 41.7 percent shooting from the field, including a 4-of-20 clip from three, guided Mark Schmidt‘s team to a deadlocked game at the four minute mark. Timely buckets from Lofton and Kaputo, the kinds of shots Bonnies fans became accustomed to but haven’t been able to witness as much this year, earned them a second straight road win.
Takeaways from the game, Mark Schmidt’s 200th career win as St. Bonaventure head coach:
Player of the Game: Kyle Lofton, St. Bonaventure. With 45 points in two games this week, Lofton should be a favorite for Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors. He scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, making five of his ten shots in the final 20 minutes. In addition to the go-ahead three, he also made a jumper with 1:10 remaining to give SBU a 61-55 lead.
After the Bonnies’ unsightly defeat at the Carrier Dome ended a 4-9 non-conference slate, Lofton was asked to judge his individual performance entering A-10 play.
“I’ve just gotta stay more aggressive,” he said, “and be confident in myself.”
Lofton averaged 10.9 field goal attempts a game in non-conference games. He has attempted 11.8 shots a game in the A-10 slate.
Honorable mention: Courtney Stockard (18 points, eight rebounds, six assists), Osun Osunniyi (11 points on 5-of-5 shooting, 11 rebounds)
Stat of the Game: Bona won the rebounding battle 40-26, corralling 11 offensive rebounds. The brown and white have outrebounded their opponent in three straight games and have won four of the last five times they’ve held the rebounding edge.
Stretch of the Game: The final four minutes. After Kaputo’s three, which followed two Richmond free throws, the Bonnies showed once again that they can close out tight games. First, Lofton came out of nowhere to block a Grant Golden layup and the ball touched Richmond last. Then Stockard got out on a three-on-one break and lobbed the ball up to Osun Osunniyi for an alley-oop.
Richmond made just one layup and two free throws after Osunniyi’s dunk. SBU made a jumper and five of its six free throws to clinch the victory.
Quote of the Game: “We’re coming,” Schmidt told WPIG. “We’re not playing a lot guys, we’ve gotta find somebody else, but we’re coming. Those guys are getting better and we’re finding ways to win. We’re learning how to win. They took the lead… our guys didn’t fade.”
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