By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
ST. BONAVENTURE — Meet the new Bonnies, same as the old (2018-19) Bonnies.
Just like last season, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team is a victory over the Saint Louis Billikens away from receiving a double-bye to the quarterfinals of next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament. First, however, came the home half of the season series against St. Joseph’s.
The Bonnies responded as well as they could have from their first losing streak of the season with a healthy Osun Osunniyi, leading wire-to-wire in a decisive 89-73 win to improve to 19-11, 11-6 in the A-10. Five Bonnies scored in double figures, while Dominick Welch and Justin Winston scored 20 apiece to share the team scoring high.
The underclassmen upstaged backup center Amadi Ikpeze on his own Senior Day. No one cared less than Ikpeze.
“Winning today is what makes Saturday’s game even bigger,” Ikpeze said. “So knowing that we took care of business tonight… we’ve just gotta come back ready to work.”
Bona took a workmanlike approach to sweeping the Hawks. Sans students, in a quieter Reilly Center atmosphere among 3,973 spectators, SBU ran out to a double-digit (22-8) lead just 8:30 into the contest.
The struggles the team showed against SJU in Philadelphia, when the Hawks grabbed a 34-31 halftime lead before Bona outscored them 43-22 in the second, did not come into play in the penultimate game of conference season.
The Bonnies led by as much as 19 in the first, as Welch was in top form with three three-pointers and Winston scored eight of the team’s first 15 points. Their defense held the Hawks to just 32 percent shooting (32.3 percent), including 15 three-point misses in 19 tries.
Bona coach Mark Schmidt was pleased with a 42-27 halftime lead but emphasized another high-intensity start to the second half. The Bonnies displayed the same urgency, scoring 12 of the first 14 points of the second half in just over three minutes. Winston, again the early starter, scored eight of the 12.
Winston finished with 20, matching the career-high he set in the first meeting against the Hawks. Just like Welch and Kyle Lofton have notable scoring days against George Mason, the Hawks were Winston’s opponent of choice this season.
“Maybe the zone,” Winston assessed of his strengths against SJU. “Just getting in the gaps, being in the middle.”
The Bonnies’ biggest lead was a 25-point advantage with 16:41 remaining. They shot just under 56 percent for the game (34-of-61), a shade over 57 percent from three-point range (8-of-14) and missed just one of their 14 free throw attempts. The field goal proficiency, their best percentage of the season, was due in large part to a 44-30 advantage in the paint along with 13 second chance points and just eight turnovers.
“First five minutes of the second half, first 10 possessions of the second half are critical,” Schmidt remarked. “We’re up by 15 at halftime and the challenge is, it’s either gonna go from 15 to 25 or 15 to five. If it goes from 15 to 25 then the game’s over. If it goes from 15 to five then we’re in for a fight. Our guys did a really good job of coming out in the second half and pushing that lead up.”
Lofton made six of his 11 field goal attempts, including a three, as part of a 15-point, five-assist to one-turnover, three-steal night. Jaren English recorded his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and adding 10 rebounds along with four assists. Osun Osunniyi quietly chipped in 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 30 minutes, compiling the second best plus-minus at 19 (Welch was plus-20).
Five Bonnies played at least 20 minutes and all five scored at least 10 points. The Bonnies assisted on half (17) on their made field goals, sharing the ball effectively in a must-win situation.
They now turn their focus to Saint Louis on Saturday, a double-bye hanging in the balance. That double-bye wouldn’t be possible, however, if they didn’t get by the lowly (6-24, 2-15 A-10) Hawks first.
“There’s a lot of teams right now that are playing their last game for nothing,” Schmidt acknowledged. “I’m not sure about all the tiebreakers and that stuff, but the game on Saturday is an important game.”
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