By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
ST. BONAVENTURE — St. Bonaventure’s performance alone Wednesday night did nothing to assuage concerns that the team is in an early-winter slump.
Bonnies fans left the Reilly Center with more concerns entirely.
Kyle Lofton left the 93-81 victory over Coppin State with 51 seconds left, helped to the bench and eventually the locker room with an apparent lower left leg injury. On a night Bona faced a 44-40 halftime deficit to a 1-9 Coppin State team, allowing the Eagles to record their most points in any half this season, the availability of the Atlantic 10 First Team point guard overshadowed the comeback victory.
“I’m not a doctor,” Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt said, declining further comment. Lofton finished just one assist shy of a double-double, scoring 16 points.
Though Bona began the second half on one of its customary blitzes, outscoring Coppin State 24-8 over the first 7:56 of the period, the Eagles trailed by just six points with 1:30 remaining. Juan Dixon’s team tallied 13 points off turnovers and scored 30 points in the paint despite not playing a player over 6-foot-8.
SBU trailed by as many as 12 points with 2:39 remaining in the first half and was outrebounded 20-17 over the first 20 minutes. The halftime deficit marked Bona’s fifth in the first seven games.
“We’ve gotta start playing 40 minutes,” Schmidt acknowledged.
The Bonnies made over 50 percent (19-of-35) of their field goals in the second half, paced by Holmes notching 14 of his 24 points after halftime. Holmes recorded his sixth-career double-double, also grabbing 10 rebounds.
Four of Bona’s five starters scored in double-figures, with Dom Welch a point shy. Welch helped key the team’s run, however, with three 3-pointers in a one-minute, 34-second stretch of game action.
Jalen Adaway also produced a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds. The Bonnies’ rebounding improved in the second half to the tune of a 27-12 edge. After making half of its field goal attempts in the first half, Coppin State went just 14-of-34 (41.2 percent) in the second stanza.
“The second half, we played much more aggressive, much more active,” Schmidt assessed. “We did a great job on the back board, defended a little bit better…
“It was 20 minutes. We’ve gotta start playing 40 minutes, but it was a good 20 minutes in the second half, both offensively and defensively.”
Bona’s bench scored 14 points, with Abdoul Karim Coulibaly scoring 10 while Quadry Adams played 20 minutes, making two of his three shots after missing last Saturday’s game with an illness.
“I thought Karim and Quadry came in and gave us a lift, and that’s what we need,” Schmidt commented. “They gave us some minutes. Linton was sick, so he wasn’t here today, but I thought those guys came off the bench and gave us a lift. And Quadry didn’t have a great line, but I thought he played a good defensive game. That’s what we need.”
Holmes, a senior captain, expressed his displeasure with Bonaventure’s play since returning from Charleston. The Bonnies have now allowed 161 points over their last two games.
“If I’m being completely honest, I’m not really pleased, as of right now,” Holmes said. “We’re a better team; we’ll get better. We’ve gotta fix some things; Coach is gonna help us with that. We can’t keep coming out like that.”
The Bonnies hope when they come out against Buffalo on Saturday, Lofton is in uniform with them.
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