By Taylor Nigrelli
Sports Assignment Editor
After an inauspicious finish to non-conference play, the men’s basketball (9-9, 2-3) season appears to be back on track. The team seemed rejuvenated by a student section they hadn’t seen in weeks when they nearly knocked off Associated Press No. 19 Virginia Commonwealth (72-65) and Xavier (64-62).
Saturday, the Bonnies upset Temple (12-5, 2-2) 81-78 for their first-ever win at the Owls’ home court, snapping a losing streak that spanned exactly a month. They picked up their second-consecutive road win for the first time this season Wednesday when they defeated St. Joe’s (10-7,1-3) 73-64.
The Bonnies’ match-up against Xavier (11-6, 4-0) was the team’s first since defeating the Musketeers in the Atlantic 10 championship game last year. Xavier prevailed 66-64 after a last-second drive by junior Charlon Kloof fell short. Xavier coach Chris Mack said he was relieved to leave St. Bonaventure with a win.
“We got out of here with a road win,” Mack said. “In this conference, that’s special. It’s not easy to do. It was a great atmosphere.”
Xavier outrebounded the Bonnies 33-23 overall and 16-5 on the offensive glass. Mack believed this facet was the key to the game.
“The difference in the game was our ability to rebound the ball,” Mack said. “We got some crucial offensive rebounds, especially late.”
The Bonnies overcame a 31-point effort from senior guard Khalif Wyatt to defeat Temple 81-78 Saturday. The Bonnies had five players in double figures, led by junior Matt Wright’s 22 points. Seniors Demitrius Conger and Eric Mosley each added 15 points while Chris Johnson dished out a career-high seven assists. The win was the Bonnies’ first at Temple in 31 tries.
The Bonnies continued their Philadelphia dominance Wednesday with a nine-point win over Saint Joseph’s. The Bonnies jumped out to a 35-10 lead in the first half and held off a late Hawks’ surge to earn their third-straight win over the Hawks dating back to last year. Conger led the way with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Ron Roberts scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Hawks.
Coach Mark Schmidt said he was pleased with the team’s effort in the road wins.
“Give our guys ultimate credit,” Schmidt said. “They came and fought and played really well against Temple. Then, we played even better tonight (against St. Joes).”
The Bonnies’ defense held the Hawks to 2-22 (9%) from the three-point line. Schmidt said this was vital to the win.
“That was key,” Schmidt said. “We knew they weren’t big and they wouldn’t give us problems inside. We knew we had to get to their three-point shooters and we did. They missed a few of them but we had a lot to do with it.”
Schmidt also pointed to the Bonnies’ success shooting the ball (53.8%) as a key to the win.
“We were getting the ball to the three-point shooters and we were making shots,” Schmidt said. “When you make shots, it makes everything else look better.”
One of the keys to the Bonnies’ turnaround has been the improved play of Matt Wright. He scored 10 points against VCU while coming off the bench for the first time all season. In the win over Temple he hit all four of his three-point attempts in a 22-point effort. Wednesday, Wright helped the Bonnies’ cause by hitting 6 of 9 shots for 18 points in the win over St. Joe’s.
The team’s next action will come when the Saint Louis Billikens (13-5, 2-2) visit the Reilly Center Saturday at 4. The Bonnies suffered their most lopsided loss of the season last year against the Billikens when they defeated the Bonnies 86-62.
