By Taylor Nigrelli
Sports Editor
Coming into their matchup against the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team Tuesday night, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell had played in only seven Division I basketball games and had never defeated a Division I opponent. They didn’t change this Tuesday night but came closer to achieving their objective than most Brown and White faithful would have liked.
The Bonnies (6-2) defeated the Riverhawks (1-7) 67-58, making up for a three-point halftime deficit. While the relatively close final score may have surprised some of the Bonaventure fan base, Head Coach Mark Schmidt was not surprised by the Riverhawks’ effort. Still, he was put off by his team’s slow pace in the first half start.
“We got off to a sluggish start. I thought our offense affected our defense in the first half,” Schmidt said. “Give them [Riverhawks] credit. We knew going into the game that they were tied at halftime against Michigan, only down two to Rhode Island…we knew going in that it would be a difficult game.”
Schmidt was far more pleased with the team’s second-half effort. The Bonnies outscored the Riverhawks 36-24 in the second half and shot 52.4 percent from the field after posting a 22.2 shooting percentage in the first half. Schmidt credited much of the second-half improvement to redshirt senior Marquise Simmons. The forward scored a career and game-high 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
“At halftime we talked a little bit, and then we came out in the second half with a little bit more energy,” Schmidt said. “I thought Marquise played extremely well. He had some put backs and gave us some energy. I thought he was the difference in the game.”
Simmons said he didn’t do anything special Tuesday; he just played a simple game.
“I just tried to get rebounds when we missed shots,” Simmons said. “I knew that we really weren’t shooting the ball well, so I just tried to hit the glass really hard. That’s what got me most of my points.”
The Bonnies dominated the paint all game, outscoring the Riverhawks 36-12 down low and outrebounding them 46-30. St. Bonaventure grabbed a season-high 21 offensive rebounds in the contest. Schmidt said he was pleased with his team’s performance in the paint, but he was more concerned with the Bonnies’ ability to win on a night when they didn’t play their best basketball.
“Every year, every team has a bad game,” Schmidt said. “If you can pull those games out, it gives you confidence and helps you mentally.”
Schmidt knows that not every game will be pretty, not every win will be a blow out. He knows sub-par performances and ugly wins count just as much as any other victory.
“This is Division I basketball. Anybody can beat anybody,” Schmidt said. “In those times when you’re not playing well, you have to find a way to win. You have to grind it out. And that’s what we did.”
The Bonnies will return to the court Saturday at Buffalo. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
