Nick Konotopskyj
Sports Editor
The men’s basketball team picked up its second straight win on Wednesday night when it took down the Saint Joseph’s Hawks by a score of 83-73. The win helps move the Bonnies to just one game behind the Hawks in the A10 standings.
Head Coach Mark Schmidt said when this team plays on all cylinders great things happen.
“When our offense is attacking and getting to the free throw line and Marcus (Posley), Jay (Adams) and Dion (Wright) are playing the way they are capable of playing, then we are a pretty good team,” Schmidt said.
Sophomore guard Jaylen Adams led the Bonnies with 29 points and senior forward Dion Wright pitched in with 18 points and 11 rebounds. St. Bonaventure is now 14-6 overall (6-3 in the A10), which is good for a tie for fourth place in the conference.
The Bonnies now have head-to-head wins against three teams (Saint Joe’s, Rhode Island, and Davidson) that are within two games of them in the standings.
Senior guard Marcus Posley said total team play is important to the game.
“We didn’t want to let up our pressure,” Posley said. “All of the things we did on the defensive end helped us on the offensive end.”
This past Sunday, the Bonnies were back at home after a week in between games. They faced off against the Richmond Spiders. After trailing for much of the first half and into halftime, the Bonnies, led by Posley, mounted a comeback and pulled away late to give them an 84-68 victory, snapping a three game losing streak.
Schmidt said the team struggled in man-to-man defense, which is why they switched to a more zone defense in the second half.
“Everyone knows how good Richmond’s offense is with all of their back cuts and dribble handoffs,” Schmidt said. “We had some problems in the first half guarding it, but we mixed it up and I thought our guys did a really good job in the zone keeping the ball in front of them and rebounding the basketball.”
St. Bonaventure is right in the mix for one of the top four spots in the A10. For the conference tournament, seeds one through four get two byes into the quarterfinals, and that is something Schmidt is pushing his players to achieve.
“If we want to compete for one of the top four spots in the conference, you have to win your home games,” Schmidt said.
The Bonnies will continue to push for a top-four seed on Sunday when they return to the Reilly Center for a game against the Saint Louis Billikens with a 2 p.m. tip off.
konotonr12@bonaventure.edu
