By Nick Konotopskyj
Sports Editor
The men’s basketball team pulled off another close victory on Wednesday when it defeated the Fordham Rams on the road by a score of 76-72 in overtime.
The Bonnies were successful early, according to coach Mark Schmidt as he talked about his team’s effort defensively and what it did to slow down the Rams.
“The defense has to be the staple,” Schmidt said. “If you don’t defend in this league, then you are not going to win.”
Looking at the offense,senior forward Dion Wright led the Bonnies with 21 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Marcus Posley also had 21 points on the night. St. Bonaventure now sits in fourth place out of 14 teams in the A10 with a record of 16-6 (8-3 in the A10).
Ryan Rhoomes led the Rams with 23 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting.
St. Bonaventure committed 17 turnovers, 13 of which were by the starting backcourt of Posley and sophomore point guard Jaylen Adams.
“We were really trying to force things, and we had too many turnovers,” Schmidt said. “We found a way to win, and that’s a credit to our guys and their mental toughness. (Fordham) had a great game plan, and we are lucky to win this game.”
The Bonnies have now won four straight, including Sunday when they defeated the Saint Louis Billikens on a buzzer-beating 3-point shot by Adams. The final score was 65-62 as the fans rushed the court at the Reilly Center.
Adams led the team in scoring with 19 points while Posley chipped in with 15. Wright picked up his 11th double-double on the season, which leads all A10 players.
Schmidt said he gives his team credit for pulling out a home victory on a night where it found itself trailing for much of the game.
“I think the sign of a good team is when you don’t play your best and you win,” Schmidt said. “If we weren’t defending the way we were, then it would have been a double digit lead (for SLU), and the shot at the end wouldn’t have counted.”
Adams said before his final shot, Posley gave him a signal that it was “winning time.”
“We drew up a play for Marcus (Posley) to go score,” Adams said. “They played off of me so he kicked it out to me, and I was able to hit the shot. Down the stretch one of us has to make a play, and we look to each other for that.”
St. Bonaventure will host the George Washington Colonials this Saturday during Alumni Weekend at 4 p.m. in the Reilly Center.
