By Mikael DeSanto
Sports Assignment Editor
This afternoon saw the raising of a banner and a career milestone for Jesse Fleming.
In Fleming’s second career game as a head coach, the St. Bonaventure University Bonnies (1-1) defeated the Colgate University Raiders (0-2) 70-51 for their first win of both the season and Fleming’s career.
Before the game the team honored last year’s squad, which reached the second round of the NCAA tournament in the program’s second ever appearance.
“The energy was fantastic in the first half and the ball was really popping,” Fleming said. “I thought we made some shots, [junior forward Matea Britvar] had a huge first half, finished around the basket; I thought she made some huge mid-range jumpers and really we guarded the post position without giving her any help.”
The game started as a back-and-forth matchup, with both teams trading baskets throughout the first quarter. The quarter ended with the Bonnies up 22-18, which was a large of a deficit as either team faced to that point.
But the Bonnies hit their groove in the second quarter, outscoring the Raiders 21-11 to take a 43-29 lead, as the defense began to lockdown the Raiders scoring threats and keep them to 21.4 percent from the field.
“Our big key was if we could control their initial transition, #13 (senior guard Katie Curtis) and #14 (freshman guard Rachel Thompson) getting downhill, not letting them control tempo,” Fleming said. “If we could get them in the half-court, get ball reversals, get the ball into the paint, we could create some great opportunities. Then the kids did a great job with just stepping up and making those shots.”
The Raiders leading scorer at the half was freshman guard Haley Greer with eight points, while the Bonnies were led by the trio of Britvar with 16, junior guard Mariah Ruff with 16 and freshman guard Sarah Hart with 11.
The Raiders hit a stride early in the second half, going on an 11-0 run to pull within three before the Bonnies made a basket with close to five minutes left in the third quarter. They also applied more pressure on defense, forcing the Bonnies to adjust and find other ways to score.
“We were just trying to run our regular motion and move the ball side-to-side,” Fleming said. “I think maybe because we had some success and made some shots in the first half, that I think we went on-on-one instead of letting the ball provide the energy. We would have one pass and then try to dive it in to traffic or we settled a little bit.”
The Bonnies regained their form in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Raiders 17-11 to secure the victory.
Britvar led the team on the stats sheet, picking up 20 points, 11 rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes played. This marked the Bonnies second consecutive game with a double-double, as graduate forward Gabby Richmond had a double-double against Niagara on Friday. It was also the first of Britvar’s career.
“I just worked with my teammates if somebody else was open, like at the end Gabby was wide open of that screen and roll, and I just dumped off to her,” Britvar said. “In the first half it was just wide open. As soon as the help moved over, I knew to cut and [Ruff] had some great assists.”
The Raiders were led by Greer, who finished with 12 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.
The Bonnies will next play on Wednesday, Nov. 16 against Canisius in the Reilly Center.
desantmj13@bonaventure.edu
