By Joe Ceraulo, Sports Staff
The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team crushed the University of Maryland Eastern Shore 96-48 Monday, for its second win in three days.
Before the game, Hawks Head Coach Bobby Collins noted the struggles he expected out of his young group, considering they were without most of their starters due to injury.
He said, “We certainly didn’t expect all these injuries coming into the year, but maybe these freshmen getting playing time could be a blessing in disguise for us.”
It certainly wasn’t tonight.
The game was tied early on at nine heading into the first media timeout. After that, the Bonnies separated themselves with a 22-5 run and never looked back.
Turnovers were the story of the first half as the Bonnies forced 15 of them after 20 minutes. They would go on to force 23 in total, by far a season high.
The first half was led by St. Bonaventure’s guards, as Nelson Kaputo and Matt Mobley each had 15 points when the team entered the break up 49-27. Neither would have to log many minutes after that, as the Bonnies’ freshmen stole the show.
A Mobley dunk got things rolling in the second half, until junior forward LaDarien Griffin took things into his own hands, scoring the team’s next seven points.
Freshmen roommates Izaiah Brockington and Tshiefu Ngalakulondi took over the rest of the way. Brockington scored 18 points and noted after the game that he scored one point for every year he got to spend with his grandmother who recently passed away.
Ngalakulondi excelled on both sides of the ball, forcing three steals on defense while scoring a team-high 21 points in just 20 minutes. He also went 4-6 from deep, an area where Brockington was a perfect 3-3.
“It definitely boosts my confidence,” said Ngalakulondi on tonight’s performance. “I’ve been waiting for my name to be called to go out there and help the team in any way I can.”
Head Coach Mark Schmidt was pleased with the freshmen.
“This is the type of game, especially in the second half, where you can put them in and they can gain some confidence,” said Schmidt. I think this will go a long way in their development.”
The biggest three pointer for the Bonnies may have come from freshman walk-on Jason Lee. Lee is the younger brother of assistant coach Dwight Lee. He nailed his only attempt from beyond the arc while logging nine minutes.
Sophomore walk-on Jack Galatio also saw three minutes of playing time as chants of, “We want Jack,” came roaring in from the Reilly Center’s crowd.
The Bonnies next game is Friday at 9:30 p.m. on CBS Sports as they take on the University of Maryland in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida.
cerauljg@bonventure16.edu
