Men’s basketball team hits stride as March looms

Bonnies look forward to stretch-run after winning six of eight

Much like a season ago, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball season has been the equivalent of a rollercoaster ride.
After a 4-9 finish to non-conference play and a slow start to conference play, the Bonnies are hitting their stride at the best time of the year. Just four weeks from the Atlantic 10 tournament in Brooklyn, New York, this team has set itself up for an intriguing, exciting stretch run.
The Bonnies, winners of three in a row and six of eight games, have won in a variety of fashions. After thrashing St. Joseph’s and George Mason and eeking out a thrilling, last-second win courtesy of Kyle Lofton, things are looking up.
“We definitely have an opportunity to make some headway in the standings,” said senior guard Nelson Kaputo. “Everything is coming down to the wire in the A10. Every game matters down the stretch. Our biggest goal is to focus on the next game. As a team, we need to stay level headed and keep that foot on the gas. We’re hitting our good stride right now, and hopefully we can keep riding that. We need to maintain our effort on the defensive end, because that is translating to our success.”
After shooting just 26 percent in a blowout loss to Virginia Commonwealth University, the Bonnies offense has made a huge turnaround. Since that loss, the Bonnies have scored a total of 217 points as team and have shot the ball considerably better.
“The sky’s the limit for this team,” said Kaputo. “If we can perform offensively as we have the last few games, I feel like we’re that much harder to beat. There’s no telling how good we can get from now until we get to Brooklyn.”
During non-conference play and into conference play, the Bonnies had to deal with a short-handed roster, missing some key pieces, such as Courtney Stockard, Dominick Welch and LaDarien Griffin. During this recent run of success, the team has been able to gel at full-strength for the first time this season.
“It’s been really nice to have the team healthy,” said Kaputo. “I feel like that’s what everybody has been looking forward to all season. To get everybody healthy to develop that chemistry on offense and defense, it’s really nice to see us start to flourish.”
Stockard added, “I think we can surprise a lot of people down the stretch. There’s a possibility that we can get into the top four in the Atlantic 10 and get that double bye in Brooklyn. When we’re clicking on all cylinders, we’re pretty hard to stop us. When we’re playing defense like we have been and knocking down shots, it’s hard to beat us.”
Lofton, who scored a career-high 32 points against George Mason and knocked down an electrifying game winner Wednesday night against La Salle, has evolved as a go-to option on offense for the Bonnies.
“Since the first week of practice, coach called me over and told me, ‘Passing is good, but for the team right now, you need to be a scorer,’” said Lofton, who is the Bonnies leading scorer as a freshman. “I have just kept it on from there on out.”
After the game Wednesday night, head coach Mark Schmidt explained that he wanted the ball in Lofton’s hands in the waning seconds.
“He’s the quarterback. I trust him. He plays 40 minutes a game. If he played 40 minutes a game and I didn’t trust him, I am a fool,” Schmidt said. “He’s playing 40 minutes for a reason. He hits big shots and he’s been doing it for a number of games. He doesn’t play like a freshman, he plays beyond his years. He has a good feel for the game. Like I said, with the injuries that happened at the beginning of the year, his mentality had to change. He had to become more of a scorer, rather than just a facilitator. Tonight was a prime example. I have great faith in him. I wanted the ball his hands, and for the most part, he’s going to make the right play.”
Another big piece of the Bonnies’ recent success has been freshman center Osun Osunniyi. The big man has 67 blocks on the season, almost double Duke University’s star big man Zion Williamson. Osunniyi has also developed as an offensive threat, playing above his years, according to Schmidt.
“Both Kyle and Osun are going to get better. They’re going to get bigger and stronger. And they’re going to get a better feel of what we’re trying to do,” said Schmidt.
Osunniyi added, “Defense has been the main focus of my game. If I play better on defense, offense will come to me. That’s how I have been playing my whole career. Just playing defense, and doing what I can on offense.”
Osunniyi also talked about his game-wrecking ability to block shots.
“Blocking a lot of shots gets the crowd involved, it gets my teammates involved, and it translates to opportunities on the offensive end,” said Osunniyi, who tallied five blocks in the win over La Salle Wednesday night. “I trust my teammates that they’re going to do a good job up top. But if a guy gets past them, I am the last line of defense. I and my teammates are confident that I am going to go up there and either block or alter the shot.”
As the Bonnies have moved past its early season struggles, Schmidt believes that his team has learned how to finish games. With a team full of healthy players, and freshmen who are playing beyond their years, the team is ready for one final push.
“We’re learning how to finish,” said Schmidt. “We have to find ways to make plays on both ends of the floor, and I think we’re doing it. When you win, it gives you confidence, and when you play well, it gives you confidence. We’re healthy for the most part, and the freshmen aren’t playing like freshmen. We’re learning how to win. We’re giving ourselves chances. We’re finding ways to win and making plays when needed. We’re doing a lot of blue collar stuff. It’s not all skill. And that’s what you’ve got to do to win, especially in this league.”