“They just have to play,” said Mark Schmidt, the head coach of St. Bonaventure’s men’s basketball team four days ahead of his team’s first Atlantic 10 Tournament game. “We play in big arenas, so that’s not going to be a factor at all. They’re no longer freshmen. They have played 30 plus games. They’ve played in good environments, so I’m not concerned about that.”
And with the lights shining bright onto the playing floor at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, coach Schmidt’s words were proven true. As they have so many times this year, the Bonnies’ freshmen Osun Osunniyi, Kyle Lofton and Dominic Welch stepped up in a massive way during the Bonnies’ 68-57 victory over George Mason.
One after another they came as Welch, a guy who has only been developing his three-point shot this year, drilled 6 of 12 attempts from downtown. Kyle Lofton, who has been tremendous all season, did much of the same, sinking four three-pointers and scoring 20 points in total.
Meanwhile, Osunniyi just kept on keepin on, viciously swatting shots out of the air and into the ground and playing great defense, maybe his best of the year.
While the Bonnies had control for the majority of the game, it was an extremely slow start. The Bonnies made just one shot in seven attempts to start the game, but things took a quick turn near the 11-minute mark when Kyle Lofton got the three-point party started, banking one off of the backboard.
The Bonnies then went on an 8-0 run over the course of two minutes. They had the lead, and never lost it.
However, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Courtney Stockar, the heart and soul of this Bonnies team, got himself into foul trouble in the first half, placing him on the bench for a significant amount of the half. The freshmen, again, had to step up. And they did.
“It was relieving,” said Stockard. “Early in the year when I would get into foul trouble, you could see a drop off with our offensive performance. Now, our freshmen are starting to play like veteran guys. Now when I get into a little foul trouble, I am not as worried. Because now those guys are able to uplift me and keep it going.”
Schmidt also expressed his pleasure in regards to the play of his freshmen.
“We struggled early in the year with our young guys and injuries,” said Schmidt, “The reason why we are where we are is because of our freshmen. We get good leadership from our seniors, but Osun, Kyle and Dom have really blossomed into really good players. Dom was a little bit behind because he lost eight or nine games with an injury. But these guys play like veteran guys. They’re not caught up in the environment, they just play. They love to play. They’re Bonaventure players. They aren’t highly recruited guys per say. They’re guys that have a passion for the game and have a great ceiling. I’m lucky to have the opportunity to coach them.”
Lead by Just Kier, who scored 20 points, most of them coming in the second half, George Mason got the deficit down into single digits multiple times throughout the second half, but the Bonnies were able to answer the bell ever time. They slammed the door shut on any potential Patriot run.
As the final seconds ticked away in latter hours of this Friday afternoon in Brooklyn, Bona fans rejoiced. And loudly. A team that started off the season as poorly as ever, is now heading to the semi finals of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
The Bonnies will face the Rhode Island Rams for a second time this year, a team that dismantled the Bonnies in mid January by a score of 75-63.
Courtney Stockard and LaDarien Griffin talked about what the team must do tomorrow to get a different result this time around.
“We need to rebound. They’re a really physical team. We need to be ready right from the jump. They beat us earlier in the season at their place. We got better. We learned from our mistakes. I think we’re ready for tomorrow,” said Griffin.
Stockard added, “I think we owe them one. We have to take care of the ball and rebound. When we went down there earlier in the year, they beat us up on the glass and they forced a lot of turnovers. Tonight, we’re going to watch film and correct the mistakes we made last time and get as prepared as we can for tomorrow.”
As the Bonnies live to see another day, the stage is set for a St. Patrick’s day showdown against No. 8 seeded Rhode Island, who upset the No.1 seeded VCU Rams.
Tip off is at 1:00 p.m. at the Barclays Center, and will be broadcasted live on NBC Sports Network. Buckle up. This is March.
By Mike Hogan, Sports Editor
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
