Photo courtesy of Sydney Best.
A home opener to begin the 100th year of St. Bonaventure men’s basketball…what could go wrong?
A student’s section packed to the brim and thousands of local fans and alumni crowding the Reilly Center, the stage was set for the centennial season, only for it all to be spoiled by Ohio University’s men’s basketball coach and former assistant coach for Mark Schmidt, Jeff Boals.
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team dropped its third consecutive season opener to the Ohio Bobcats by a final score of 65-53.
Boals spent two seasons from 2004 to 2006 at Robert Morris coaching under Schmidt and had nothing but respect for his former colleague.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” said Boals. “What a great atmosphere tonight. We tried to crank the noise the last couple days in practice. We had crowd noise. The fight song going. But we didn’t do that justice. I have a ton of respect for coach Mark Schmidt. I worked for him for two years at Robert Morris, and it’s never easy going against one of your friends.”
A combination of poor shooting by St. Bonaventure and a stifling defense by Ohio plagued the Bonnies early. Late in the first half, the Bobcats changed their defense to a 2-3 zone that Boals planned to use in order to keep the Bonnies’ shooters at bay.
“They have some really great shooters,” said Boals. “We had to do something to keep them off balance, and I know their coach has a lot of sets, and with Lofton and Welch, those are two guards that are really really good, and we had to do something to keep them off balance, and I thought we did that by mixing it up.”
Schmidt agreed with Boals’ analysis of game. Ohio’s 2-3 zone kept the Bonnies’ offense from getting on a roll.
“Offensively, their zone affected us,” said Schmidt. “We didn’t attack it right. We weren’t aggressive, and when you shoot 3-for-19 from three, you aren’t going to win many games.”
Schmidt highlighted Ohio’s impressive guard play and early shooting that kept St. Bonaventure from mounting a comeback.
“Give credit to Ohio U. I thought they played really well,” said Schmidt. “It was really important for us to control their guards. We knew Preston and Dartis were really good players.”
Jason Preston, Ohio’s starting point guard, controlled the game playing all 40 minutes for the Bobcats and finishing with 11 points, 13 assists and seven steals.
“Preston was a guy that we knew had 13 points and 14 assists against Robert Morris in their scrimmage,” said Schmidt. “We knew he was a really good player, and the key was to keep him out of the paint, and he controlled the game I thought for them.”
Ohio’s 3-point shooting success came early and often for the Bobcats. They made six first half threes on 13 attempts.
“They hit some big shots, especially early in the game,” said Schmidt. “And we need to improve on that.”
The Bonnies got little production from their sophomore-guards, Kyle Lofton and Dominick Welch. The duo shot a combined 5-for-23 from the floor and 1-for-10 from three-point range.
“When your better players don’t play well it’s going to be hard for us to win,” said Schmidt. “We have got a young team, and we have a lot to improve on.”
Schmidt did find bright spots in the Bonnies play. He emphasized the Bonnies’ success rebounding and their overall effort level.
“We had 37 rebounds. We had 16 offensive rebounds,” said Schmidt. “We out rebounded them, and that is a positive. I thought we played hard at times, but we couldn’t finish.”
In spite of some small successes for the Bonnies, Schmidt made sure to keep everything in perspective.
“We had some bright spots,” said Schmidt. “But for the most part, we couldn’t keep them out of the lane, and our zone offense wasn’t very good.”
The Bonnies next game is at home today against the Vermont Catamounts, the reigning American East champions. The Bonnies will enter the game 0-1 with nothing but hopes for exponential improvement.
“I don’t think anyone played well,” said Schmidt. “I don’t think anyone played up to their capabilities, and we all need to get better.”
pullanjj18@bonaventure.edu
John Pullano, Sports Editor
