BY TOM SEIPP, MANAGING EDITOR.
On Wednesday, after a technical foul put him on the bench for the last six minutes of the first half, Kyle Lofton came in and provided a much-needed spark to help the Bonnies win by double digits at Fordham.
Friday, it was more of the same.
Lofton finished Friday with 28 points, 23 of which were in the second half of a 62-48 win over Duquesne.
“(I was) just staying confident in myself, lately I haven’t been playing the best basketball, but I just tell myself everyday ‘I put in the work, I put in the effort, just stay confident and keep attacking.’ The team leans on me and I’m going to just do my best to perform,” Lofton said.
“I thought Kyle was tremendous,” head coach Mark Schmidt said. “When Kyle got it going, we tried to run stuff for him… We went to him.”
The Bonnies and Dukes started off slowly on the Atlantic-10 Friday Showcase on ESPN2, as the two teams both shot under 39% from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
The Bonnies defense was steller from the start, as St. Bonaventure held Duquesne scoreless for 13 minutes at one point during an 8-0 run. That run ended up being huge for the Bonnies, as it was A.J. Vasquez who provided a spark off the bench with two threes after Dominick Welch sat down early with two fouls. Vasquez finished with a season-high 11 points.
“I think he played a big role in the first half,” Lofton said of Vasquez. “He came in and gave us a huge spark… I think we have a deep team this year and we’re going to show it.”
“A.J. gave us a big lift in the first half… We wouldn’t have had the lead at the half if it wasn’t for A.J.,” Schmidt said. “Those guys, they’re not going to play a ton but when they get their name called they have to be ready, and I thought A.J. was ready when that happened.”
After the halftime break, it became the Kyle Lofton show at the Reilly Center.
Lofton shot 7-for-10 from the field, with nine points coming from the free throw line to total 23 points in the final 20 minutes.
Jaren Holmes struggled from the field Friday, as he finished with just 11 points. Osun Osunniyi finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
The Bonnies defense has been fantastic over the last few games, as they’ve held each of their last three opponents to under 60 points which is a goal of Schmidt’s.
“Our goal is to keep them under 60,” Schmidt said. “We’re not a great offensive team right now. We have to win by playing half-court, being physical, rebounding, and getting to the basket.”
For the Friday, nationally televised game at the Reilly Center, it was a unique scene. Normally, the arena would’ve been at its 5,480 capacity, but tonight, the attendance was zero.
“When you’re on national television, you want to sell your program, sell your school, and sell everything what Bonaventure is about,” Schmidt said. “This would’ve been the hottest ticket in town. Friday night at the Reilly Center, it doesn’t get much better than that. You feel bad for the community, the students and our players, it’s just the way it is. But, I’m thankful that we’re playing games… This is an opportunity to sell our school and how important basketball is to the university, to the school. For us to be on national television and have 5,000 people here and realize, ‘Wow, there’s something going on in Olean,’ you don’t have that opportunity to sell that, but it is what it is.”
The Bonnies, who entered today in a tiebreaker with Richmond for the Atlantic-10 lead, now has sole possession of first place. In today’s ESPN Bracketology, Joe Lunardi placed St. Bonaventure as a 12 seed, matching-up against Missouri. Lunardi has three A-10 teams in the mix so far.
The next three games will be difficult for St. Bonaventure, as it will begin with a home re-match against the Richmond Spiders Wednesday at 6 p.m. on CBSSN.
