BY TOM SEIPP, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – For the first time in 615 days, there were fans in the seats of the Reilly Center for a men’s basketball game.
Of course, the showing was only a 40-minute exhibition against local Division-III Alfred University. But, nonetheless, there were Bonnie faithful in the crowd to watch their team play.
“It was a good start,” said Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt. “There were some good things that we did and some bad things that we did, which is good. The young guys had some positives that they can get confidence from that.”
After a dominant season in 2020-21 where the Bonnies showcased their starting five, it was a different showing tonight.
Two starters Kyle Lofton and Jalen Adaway both did not play. Osun Osunniyi played 13 minutes, Dominick Welch played 22 and Jaren Holmes played 24. It was a showcase of the eight new Bonnies.
Linton Brown stood out the most for the Bonnies. Schmidt said in the postgame that Brown hadn’t been shooting that well in practice recently, that wasn’t the case tonight. After receiving the start, Brown played in 34 minutes, going 7-for-12 from the field (3-for-6 from three), totaling 19 points. Brown had eight rebounds and was a +32 on the floor for Bonaventure.
“It boosted my confidence a little bit,” Brown said of his performance tonight. “It gave me a little boost for Tuesday’s game.”
Brown started alongside Holmes, Welch, Osunniyi and Quadry Adams, another newcomer who performed well for the Bonnies Thursday.
Adams had 13 points on 50% shooting from the field. He had five assists and five rebounds, while also having four steals and being an active defender for the Bonnie defense. He led the Bonnies with a +36 plus/minus.
Abdoul Karim Coulibally, whom Schimdt raved about last week naming him as the one player who stood out in Bonaventure practice, looked very strong in his minutes. Coulibaly only played in 13 minutes, but had 11 points shooting 5-for-7 from the floor and corralling seven rebounds. He should be the primary backup in the frontcourt behind Adaway and Osunniyi.
Osunniyi finished with 12 points and Holmes had 11; Welch had 10 points hitting two three pointers.
The Bonnies frontcourt looked strong finished with 60 points in the paint; 23 were from fast breaks.
The Bonnies will kick things off for the 2021-22 season on Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Siena at the Reilly Center at 7 p.m. following a banner ceremony for the 2020-21 Atlantic 10 Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
