Photo: GoBonnies
BY NATHAN SOLOMON, MANAGING EDITOR
For the second time in as many games, St. Bonaventure surrendered a two-possession lead in the closing minutes, falling to South Dakota State, 66-62, on Tuesday.
“I thought we played extremely hard — we didn’t play well,” Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt said. “Our inexperience came into play a little bit … give [South Dakota State] credit, they played well.”
Bonaventure (1-2) started slowly in the first half, scoring just five points in the first eight minutes and falling behind by eight. However, the Bonnies chipped away at it, and with 2:33 remaining in the first half, Banks hit one of his three 3-pointers to put Bonaventure ahead for the first time. The Bonnies took a 32-30 lead into the half after South Dakota State’s Luke Appel hit a jumper at the buzzer.
Bonaventure opened on a 7-0 run in the first 4:36 of the second half to gain a nine-point advantage, highlighted by a Yann Farell 3-pointer. Schmidt called for a zone defense, leading to points off turnovers.
“That helped us keep the ball out of the paint,” Schmidt said. “It was working for a bit and we tried to change some things up and make some misses.”
South Dakota State immediately fired back, going on a 16-4 run to take a 46-43 lead with 8:58 remaining. St. Bonaventure followed by sparking a 10-1 run over the next 2:45, snatching back a six-point lead.
Suddenly, Bonaventure again fell cold. The Bonnies went nearly four and a half minutes without a field goal — the only points just two Luc free throws. When Luc hit a floater with 1:51 remaining to break the drought, it cut the Bonnies’ deficit to four.
Luc forced a turnover and Bonaventure went empty-handed, but a second South Dakota State turnover led to a Banks 3-pointer with 59 seconds remaining. Alex Arians split a pair of free throws for the Jackrabbits and Bonaventure had a chance to take the lead. Schmidt designed a play for Farrell that resulted in an open look, but his 3-pointer rattled out.
“We executed the play to get him a wide open three,” Schmidt said. “I don’t complain when we execute and miss the shot. It was a good shot.”
Luc hit a short-range jumper with 10 seconds left for the Bonnies and Matt Mims iced the game for South Dakota State with two free throws a second later.
Luc led Bonaventure with 17 points and six steals. Farell had a breakout game, scoring 16 points and recording 11 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double.
“[Farell] played well,” Schmidt said. “He’s coming into his own. He’s still a freshman. He’s getting better and we need him to get better.”
Bonaventure shot the ball 38% from the field and from deep. The team recorded 26 points in the paint and made six of its eight free throws.
The Bonnies made just eight trips to the free throw line compared to 30 for the Jackrabbits, but Schmidt isn’t blaming the officiating.
“We didn’t lose because of the refs,” Schmidt said.
Matt Dentlinger was the only double-figure scorer for South Dakota State, scoring 16 points. Nine different Jackrabbits registered points. As a team, South Dakota State made 43% of its field goal attempts and 19% of its 3-point attempts. The Jackrabbits outrebounded the Bonnies, 37-29.
Bonaventure returns home Saturday to host the Bowling Green Falcons. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+
