Photo: GoBonnies
BY NATHAN SOLOMON, MANAGING EDITOR
BUFFALO, N.Y. — St. Bonaventure men’s basketball entered Saturday’s contest at Buffalo on a high. They had won for games in a row with newfound confidence and swagger.
But that stretch for the Bonnies came to a screeching halt. In an afternoon where the Bulls’ Curtis Jones scored 32 points, Bonaventure dropped its third game of the season, 83-66, to the Big 4 host.
“Jones played fabulous. We didn’t have any answers for him,” said Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. “We didn’t defend. And when you don’t defend on the road, you’re not going to win.”
Despite Jones’ stellar shooting night, Bonaventure’s foul shooting seemed more impactful on the result. The Bonnies connected on just 47% of their attempts from the charity stripe.
“You can’t shoot 9-for-19 from the foul line on the road against a good team and have a chance,” said Schmidt. “When they are making runs and you get to the foul line, that’s how you stop the bleeding.”
If not for the free-throw woes, Bonaventure would have been in a near deadlock with Buffalo. The Bonnies hovered within seven or eight points of the Bulls throughout the second half until Yann Farell scored on consecutive possessions.
But Bonaventure got sloppy in the closing minutes, committing several fouls and Buffalo converted. The hosts made 18 of their 21 attempts, including eight freebies from Yazid Powell in the final five minutes.
Moses Flowers, who scored a season-high 10 points off the bench for the Bonnies, made a 3-pointer with 2:34 remaining and converted on a layup a minute later, but the Bulls’ near-flawless foul shooting proved the difference.
“[Buffalo] made foul shots,” Schmidt said. “We had a couple of turnovers; we had some missed shots. When we fouled them, they made foul shots. When they fouled us, they missed.”
A bright spot for Bonaventure was Farell’s play. The freshman scored a career-high 18 points with a pair of 3-pointers. He did, however, miss four of his six free-throw attempts.
“I felt great today. I had a good game, but I wanted to get the ‘W’ with it,” Farell said. “I try to get to my spots, find a shot that I work on and just play.
“[Buffalo was] pretty tough. I think they played harder than us. We couldn’t get back on the track with them.”
A 6’6” wing, Farell has made a significant impact on both sides of the ball for the Bonnies. He’s connected on nearly 38% of his 3-pointers this season while leading the team with eight rebounds.
“He hit some shots,” Schmidt said of Farell. “He’s getting better. He’s young. They’re all young. They are going to have their ups and downs.”
Daryl Banks lll added 16 points despite a 0-for-7 performance from downtown. He found his points off the dribble and in the paint, also connecting on four of his five free throws.
“It’s a long season,” Banks said. “We just got to go back to practice, watch film first, see what we got to work on. We got to execute in practice and just pick up back where we were.”
Bonaventure led just once, taking a brief 21-20 lead 12 minutes into the game after a Max Amadasun layup. Buffalo went on a 17-6 run over the six and a half minutes to go up 12 before the Bonnies finished on a 6-0 spurt to trail by just six at the half.
The Bulls’ 49% shooting reigned supreme over the Bonnies’ 45%. Buffalo outrebounded Bonaventure by seven (39-32) and scored six more points in transition (20-14).
But as Schmidt has echoed all season, it’s big picture for the Bonnies. While their four-game winning streak is over, focus is shifting toward returning home for Cleveland State Wednesday.
A number that stands out, though, is Bonaventure’s 0-2 road record. The Bonnies lost Nov. 12 to Canisius at the Koessler Athletic Center and also lost a neutral site game against South Dakota State. But that game was played just an hour from the Jackrabbits’ campus.
Bonaventure has two more road games – Siena and Northern Iowa – before conference play begins. Not to mention a tilt against Iona next weekend at the Barclays Center.
That’ll get addressed, according to Schmidt.
“Winning on the road is more difficult,” Schmidt said. “70% of games are won by the home game for a reason. We got a young team and we got to figure out how to win on the road, and you’ve got to defend and rebound, and we didn’t do those things.”
solomonj20@bonaventure.edu
