PHOTO COURTESY OF GOBONNIES
BY JONNY WALKER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team returns home Saturday to challenge Siena in the annual Br. Ed Coughlin Franciscan Cup game.
The Bonnies (6-2, 0-0 A-10) enter Saturday on a four-game win streak and have won their last three games by an average of 26.3 points. The Saints (2-7, 1-1 MAAC) enter Saturday on a two-game losing streak and currently rank last in the nation in NET ranking, the metric used by the NCAA Selection Committee to compare all 362 Division I men’s basketball teams.
The matchup could mark Bona’s third straight missing guards Charles Pride and Kyrell Luc to injury. At the time of his injury, Pride was the Bonnies’ leader in points and minutes. Bona head coach Mark Schmidt said both remain day-to-day, although he had also said the same ahead of the Bonnies’ previous two games.
Bonaventure’s starting point guard, graduate transfer Mika Adams-Woods, enters Saturday on back-to-back 20-point performances. He recorded a career-high 25 points in Bona’s last game, a 34-point blowout of Niagara. With 21 total assists over Bona’s last-three contests, Adams-Woods has propelled himself into the top-five of the Atlantic 10 in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio.
“He’s getting more comfortable in the offense,” Schmidt said of Adams-Woods. “He’s getting more comfortable with his role … He’s playing with a lot of confidence. He’s making shots. He’s making right decisions … He’s leading the team.”
The matchup will represent the Saints’ second look at an A-10 opponent this season. In mid-November, Siena lost, 90-48, at Richmond, a team currently ranked 105 in NET. The Bonnies are ranked 76.
Despite his team losing by 16, Saints forward Giovanni Emejuru had a game-high 15 rebounds and 18 points Wednesday against Bryant. Schmidt said the 6-foot-11, 265-pound big man could give his team trouble.
“He’s a concern,” said Schmidt. “We have a couple big guys too, but we can’t let him catch it deep in the paint.”
Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will stream live on ESPN+. Tickets are available for purchase online.
walkerjc20@bonaventure.edu
