PHOTO COURTESY OF GOBONNIES
BY JONNY WALKER, ADVISORY EDITOR
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team hosts Saint Joseph’s Friday night, returning home for the first time in a week and a half.
The Hawks (13-6, 3-3 A-10) enter Friday on a three-game win streak. Trending in the opposite direction, the Bonnies (11-7, 2-4 A-10) have lost four of their last five. However, Bona head coach Mark Schmidt said he sees a return to the Reilly Center as an opportunity to reverse his team’s momentum.
“Teams play better at home,” said Schmidt at his Wednesday media availability. “They shoot better at home. And I don’t think we’re any different.”
Bona’s conference season began with four of six games on the road. But beginning with Friday’s game, the Bonnies will play four of their next five at home.
“We had a difficult beginning of the season,” said Schmidt. “I always say: In order to win a championship, or compete for a championship, you gotta steal some on the road and protect your home court. And we got a home game [Friday], and we got to try to protect it.”
Saint Joseph’s ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in points per game (77.8). Junior guard Erik Reynolds II headlines the Hawks, ranking fourth in the conference in scoring average (18.2).
“Reynolds is one of, if not the, best guards in our league,” said Schmidt. “He’s gonna get his points — you just got to make it difficult for him. You can’t give him any easy ones.”
When discussing the matchup, Schmidt also named Saint Joseph’s Lynn Greer III — a junior guard averaging 12 points and 4 assists per game — and center Christ Essandoko — a true 7-footer that has seen increased minutes in conference play.
“They space you out. They drive it. They can really shoot it — all of them,” said Schmidt. “All five guys can shoot it from the perimeter.”
Bona, coming off its lowest-scoring game of the season, may be without starting point guard Mika Adams-Woods for the second-straight game. According to Schmidt, Adams-Woods did not play in the team’s loss to Duquesne Tuesday due to an illness. Schmidt declined to answer definitively whether the graduate guard would play Friday, but did say Adams-Woods had resumed practicing with the team.
Without Adams-Woods, the Bonnies managed just 15 points in a first half that included nine turnovers and 0-7 shooting from three and ultimately lost by four.
“We didn’t play well offensively,” said Schmidt. “I thought we did a good job defensively — held them to 54 points. We just struggled. When your backcourt shoots 2-25, you’re not going to win too many games.”
Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. and will air live on ESPN2.
walkerjc20@bonaventure.edu
