Photo: St. Bonaventure Athletics
BY: ANDREW HALE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team concludes its three-game homestand Sunday afternoon, taking on Bryant University.
The Bonnies (5-0, 0-0 A-10) enter Sunday’s matchup riding a five-game win streak to begin the season. 5-0 marks the best start to begin a season for Bonaventure since 2021. This is only the second time in Bona’s head coach Mark Schmidt’s 18-year tenure that the Bonnies have gotten off to a 5-0 start.
The Bulldogs (3-2, 0-0 AE) enter the Reilly Center Sunday, having won two of their last three games. In five games, Bryant has shot 46% from the field and 37% from three while holding its opponents to 38% and 32%, respectively.
“[Bryant is] really aggressive, and offensively, they attack,” Schmidt said. “They are really up and down and athletic. They got really good players. They’re really old, so they’re mature, they know how to play.”
Sunday will be the first meeting between the Bonnies and Bulldogs; however, the two teams share a few connections dating back to last season.
Prior to the 2023-24 season, Charles Pride transferred from Bryant to Bonaventure. Pride spent four seasons at Bryant, finishing sixth and ninth all-time in school history with rebounds and assists, respectively. In one season with Bonaventure, Pride scored 327 points, shooting 44% field.
Following Bonaventure’s loss to Duquesne in the semi-finals of the Atlantic 10 Championships in March, Barry Evans entered the transfer portal and later transferred to Bryant. The junior forward played in 65 games for the Bonnies, scoring 206 points, grabbing 279 rebounds and securing 60 steals.
This season, Evans has averaged 14 points per game, shooting 54% from the field and 47% from 3-point range. Evans already has more made 3-pointers this season than all of last year at Bonaventure.
“[Evans is] playing well, he’s shooting the ball better,” Schmidt said. “He’s playing really well, and he’s going to be someone that we have to deal with Sunday.”
Nick Schmidt, former Bonaventure graduate assistant and son of Mark Schmidt, is a part of Bryant’s 2024 coaching staff.
“It’s a neat thing,” Schmidt said. Win or lose, we’re family, and in the big picture, it really doesn’t matter. I’m proud that [Nick Schmidt] got a start. He’s with a good coach, a good guy and a good program. It won’t be fun when we’re playing them, but it’ll be fun before and after the game win or lose.”
Bonaventure will look to improve to 6-0 for the first time since the 1973-74 season with a win on Sunday.
“[Bryant] scores a lot of points, and there’s a lot of possessions,” Schmidt said. “We got to be really disciplined. All five [Bryant starters] can push the ball in transition and score, so points off turnovers and fast break points are going to be crucial for us to keep those at a minimum against them.”
Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. and will air live on ESPN+. Radio listeners can tune into the game via the Bonnies Online Network.
halea22@bonaventure.edu
