By Jeff Fasoldt, @Jeff_Fasoldt
The St. Bonaventure Bonnies took on the Canisius Golden Griffins in a 162-year-old rivalry Saturday night. The Bonnies were the dominant team throughout. Matt Wright had a career-high 27 points while Charlon Kloof added 15 points, and Youssou Ndoye posted a solid 13.
This was clearly a game of momentum, which the Bonnies held throughout. The crowd of 4,568 clearly got into the heads of the Golden Griffin players. Billy Baron, coaches’ son and the star player for the Griffins, had 23 points while shooting 8-19 from the field.
Whenever Baron went to the free throw line the crowd chanted, “Daddy’s boy, daddy’s boy.”
Coach Jim Baron’s only comment — “it was cute.”
The Bonnies pressure got to the Griffins, from beginning to end. Nine steals for the Bonnies, and 22 points off turnovers helped them get the win. While the Bonnies dominated in nearly every category, they really stepped up on the boards, fast-break points and points in the paint.
The Bonnies outrebounded the Griffins 44-25, with Ndoye pulling in 10 and Marquise Simmons and Andell Cumberbatch with seven apiece. As far as points in the paint go, the Bonnies won that battle 56-30.
And the Bonnies used their athleticism to their advantage as they scored on several fast-break dunks.
“We knew we were the more athletic team and we wanted to take advantage of that,” said Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt.
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