By Jeff Fasoldt @Jeff_Fasoldt
Bonnies fans were sent home from the Reilly Center depressed as the St. Bonaventure Bonnies men’s basketball team fell to the Siena Saints for the second year in a row.
Can’t dig a hole: After a sluggish start vs. Dartmouth the Bonnies were able to pick it up in the second-half of that game and get the win. This time, it just didn’t happen and there is no one person to blame. The brown and white found themselves down 10 at halftime and ended up losing by only three. However, they trailed almost the whole game. The score says it was close, but it was never that close.
Free-throw misery: There’s nothing more frustrating for a fan than sitting in the bleachers and watching your team miss free-throw after free-throw. The Bonnies gave everyone at the Reilly Center that feeling tonight as they went 14 for 24 (58.3%) as a team.
Trouble with the zone: Only thing Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos could say after the game was “It’s my fault we haven’t been playing it more.” The Bonnies guards struggled to shoot from outside and the big men look stumped as if Siena was actually Syracuse and this was Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone and not Jimmy Patsos’.
Give ’em credit: “Give Siena all the credit,” said head coach Mark Schmidt in the media room after the game. “We didn’t execute.” This is true, and while the Bonnies held them under 40-percent shooting on the night, they hustled harder from the opening tip and gathered eight steals to the Bonnies four. Once down, foul trouble killed Bonaventure down the stretch and even though they fought hard to cut the lead into single digits with just a couple minutes left, they fell short. “It looked like we were trying to make 10-point plays and you can’t do that,” said Schmidt. Siena had 20 points off turnovers to Bonaventure’s five.
Foul trouble: Jaylen Adams, the freshman that Schmidt has been starting at the point picked up three fouls in the first half and picked up his fourth early in the second half, eventually fouling out. He wasn’t the only one; Wright had four, Posley had three and Idris Taqqee had three for most of the second-half limiting Schmidt’s options.
Ndoye not a factor: Youssou Ndoye played his first game of the season after missing the opener vs. Dartmouth for playing in an impermissible game over the summer. He went 1-4 from the field, 2-6 from the free throw line, committed three turnovers and scored four points in his opener. Still, Patsos praised the Bonaventure big man after the game saying he was lucky and thankful they had to play against him in his first game when it was their third.
“I’ve been watching this kid since high school,” said Schmidt. “I think he’ll be a backup center in the NBA next year,” said Patsos after the game.
The Bonnies (1-1) will take on Canisius College Saturday night at the Reilly Center.
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