Men’s basketball: Bonnies hope to start winning streak against Ohio

By Chuckie Maggio @chuckiemaggio

The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team takes on the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday at 4 p.m. The game is the second part of a doubleheader; the women take on Georgetown at 1:30.

Sophomore point guard Jaylen Adams called the matchup against the 4-2 Bobcats a perfect time to “start stringing some wins together.” Can the Bonnies get their fourth win in five games? Here’s the preview:

The Coaches: 

St. Bonaventure- Mark Schmidt. 128-125 as Bonnies coach.

Ohio- Saul Phillips. 14-22 as Bobcats coach.

Key players for Ohio:

Jaaron Simmons- 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore guard. Simmons, a transfer from Houston, is leading the team in points per game with 17.3 and assists per contest with 7.7.

Kenny Kaminski- 6-foot-8 redshirt junior forward. Kaminski, a transfer from Michigan State, is averaging 14.7 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. He is 15-of-39 from three on the young season, the most attempts and makes from beyond the arc.

Antonio Campbell- 6-foot-10 junior forward. Campbell is averaging 11.2 points per game, shooting an efficient 54.9 percent from the field.

Keys to victory for Ohio: Use your height. The Bobcats have nine players over 6-foot-7, giving them a major size advantage over Bona. Using that height and length will give them a solid chance to win the game.

Keys to victory for Bonaventure: Attack the basket and get in the paint. The Bonnies only attempted nine free throws last game, relying far too much on the jump shot, which was unacceptable. Adams and Marcus Posley have to draw fouls and continue the best free-throw percentage in the country. Ohio is far too talented a ballclub to be in love with the three-ball all game. If Bona sticks to the gameplan that has worked all year, it could grab a very big win.