By: Nicholas Gallo
Jaylen Adams and the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (7-2) defeated the Yale Bulldogs (6-6) 75- 67. Adams was a force on both sides of the ball against the Bulldogs as he dropped 25 points, nine assists, and had six steals.
The Bonnies are now on a four-game winning streak ever since losing to TCU in the Emerald Coast Classic Tournament on Nov. 25. After defeating Siena on Nov. 29 in the Franciscan Cup and getting Adams back for their win against the University of Buffalo, the Bonnies have been firing on all cylinders.
The Bonnies would start off strong by leading the Bulldogs 7-6 in the opening five minutes of the game. The Bulldogs would eventually put on a 7-0 run with 13:04 to go.
Head Coach Mark Schmidt talked about the first half troubles the Bonnies had against Yale.
“It didn’t look like we were going to get anything going,” Schmidt said. “We only had had 13 points off ten steals in the first half, you could have 30 points off those steals, and we weren’t finishing and missing open shots.”
The Bonnies at halftime walked into the locker room down 25-29 while only shooting 29% from the field. The one-two punch of Matt Mobley and Adams combined for only 13 points with 5 of 14 shooting from the field.
Jaylen Adams picked it up in the second half of the game. He would score 19 points, dish out eight assists, and rack-up three steals. With NBA scouts in the stands, he gave them a performance to keep an eye on.
“At the time, my teammates were looking for someone to make plays and that is part of my job being a senior captain,” said Adams. “My job is to make plays, my teammates found me in the right spots, and with the 21 turnovers we forced as a team, most of my points came off those and would get everyone going.”
With both teams deadlocked at 35 with 16:09 left in the second-half, Addams would have the ball in his hands. Adams would show the NBA scouts his talents and skills by knocking down a momentum-changing three-pointer as getting fouled for a four-point-play.
Coach James Jones of Yale said that Addams is a tremendous player and there is a reason why NBA scouts come and watch him play.
“Great players make great plays and he did that today,” Coach Jones said. “That four-point play he made the difference of the game.”
Schmidt said the team played harder, made shots, and played with more conviction. He thought the team was more engaged and believes that they can’t just show up and play, or out-talent the teams.
“This game is not about being pretty, it’s about playing hard while being efficient and effective,” said Schmidt. “When you make shots it gives you energy, but part of that is playing defense on the other end and we did more of that in the second half than the first.”
Schmidt added they were only down four by the half which was a positive since he thought the team was playing bad. He reiterated when their offense wasn’t clicking during the first half, it showed the importance of their defensive execution wasn’t their either.
The Bonnies are looking to make it five-in-a-row when they will face off against the University of Vermont on Saturday, Dec. 16, 4 p.m. eastern time at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY.
Schmidt believes that Vermont is a good team and that coming ready right out the gates will be important.
“We have to play for 40 minutes and come out of the gates with more urgency,” said Schmidt. “If we are going to play 20 minutes we are not going to win.”
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