photo courtesy of gobonnies.sbu.edu
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — An electric crowd at the Reilly Center always gives the Bonnies an advantage.
On Wednesday night, this advantage proved to be crucial, as the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team secured a win against George Washington, 72-47.
Once SBU center Osun Osunniyi won the opening tip, it was off to the races.
The Bonnies started the game scorching hot with a 10-0 run in a balanced scoring effort. With George Washington reeling, their offense had to come from someone, and fast.
Despite a GW comeback that balanced the score, the Bonnies continued to torch their opponent with their balanced inside and outside scoring.
At the end of the first half, St. Bonaventure led 39-27.
George Washington kept the game close behind Jameer Nelson Jr.’s 14 points in the first half. He single-handedly brought the Colonials back after an abysmal start.
“In the first half, I didn’t think we played particularly well, especially defensively,” Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt said. “But I thought that in the second half, we did a much better job of keeping them in front of us and contesting shots.”
St. Bonaventure would go on a run at the beginning of the second half that their opponent just couldn’t handle. The lead extended up to 26 points with just under seven minutes to play.
Bonnies guard Jaren English had himself a night, as well. He finished with 21 points, 12 of which came in the first half, and he shot 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
“I’ve been working on my shot and getting in the gym extra,” English said. “I shot three for four, but I should have made the fourth one. I just have to get better, keep shooting and keep trusting in my progress and process.”
Osunniyi racked up 16 points for the Bonnies, while Dom Welch and Justin Winston scored 11 points each.
Jameer Nelson, Jr. carried the GW offense for most of the game, as he finished with 19 points. Jamison Battle added 13 points for the Colonials.
The win moved the Bonnies to 15-8 overall, and 7-3 in Atlantic 10 play. GW fell to 10-13 overall, and 4-6 in the A-10.
On Saturday, the Bonnies will travel down to Pennsylvania to take on the Duquesne Dukes.
The Dukes boast an overall record of 17-5, making this a tough matchup for the Bonnies.
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