photo courtesy of gobonnies.com

By: Anthony Goss

The St. Bonaventure Bonnies have hosted their last three games in the Reilly Center. On Wednesday they end their four-game home stretch against the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds. 

St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt stressed the importance of his team protecting its home court. The Bonnies play away from the Reilly Center until a matchup with Fordham on Jan. 5. 

“Every home game is critically important,” Schmidt said. “In order to have a good year, you gotta protect your home court.”

The Bonnies will look to build off their dramatic finish against Buffalo on Saturday. The win gave them a 7-1 record, good for first place in the Atlantic 10. 

“We’re pleased that we’re 7-1, we’re not satisfied,” Schmidt said. “We need to continue to work.”

Loyola enters the game with a 5-4 record. The Greyhounds, out of the Patriot League, have won their last four games.  

“In order for us to have success, we gotta play our A-game and our guys understand that,” Schmidt said. “They’re playing really well. Spencer and Andrews are really really good.”

Schmidt spoke highly of Loyola guard Cam Spencer. The junior leads the scoring for the Greyhounds with 19 points per game and grabs five rebounds per game. 

“He’s got an old man’s game,” Schmidt said. “He’s one of the knowns. He can’t have a great game against us.”

With Kyle Lofton likely out of the lineup again, the Bonnies will need a collective effort to make up for the production from the senior point guard. Schmidt expects the younger players will stay ready with another opportunity on deck. 

“They’ll be ready to play just because they know how important it is,” Schmidt said. “We’re gonna need them as we go forward in the season.”

Loyola and St. Bonaventure are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.