Post Game: Bonnies 77- Dartmouth 57

The Result: Despite loosing center Youssou Ndoye and wing Denzel Gregg just an hour before the game due to suspensions,  the Bonnies won going away by a score of 77-57 after leading by just one point at halftime. SBU used a 15-3 run to put away 49 points in the second half. Bonnies are 1-0 and continue their string of winning home openers. The Wolfpack jammed a capacity 750 students into the RC which was great to see. Keep it up students.

The Rundown: This game started ugly for the Bonnies as they failed to connect on jumpers and generally showed sloppy play which was to be expected. I won’t get into writing an entire game recap as you can all find those online but the Bonnies shot 31% from the field in the first half and were out rebounded by 2, they were also just 2-11 from deep. Taking a ton of three pointers was something I feared going into this game, but given the last minute loss of Ndoye it made more sense. I have no issue with the amount of threes that were taken but several of them were taken way to early in the shot clock and left something to be desired in terms of running our sets.

However,  the second half saw a completely different game.

The Bonnies nailed down 7-10 three pointers in the second frame and shot 48% from the field. Jay Adams knocked down 4-5 three pointers on the night and really impressed shooting the basketball. Jalen Adams then came off the bench for 11 points in 11 second half minutes shooting 3-4 and also knocking down both of his three point attempts. The freshman backcourt pair combined to score 27 points. Dion Wright also chipped in 11 second half points on a number of lay-ups and close range over the shoulder hook shots. Wright finished with 14 and seven boards.

What the result means for the Bonnies: It means they’re 1-0 heading into Siena on Wednesday night. It means Mark Schmidt and Bona Nation learned that they have a really exciting pair of guards to build around for the next four years. Having two freshman combine to score 27 points in the second half of their first ever game is huge. No, they won’t always combine to shoot 6-7 from three but the promise they showed was tremendous. It has been a long, long time since the Bonnies had a pair of freshman guards this exciting…Mark Schmidt has not had this luxury at any point since arriving in Olean. We saw a nice game out of Posley who we knew was a shooter (16 points, 2-7 from three), A nice stat line from Cumberbatch with 10-10 and 6 (despite 2-12 from the field) and even saw an improved game from Xavier Smith who played 19 minutes and had 4 boards and 2 blocks; his best effort as a Bonnie. There were a lot of positives to draw from this game especially considering the Bonnies were without three of their top seven players (roughly). Getting back Ndoye, and hopefully Gathers for Wednesday will be a big lift for the club.

Adams impressed in his debut with 16 points. He’s our Player of the Game.

Player of the Game: This is tough call but let’s go with freshman Jay Adams who scored 16 points. His four three pointers in the second half were enormous in allowing the Bonnies to pull away from Dartmouth. While he failed to dish out any assists, the freshman’s first ever game was an eye-opening effort. If this game is a sign of things to come the Bonnies have quite a find on their hands at the point guard spot.

Good Stats:  The second half had a lot of positives. 48% shooting, 7-10 from three. Only seven turnovers and limiting Dartmouth to 35% shooting was also solid.  The Bonnies also forced 19 turnovers and had 15 assists to just those seven turnovers.

Bad Stats: Shooting in the first half-31%. Getting out-rebounded by two is a bit concerning but given we played without Ndoye and Gregg it has to be taken with a grain of salt. That aside the Bonnies did a lot of things well. They’ll have to own the glass better going forward.

Checking Our Keys to the Game: 

• Allow no more than 11 offensive rebounds-NO. Dartmouth had a whooping 16 offensive boards.
• Hold Dartmouth to 42% shooting- YES. 35% shooting.
• Out rebound Dartmouth by 5 or more-NO. Dartmouth was +2 on the glass.

What we Liked: Loved the infusion of new talent, the second half shooting, the willingness of new/inexperienced players to step in right away and contribute. We loved the Bonnies ability to take care of the basketball, and take it away from their opponent. Having only seven turnovers made allowing 16 offensive boards a stat that did not cost them the game. Had they turned it over 13 times and given up those same boards things we have been much more interesting.

What we Didn’t: The rebounding effort was not good. 16 offensive boards against a better team and the Bonnies would have been in a much tighter game. They can’t allow Siena to do the same on Wednesday night. They are a much better team and allowing second and third shots per possession can really make for a tired defense.

Ivan Kovacevic Unsung Hero Award: Jalen Adams who helped the Bonnies run away in the second half with 11 points in 11 minutes. Schmidt has been quietly gushing about his potential for over a year now and we saw why. The two Adams kids already have me and many others dreaming of their combined ceilings over the next four years playing side by side in the back court.

Anthony Solomon Head Scratching Moment: Xavier Smith’s three point attempt. If he pins one of these down it would be great but when he launched it I had to do a double-take on my screen to make sure it was him. Hey, look how far Nicholson came in that area. Kid went from never looking at the rim outside of 15 feet to becoming the team’s best three point shooter his senior year.

Matthias “Run” of the Game: The 15-3 run that made it 43-30 with 12:48 remaining. The Bonnies never looked back from that point en route to the 20 point win.

Tweets: 

Prediction Records: Everyone had this game correct. All guys are 1-0. Vinny had the closest score prediction in terms of margin of victory.

What’s Next: The Bonnies take on the Siena Saints of the MAAC on Wednesday and look to take back the Franciscan Cup which they lost for the first time last season.