Post Game: Bonnies 66 Syracuse 79

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By: Mike Morgan

Syracuse, NY-

The Result: Well, we had ourselves a ballgame for about 30-33 minutes. Unfortunately, college basketball is a 40 minute game and when you’re only rolling with 8 guys, ultimately the grind of that 40 minute game can become too much. Bonnies fans know this all too well at this point. SBU dropped a 13 point decision at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night and fell to 1-1. 

The Bonnies clung to a 6 point lead at halftime after a fairly dominant half during which SBU connected on a number of deep three pointers.  SBU was wiping up the glass and out rebounded the Orange 22-15.  Everything that could go right for SBU did, led by a balanced attack with 7 out of the 8 Bonnie players scoring points. If anything, the Bonnies should have been up by more than a half dozen at the break.  The Bonnies are known for playing well in the opening half, especially vs. better teams, it’s the second half that is generally of concern…

The Orange came out of the locker room with subtle adjustments to their famed 2-3 zone that seemed to confuse the weary Bonnies.  Nothing was able to get inside to Wright and SBU was forced to rely on the outside on most possessions; a recipe for a loss generally speaking.  SBU made 11 threes on the day and it was a ball game when those were falling but Bonas went cold while Syracuse got hot allowing for a 20-7 SU run in the middle of the second frame. SBU struggled to get the ball inside the zone and displayed very little dribble penetration from their guards. On the few occasions they did the ball inside they did well, or missed short lay-ups and bunnies. Gregg played well down on the blocks and Woods did about all you could ask but once again the Bonnies are short a true pivot man. Dion Wright was positioned at the elbow most of the night, a point of entry for the offense that was little used. 

Marcus Posley did not have a good night, shooting 3-16, his only baskets being a pair of 3-pointers.  Rarely did he look to drive inside and was definitely outmatched by the Syracuse size.  He needs to rebound from these first two games quickly as right now we are seeing the “bad” Posley. 

Overall, SBU shot 36% for the game which was very similar to their shooting performance against Bingo.  Mid-thirties may work against weaker opponents in the America East but not against ACC foes and the cold shooting really hurt them tonight.

The Difference (Team): For all the talk about SBU’s lack of size and need for their bigs to play well, they did tonight on the glass, outbounding Syracuse 43-33.  However, most of the game ‘Cuse did have a lineup very similar to the Bonnies height but SBU was very scrappy and busted hard for as long as they could.

Second chance points tonight were absolutely huge for SBU, scoring 29.  This is attributed to their monster rebounding game, especially on the offensive glass. (24 offensive rebounds)

The Difference (Player): Jaylen Adams was big for SBU tonight.  His 16 points really helped pick up the slack were Posley was nonexistent.  Nelson Kaputo played well off the bench, though he eventually fouled out after scoring 6 points and handing out 3 assists. 

The Stats:

The Quotes/Via GoBonnies.com:

Head Coach Mark Schmidt:

“In the first half we did what we wanted to do offensively and defensively. In the second half Syracuse exposed us a little defensively.”

“We had some opportunities to push the lead out a bit more, but I thought our effort for the most part was what we wanted. If we continue to have that kind of effort, we have a chance to be pretty good.”

“The (Syracuse zone) is unique and I thought we did a good job in the first half, but not as good of a job in the second half. It wasn’t our offense that lost the game. Giving up 50 points in the second half won’t win too many games.”

“It should give us confidence, playing head-to-head with those guys for 30 minutes, but we have to become more consistent.”

What’s Next?:  The Bonnies will return home on Saturday night to play Loyola of Maryland at 7PM. Loyola is currently 0-2 having lost to Tennessee State and LIU Brooklyn so this is a game the Bonnies should win going away.