Post Game: Bonnies 94, Loyola (MD) 82
By: Cody Didas
The Result: The Bonnies were able to defend their home court on Saturday night as they took down the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds by a score of 94-82. The Bonnies survived a slight scare (to say the least) in the second half, but nearly took the game from wire-to-wire. The fast pace was highlighted throughout the game as can be seen by the numbers of the final scores.
The game hit critical mass at 67-61, and was able to be wrapped up by a couple of clutch threes from Jay Adams, along with some and-1 opportunities by Dion Wright and Marcus Posley. In the press conference, Mark Schmidt was harping on the defense that was played in both halves. He mentioned that the first half was all about Tyler Hubbard (who has to be one of the hottest shooters in the country) and then the second was simply poor team defense. Schmidt made the point that the Bonnies are not going to score 94 every night, and shoot 55% from the floor and 44% from deep. We will have to see if the D can tighten up around a Canisius team averaging 90 points a game.
The Difference (Team): The difference for the team was easily their ability to get to the line and then finish when at the line. This was an area that we discussed following the Syracuse game that needed to be addressed. Posley especially was focused on attacking, rather than settling for jump shots, and was able to convert on multiple and-one opportunities. To think about a game that Bonas wins by 12, and shoots 26-30 from the charity stripe, how different does the game look if they shoot a more average 70% clip. That slight scare turns into a possible Delaware/UMES-sized nightmare. For added justice, head coach G.G. Smith noted that his team missed the front-end of back-to-back 1 and 1’s when the game was close in the second half. The Greyhounds shot 7-14 from the free-throw line.
The Difference (Player): I think we have to focus on Posley in this spot. Wright had a fantastic game with his double-double no questions asked. However, we were all waiting for this type of performance out of MP3. He had some of us scratching our heads the first two nights out, but he responded in the exact way a senior leader on this team should. He was efficient (7-11), hit some threes (2-4), perfect at the stripe (10-10), and added 5 assists to 1 turnover. I think we can all chalk up the first two shooting performances as simply a cold stretch for the sometimes streaky Posley. Streaky players tend to be fun to watch whenever they get hot, and I could see the production continuing against the next few opponents.
The Stats:
What’s Next: The Bonnies will have their first taste of Little 3 action on Tuesday night as they head up to Buffalo to take on the Canisius Golden Griffins (2-1). The Griffs downed Cornell earlier today , 87-62. The Griffs feature a new look without Billy Baron leading the way. Malcolm McMillian a 6-foot senior guard has averaged 26.7 ppg in the first three contests.
