By Mike DeSanto
Sports Editor
PITTSBURGH- One down, three to go for the St. Bonaventure Bonnies men’s basketball team.
After defeating the University of Massachusetts Minutemen 73-60 in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament, the Bonnies (20-11, 11-7 A10) are primed to take on the Rhode Island Rams in the tournaments quarterfinals.
The Rams (21-9, 13-5 A10) and Bonnies have met once already during this season, a game that went in favor of the Rams, 71-59. The Rams had four of their five starters in double-figures for the game, while the Bonnies offense was led by junior guard Jaylen Adams, who had 25 points, which was 15 points more than the next closest Bonnies’ scorer.
Both teams attempted to assert control over the boards throughout the game, with the Bonnies getting the slight edge with 42 rebounds to the Rams 41.
The Bonnies are coming off the win over UMass, during which the received 19 points from Adams, as well as 17 from junior guard Matt Mobley and 12 off the bench from senior forward David Andoh. The Bonnies also capitalized on UMass’ turnovers, scoring 19 points off 16 tunrovers.
The Rams last played on March 4, picking up an overtime victory over the Davidson Wildcats. They were led by the 21 point, 17 rebound performance by senior forward Hassan Martin, giving him a double-double. The Rams also dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Wildcats 43-34.
Keys to the game for the Bonnies:
- Defensively, the Bonnies must limit the scoring trio of junior guard E.C. Matthews (14.4 ppg), Martin (14.0 ppg) and junior guard Jared Terrell (12.6 ppg).
- Offensively, the Bonnies must continue the depth scoring success they found against UMass. Andoh and freshman forward Josh Ayeni must continue to knock down their mid-range jumpers.
- The Bonnies need to contain the rebounding tandem on Martin, the 2016-17 A10 Defensive Player of the Year, and fellow senior forward Kuran Iverson on both the offensive and defensive ends.
- Continued ball movement will be important for the Bonnies offensive flow and they must build upon their 16 assist performance against UMass.
- Adams and Mobley must also continue to find success on offense, in both shooting and ball-handling.
The winner of the game will go on to face the winner of Dayton vs. Davidson in the semifinals on Saturday.
desantmj13@bonaventure.edu
