Ahead of his team’s Nov. 12 loss to Siena, Mark Schmidt was still looking for answers to his team’s slow start offensively.
He said, “We’re looking for all of them to step up. Not just one guy. We’re shooting 15% from three. It’s all of them.”
After leaving the Times Union Center in Albany, New York, the same questions remained. The Bonnies’ offensive struggles continued, and the team was headed for Toronto, Ontario, where the Rutgers Scarlet Knights awaited.
A win over a Big Ten Conference team? Tough ask. With this young team struggling, it was hard to envision things changing north of the border.
Until things did change.
Many thanks to the freshmen duo of Alejandro Vasquez and Justin Winston, the Bonnies stormed out of the gates and pounded Rutgers one big shot after the next in the first half. The Bonnies lead by as many as 19 and held a 13-point lead at the half, 43-30.
In fact, the big first-half cushion and stellar freshmen play was all Bona would need in the 80-74 victory.
Vasquez made nifty plays, slicing through the lane and getting to the basket. The freshman from Queens, New York, showed out, shooting 8-12 from the field and 3-5 from three to compile a career-high 20 points.
Winston, on the other hand, did much of the same.
Schmidt even hinted to his god-given basketball ability last week.
“Justin has made his mistakes, but I think we saw a glimpse of his talent,” Schmidt said. “He’s still trying to learn the system. He’s still very unsure, but we saw his god-given abilities.”
The 6-foot-8 do-it-all forward was more than ready for his first career start. Winston shot the lights out of Scotiabank Arena, finishing 4-5 from three, which is by far the best shooting performance anyone has had for the Bonnies all season. Winston used his size, too, driving to the basket and hitting mid-range shots to finish 6-11 from the field. Right behind Vasquez, Winston had an impressive 19-point performance.
“Our freshmen really grew up,” Schmidt said. “AJ and Justin played extremely well. As freshmen, you never know when the lights are going to come on, and the light went on tonight for both of them. They couldn’t have played better, especially in the first half.”
He said, “They just played. They weren’t worried about where they were playing, who they were playing. They played well, and they played with confidence.”
Vasquez and Winston didn’t surprise Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. He expected a good showing from both and the Bonnies as a whole.
“Yeah, I knew a lot about those guys,” Pikiell said. “They weren’t shooting the ball great, but I knew they were going to have one tonight. We were well aware of their capabilities. They have young, talented guys. I knew they’d be good today.”
Though the Bonnies did struggle in the second half, shooting 40% from the field and 38% from three while watching their 13-point halftime lead diminish to four, Schmidt said the Bonnies had enough. It wasn’t perfect, according to Schmidt, but a win is a win, after all.
Winning against a Big Ten team for the second time in three seasons is no small feat for one of the smallest Division I schools in the nation.
“We found a way,” Schmidt said. “We didn’t execute perfectly throughout the second half, especially at the end, but we made our foul shots. We finished it the way we need to.”
Kyle Lofton, who scored 17 points against Rutgers, put it differently.
The sophomore guard said the win sent a message.
“It’s even better that we did it against Rutgers, a Big Ten school. It shows that we can compete. Hopefully we build off this and just another win next Saturday,” Lofton said.
The Bonnies will hit the road and head north again tomorrow. This time? To the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, to take on the Canisius Golden Griffins at 2:30 p.m.
By Mike Hogan, Managing Editor
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
