By John Pullano, Managing Editor
With former Bona basketball standout Andrew Nicholson in attendance, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team defeated George Washington University, 72-47.
The Bonnies put on a performance that would make the former NBA player wish he was still playing in the Reilly Center, posting up in front of the raucous crowd.
The Bonnies were led by their Nicholson-like rebounding and scoring attack. Led by Osun Osunniyi’s seven rebounds and 16 points, the Bonnies out rebounded the Colonials 38-20 and outscored them in the paint 48-22.
“We missed some foul shots, but they had one offensive rebound,” said Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt. “We out rebounded them by 18, and I think Osun did a terrific job both offensively and defensively.”
In 2011-12, Nicholson’s final season at St. Bonaventure, he earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors and led the conference with a player efficiency rating of 31.6, which was 5.3 points higher than the next player. The Bonnies took after Nicholson Wednesday night, shooting 49.2 percent from the floor while never allowing the Colonials to lead.
“Going into the game you always talk about you gotta defend, rebound and take care of the basketball and make you foul shots,” said Schmidt. “We took care of the basketball…and got us off to a good start.”
Schmidt praised Jaren English’s play. The sophomore anchored the team on both the offensive and defensive ends. English accumulated a career-high 21 points on 50 percent shooting, including 3-4 from three-point range. English attacked the boards, too. The guard pulled down six total rebounds. Two of them were offensive rebounds. Both of which led to points.
“I thought Jaren did a terrific job,” said Schmidt. “Both offensively and defensively [English] was big.”
English has improved his three-point shooting in the past four games, shooting 60% from three compared to his season average of 37.5%. However, English is far from satisfied with his current numbers.
“I just been working on my shot,” said English. “Getting in the gym extra and shooting late night before games and just trusting the process. I made some adjustments just watching the film. I am shooting the ball really well right now, but I can’t change anything, I need to keep getting better. I shot 3 for 4, but I should have made the fourth one.”
The Colonials fell to 4-6 in the A10 and 10-13 overall in a less-than-stellar performance. The lone bright spot for the Colonials was the play of Jameer Nelson Jr., who is the son of former NBA point guard Jameer Nelson.
Nelson Jr. had 19 points and dished out four of the team’s nine total assists. He also came away with two steals to lead the team.
As February continues, the Bonnies seem to have found their most effective lineup. Over the past two games, the Bonnies have used a starting lineup of Kyle Lofton, Dominick Welch, English, Osunniyi and Justin Winston. That lineup is scoring at a rate of 1.9 points per minute and out scored the Colonials by 22 points, 49-27, during their 25 minutes on the floor together.
“We had four guys in double figures,” said Schmidt. “We are getting better, but certainly not all the way there yet.”
The Bonnies, who sit at 7-3 in A10 play, are tied for third place with Duquesne. But with eight conference games remaining, there is still plenty to be decided. To Schmidt, it’s too early to think about standings. Every game is important. On Saturday, however, the Bonnies will have a chance to take sole possession of third place with a win over Duquesne in Pittsburgh.
“We aren’t even thinking about [the conference standings], ‘’ said Schmidt. “It is too early with eight games left anything can happen. Who knows.”
pullanjj18@bonaventure.edu
