St. Bonaventure 74 Fordham 72: Numbers and Notes

It was too close for comfort. For St. Bonaventure faithful there were several anxious moments in the stretch. The Bonnies were able to hang on, though, posting a 74-72 victory over Fordham. Saturday’s game at Reilly Center saw the Bonnies improve to 17-6  (5-5) while Fordham is now 10-12  (2-7). Numbers and notes…

Possessions: 62

Offensive efficiency: St. Bona 119, Fordham 116

Four Factors:

eFG Pct.-  St. Bona 60, Fotdham 55

FT Rate- St. Bona 37,Fordham 21

OREB Pct.- St. Bona 28, Fordham 27 

TO Rate- St. Bona 13, Fordham 15

Points of Emphasis:

Killer instinct. The Bonnies had a 16 point lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half and appeared to be in the driver’s seat.  By intermission the Bona lead was reduced to 11. In the second half Tray Woodall’s Rams kept chipping away. With just over two minutes remaining the score was tied at 68. The Bonnies regained the lead on a 5-0 run. Fordham got it back to one possession. The final seconds were tense for the home five. Lajae Jones hit one of two free throws to increase the lead to two. Japhet Medor’s long distance attempt for the win came up short. As noted, taking nothing away from Fordham, this proved to be too close for comfort for the Brown and White. 

“When you have a team down, you have to keep on playing.” Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt told gobonnies.com. “You can’t relax. And give them credit, they’re a good team, well-coached. Tray (Woodall) does a good job, and you know, they kept on playing…they got momentum and it’s hard once you give up the momentum to give it back.”

Defense. The Bonnies poised an excellent 119 offensive efficiency. The eFG mark was outstanding as well. Bona shot 56% for the game, 58% the final twenty minutes. Fordham shot 47% from the field but their second half three point shooting was a concern for Schmidt. Fordham’s  5 of 11 (46%) accuracy from three, allowed the Rams to get back in the game and put them in a position to pull off a win.

“We shot better in the second half than we did the first, but it was our defense,” Schmidt said. ”The last 15 minutes of the game we were on our heels and they were attacking us.”  

It’s a win. The old coaching axiom tells us there has never been a coach who would ‘throw one back’. No matter how it played out execution-wise or how it might have fallen short of expectations, it’s still marked on the ‘W’ side of…