On Wednesday night, St. Bonaventure defeated Mansfield College 76-54 in the Reilly Center to improve to 5-0. Transfer Chance Moore led St. Bonaventure in scoring (16 points) and rebounding (12 rebounds) to help the Bonnies take home a commanding win.
Moore’s performance really propelled the Bonnies. They only had a six-point lead to end the first half against the Division II Mountaineers.
“I thought that, in the first half, we didn’t play the way I expected us to play,” said St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt in a postgame press conference.
Schmidt also mentioned that the team looked lethargic and lacked energy to start the game.
“The zone had something to do with it. We’re not a great shooting team, and they really packed it in,” said Schmidt.
However, the Bonnies came out hot to start the second half and never looked back, outsourcing Mansfield 40-24 in that half. In the 10 minutes of the second half, they went on a 26-12 run, giving Mansfield little breathing room that stayed the duration of the game.
Schmidt attributed a lot of tonight’s victory to starting point guard Dasonte Bowen.
“Eight assists and one turnover, that’s a pretty good night,” said Schmidt on Bowen’s performance.
Bowen, a transfer from Iowa, has given the Bonnies a boost on both sides of the ball, proving to be a good pressure pusher on defense that carries over to being a very solid playmaker on the offensive side.
“In the second half, he really started pressuring the ball… and it really lifted us,” said Schmidt.
A big problem in the early stages of this season for the Bonnies has been 3-point shooting. They only made seven of their 25 shots from behind the arc on Wednesday.
Looking ahead to Sunday afternoon, the Bonnies will face off against the Bryant Bulldogs and an old friend in Barry Evans. Evans averaged 3.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in his two years with the Bonnies.
However, now starting with the Bulldogs, Evans is a different player. In his first four games, he is averaging 15.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while leading the nation in field goal percentage, 58.1%, and efficient field goal percentage, 67.4%. Evans, a fan favorite in his two years at Bonaventure, should receive a warm welcome back this Sunday.
