Nov 6, 2009
Nicholson leads Bonnies past Mansfield in exhibition
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Behind a
game-high 29 points and eight rebounds
from sophomore forward Andrew
Nicholson, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball
team held off a feisty Mansfield club for a 82-74 wire-to-wire
exhibition win on Friday evening at the Reilly Center.
Nicholson finished 10-of-12 from the field, highlighted by four
dunks, and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Senior Jonathan
Hall chipped in with 16 points and six assists as the
team’s only other double figure scorer. The duo combined for
45 of the team’s 82 points.
“It was a good first game for us and give Mansfield all the
credit … they kept on working. I thought there were spurts
where we looked good and there were times where we
didn’t,” said head coach Mark
Schmidt. “In order to be successful we need to
defend and rebound and that’s something we didn’t do
well with tonight.”
The problems on the defensive end and on the boards came thanks to
Nicholson’s counterpart Yuseff Carr, who was the story for
Mansfield. The 6-foot-6, 286-lb. forward muscled his way to 19
points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
For the game, St. Bonaventure shot a blistering 57 percent (27-47)
from the floor and made 25-of-34 from the charity stripe. The
Bonnies 21 assists came at the cost of 15 turnovers, but it was the
45 second half points allowed that troubled Schmidt.
“The concern isn’t the shooting, the concern is the
defense. They score 45 points in the second half and that’s
unacceptable,” Schmidt said. “The score 74 points for
the game- that’s unacceptable. We knew they were a good team;
it’s just that we didn’t execute the way we needed to
execute.”
Mansfield shot a modest 41 percent (27-66) for the game, but
excelled on the glass, holding a 38-33 advantage. The Mountaineers
were able to supplement their shooting percentage with 17 offensive
rebounds, including seven from Carr.
Leading 8-7 early in the first half, the Bonnies created some
separation with an 11-3 run behind some full court pressure and
easy baskets. Hall began the spurt in style, converting on an
alley-oop from classmate Chris
Matthews. Junior Ogo
Adegboye added a layup off a steal, while freshman Demitrius
Conger followed with a three-pointer. Nicholson then
put an exclamation on the run with a dunk over a Mansfield player
that also drew a foul and made the score 19-10 with 11:03
remaining.
The Bona lead hovered around double-digits for the remainder of
the half and reached as high as 14, 33-19, on a three-pointer by
Adegboye with 3:30 left in the half.
Mansfield held the Brown and White to just one basket over the
final 3:30, cutting the score to 37-29 at the break. The Bonnies
shot a solid 56 percent (14-25) from the field in the opening 20
minutes and passed out 11 assists on 14 made field goals.
After the Mountaineers cut it to a six-point game, 39-33, in the
first minute of the second half, the Bonnies built the lead back up
to 12, 47-35, by the 16:21 mark. Nicholson scored six of the eight
points during the quick 8-2 run.
The Bona lead dipped below double-digits on a pair of occasions
over the middle of the half, but back-to-back dunks by Nicholson
separated by just 28 seconds gave the home team its largest lead of
the game at 64-49 with 8:32 remaining.
Mansfield threatened late in the half, cutting the deficit to
75-68 with just over two minutes left, but St. Bonaventure was able
to hold off any kind of serious comeback.
Redshirt sophomore Da’Quan
Cook turned in 23 productive minutes with six points
and a team-high nine boards. Adegboye had a productive first game
in the Brown and White with nine points in 17 minutes of action.
Matthews finished with just five points, but had a great floor game
with six rebounds, eight assists and no turnovers.
Led by Carr, five players scored in double figures for
Mansfield.
St. Bonaventure will open regular season on Friday, Nov. 13
against 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Cleveland State. Gametime
on Bob Lanier Court is scheduled for 7 p.m.
