Box Score Location: St. Bonaventure, N.Y. | Blue Cross Arena
Box Score (PDF)
St. Bonaventure Starters: #4 G Nelson Kaputo, #2 G Matt Mobley, #1 G Idris Taqqee, #12 F Denzel Gregg, #0 F David Andoh
The Short Story
Defense has not been the lead of many stories about St. Bonaventure this season, but playing without Atlantic 10 leading scorer Jaylen Adams for the second straight game, it was defense that fueled the Bonnies' 73-53 win over Fordham on Saturday at Blue Cross Arena.
The Rams' 53 points was the lowest allowed by the Bonnies this season. Fordham made just 35 percent of its shots, including 24 percent (7-29) in the second half, as St. Bonaventure pulled away for its third A-10 win of the season.
Matt Mobley led all scorers with 25 points. He was 7-11 shooting and made five three-pointers. Senior Denzel Gregg, a Syracuse native, scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Freshman Josh Ayeni set season highs with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Coach Mark Schmidt won his 157th game at St. Bonaventure, moving him into sole possession of second place on the program's all-time coaching wins list. He entered the game tied with Jim Satalin.
How It Happened:
- The Bonnies struggled with Fordham's pressing defense early in the game, committing three early turnovers as the Rams jumped out to a 9-4 lead.
- St. Bonaventure regained its composure and took the lead midway through the half with a 10-3 run that made it 16-15.
- It was a 25-all tie when the Bonnies scored seven straight points to open a 32-25 edge with 3:28 left until halftime.
- The Bonnies led 38-32 at halftime.
- St. Bonaventure pulled away in the second half using its defense to force long and contested shots.
- It was a 54-45 game with 9:30 left when the Bonnies pulled away. Fordham did not score for a span of 7:29, and St. Bonaventure's 17-0 run sealed the outcome.
- Bona shot 26-of-29 from the foul line for a season-best 89.7 percent.
- Mobley went 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, one off his season-high of six threes made vs. Florida in November.
St. Bonaventure Coach Mark Schmidt:
"It's hard to simulate what (Fordham) does in practice. It's very unique. After the first timeout we saw what they were doing and we got comfortable with the speed they were doing it at. From there we attacked really well. Nelson had six assists and did a really good job of dealing with the pressure that he was under."
"We defended better today; our zone was really active. I thought our guys listened and really executed well. I thought we got to the shooters better and only had 16 fouls. We defended better today and that was one of the keys."
"That pass out of the trap has to be a good one. We wanted our guys to attack, drive and kick and we were successful enough today. That's one of the reasons we got to the line as much as we did."
"Whenever you lose someone like Jay, other guys have to step up and play even better. I thought against Richmond our better players just played average. When you have your best player sitting on the bench your other guys have to play better and today they did."
Beyond The Boxscore:
- Attendance for Saturday's game was 6,386.
- The Bonnies used a starting lineup of Andoh, Taqqee, Mobley, Kaputo and Gregg for the first time.
- Nelson Kaputo handed out a season high six assists.
- Matt Mobley played 39 minutes and continued his trend of playing 34 or more minutes in every game this season.
- The Bonnies' 26 made free throws are third-most this season (33 at UMass; 27 vs. Army West Point).
Up Next: St. Bonaventure will head west to visit Saint Louis on Tuesday night at 9:00 ET.
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