Bonnies

This St. Nick Not So Jolly

December 8, 2010 by Jaden Daly 1 Comment

Last year, St. John’s went upstate to play St. Bonaventure and pulled out a last-second win on the road. Last week, the Johnnies beat Wagner 69-61 two years to the day that they topped fellow NEC school St. Francis by the same score.

Tonight was, in the words of Yogi Berra, “deja vu all over again”. The Red Storm hosted the Bonnies this time around, but the road team stole the win in the final seconds. Andrew Nicholson’s mid-range jumper gave St. Bonaventure the 67-66 victory, but only after Dwight Hardy fell short on his game-winning attempt following Nicholson’s shot with 5.2 seconds remaining.

Nicholson scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and added 13 rebounds as the Bonnies (5-2) used a 10-0 second-half run to defeat St. John’s (also 5-2). The Red Storm were done in with a 10-for-20 performance at the free throw line, despite leading at halftime.

“We’ve got to improve our free throw shooting,” remarked St. John’s coach Steve Lavin after the game. “10-of-20 won’t get it done. I told our kids the things we struggled with tonight are all correctable, and that’s the good news.” Hardy’s 24 points for St. John’s were a career-high for the Bronx product, and Justin Brownlee continued his sensational start to the season by chipping in with 14 points of his own, albeit in a losing effort.

Despite the loss, there were some positives for the Johnnies. On the defensive side of the ball, St. John’s was able to hold serve by registering 14 steals and forcing 19 turnovers while committing only eight of their own. The 19 St. Bonaventure turnovers resulted in 21 points for the Johnnies, but inefficiency at the foul line sunk any chances of the Red Storm extending their winning streak to six games.

St. John’s returns to the road Saturday night as they cross the Whitestone Bridge to tip off against Fordham and head coach Tom Pecora in the Bronx for their final tuneup before the Holiday Festival.

Boothe Sinks Two to Win

November 18, 2009 by Dave Krupinski 2 Comments

St. John’s jumped out to an early lead being carried by a tenacious Sean Evans. Evans created extra possessions and scored early and often against St. Bonaventure’s Andrew Nicholson. Just when it looked like it might be an early blowout, the beast they call Nicholson awoke and went on a tear bouncing the Bonnies back to within 1, 16-17. The two teams went back and forth as St. John’s lead never exceeded 6 points as they took a 2 point lead into halftime.

St. John’s came out of the gate sluggish to start the 2nd half which put knots into every Redstorm fan’s stomach. Midway through the 2nd half the score was tied at 44 a piece. This may have been the turning point of the game as St. Bonaventure went to it’s bench taking out Nicholson and St. John’s capitalized. St. John’s went up 46-44 then DJ Kennedy hit a big 3 and Paris Horne followed that with a fast break reverse jam to give the Redstorm a 51-44 lead going on a 7-0 run.

The Bonnies were struggling from beyond the arc for most of the day, which frustrated most of their fans to no end. With the score 67-62 with 3 minutes to play in the game, the Bonnies prayers were answered as Chris Matthews drained a 3 pointer. After that possession Dwight Hardy had the ball stolen from him and Justin Burrell committed a hard foul to prevent the Bonnies from scoring. However the indicated that the foul was intentional which allowed the Bonnies to get the ball back. After Eleby sank 1 of 2 free throws the Bonnies inbounded the ball as Dele Coker committed a unecessary foul which resulted in Nicholson nailing 2 free throws to give the Bonnies a 68-67 lead with 16 seconds left in the game.

Seemingly before the radio announcers even knew what happened Boothe was flying down the court coast to coast and was fouled to go to the line with 6 seconds left. He made both free throws to take back the lead 69-68. St. Bonaventure called a timeout and drew up a play which game them a 3 point look but it was unsuccessful as St. John’s hung on for the win.

Not being able to see this game allows a lot to be left up to the imagination of how well or poor either team played. Here are some things you can walk away from this game with:

Positive: The team is 10 deep right now without Mason and Thomas. It’s nice to know if we need contributors off the bench we can have some. All the new guys played well when they came into the game. Omari, Stith, Brownlee, and Hardy all logged solid minutes and made contributions when they came into the game.

Negative: We may be too quick to yank players out of the game and go to our depth too quickly. Just because we have depth doesn’t mean you have to over use it. You can certainly give everyone enough minutes but just not all at once. This isn’t hockey the Kennedy/Horne/Evans line change in favor of Hardy/Lawrence/Brownlee isn’t going to work. We need to find different combinations to keep returning and incoming talent blended on the court.

Positive: Outside shooting doesn’t seem to be a problem anymore for this team. Kennedy and Horne have really been torching the nets.

Negative: We’re settling for way too many jumpshots when we could be getting into the lane. Our athleticism is still our strength we need to use it and the open jumpers will be there.

Positive: We’re winning ball games without Justin Burrell being a factor.

Negative: Justin Burrell isn’t being a factor. We’re gonna need him to play better in the future.

Positive: We won on the road! We won a close game!

Negative: We need to be beating the St. Bonaventure’s of the world handily not by 1 point.

Now lets take a look at the Keys to Victory from our pregame column Calm Before the Storm:

Make them Run: Well St. John’s ran at times but when you allow your opponent to make over 50% of their shots its harder to run off of made baskets. St. John’s did have success pushing the ball though. The big run in the 2nd half was sparked by turnovers and fast break points and Malik Boothe’s pushing the ball in the final seconds led to the game winning free throws.

Grade: B-

Stay Excited… But In Control: There were a few times in this game where St. John’s looked to do something with the ball but turned it over. Burrell backed down Nicholson until he pulled the chair and Burrell traveled. Kennedy and Horne both missed dunks. A few fast breaks were ruined because passes weren’t handled properly. On the other end of the floor Boothe and Burrell were in foul trouble while Dele Coker committed a bad body foul which almost cost St. John’s the game.

Grade: C

More Effective Minutes: The force (bench) was strong! Hardy and Brownlee combine for 6-9 shooting and 2-4 from beyond the arc. Omari Lawrence seemed to do a little bit of everything when he was in especially during crunch time. St. John’s got big minutes from the freshman. Also Malik Stith settled in nicely getting 3 assists in only 10 min of play. He also had a big time and 1 play which really sparked the team.

Grade: A

Defend the Post Intelligently: Perhaps this should have been mentioned twice because then the Redstorm might have listened. Andrew Nicholson did what he wanted, when he wanted. We committed silly fouls on top of letting them score at will.

Grade: C-

Rebounds: Sort of a roller coaster throughout the game. We were dominating early on especially on the offensive end of the ball but the aggressive nature on the boards seemed to have faded as the night went on. Perhaps foul trouble contributed or the Bonnies out hustled the Redstorm to those 50/50 balls.

Grade: C

Overall: C+

Johnnies Meet Bonnies

November 15, 2009 by Pico Dulce 3 Comments

Ambiance: Tighten Up Tighter, Billy Ball and the Upsetters’ version (video, pop up in another window)

Now that St. John’s has matched the combined win total of the two area NBA teams, the Knicks and the Nets, they hope to get a second win against the Atlantic 10 St. Bonaventure Bonnies in Rochester on Tuesday evening. It’s technically a neutral site contest, but being two hours away from the Bonnie’s Olean, NY campus in western New York doesn’t sound particularly neutral.

anicholson — Andrew Nicholson. By Craig Melvin, St. Bonaventure official site

This game will be an early road test against an improving squad from the A-10, featuring the league’s Rookie of the Year Andrew Nicholson, who has gotten publicity in both Sports Illustrated and Slam! Magazine. St. Bonaventure has talent and size in the paint, and capable guards; this will be a better test of the Red Storm than LIU, and a good chance for the team to see what the team can do against more comparable talent.

St. Bonaventure’s basketball team has been around since 1916, producing a few NBA players. No Bonnie player is more important than Bob Lanier, NBA Hall of Famer and the namesake of the Bonnies home basketball court. The program has fallen on hard times since current Rhode Island coach Jim Baron left. Jan van Breda Kolff and the president of the school knowingly admitted a JUCO player who had not achieved his Associate’s Degree to the program.

Playing with an ineligible player meant the program had to forfeit victories; the president and coach were booted, a number of other players left, and the Bonnies were left with a shell of a program like St. John’s was earlier this decade. The folks in western New York want to see their storied program be competitive again; a win over St. John’s would definitely excite their fanbase.

This observer has gripes about St. John’s play – the preponderance of three-pointers in particular – but if they had driven it inside, and Kennedy and Horne had been the main scorers, one could have said that the game meant little. They showed something out there with the ability to hit from distance. But they will need a more controlled game to play the boys from Olean.

Game Information
Tip Off: 7:00PM
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, N.Y.
TV: None
Radio: Bloomberg 1130AM, WPIG 95.7FM/ WHDL 1450AM (Olean, NY), WHTK 1280AM (Rochester)

Team Previews

St. Bonaventure (1-0)

(note: the first set of statistics are from the game against Cleveland State on 11/13/09, the second from last year’s averages.)

4 G Chris Matthews SR 6’4 212: 5 Pts/ 6 Ast;
in 2008-2009: 12.1 ppg/ 2.9 apg/ 3.5 rpg

5 G Jonathan Hall SR 6’5” 220: 20Pts/ 8 Reb/ 14 FgA/ 71% FG;
in 2008-2009: 12.9 ppg/ 6.3 rpg/ 3 apg/ 1 spg

20 PG Malcolm Eleby JR 6’3 200: 5 Pts/ 4 Ast/ 4TO;
in 2008-2009: 7 ppg/ 3.4 rpg/ 1.4 spg

21 F Da’Quan Cook SO 6’9 226: 11 Mins;
in 2008-2009: 1.6 ppg/ 1.2 rpg

44 F Andrew Nicholson SO 6’9 225: 17 Pts/ 7 Reb/ 4 Blk/ 70% FG/ 6 FTA;
in 2008-2009: 12.5 ppg/ 6 rpg/ 2.7 bpg/ 60%FG

Bench:

32 G Michael Davenport SO 6’4 196: 19 Pts/ 4 Reb
in 2008-2009: 3.3 ppg/ 2.2 rpg/ 32.1% 3ptFg

In their opener, St. Bonaventure enjoyed a hot first half, with star sophomore and A-10 Rookie of the Year Andrew Nicholson scoring 14 of his 17 points in the first half, with help from Jonathan Hall, and surprise contributions from Michael Davenport, who has worked on his game this summer. The Bonnies used a three-quarter court trap to frustrate the Cleveland State Vikings, dunked at will, and enjoyed numerous trips to the free throw line. The young Vikings guards lost their composure under the pressure, according to coach Gary Waters.

For more on the Bonaventure win, you can also see the Bona Blog’s recap of the game.

St. John’s (1-0)

stjohns (note: the first set of statistics are from the game against Long Island U. on 11/13/09, the second from last year’s averages.)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 2 Pts/ 7 Ast/ 2 Stl/ 2 TO
in 2008-2009: 6.4 ppg* 4.4 apg* 3.1 rpg* 1.5 spg

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 12 Pts/ 5 Reb (4 OffReb)/ 33% (2-6) 3PtFg
in 2008-2009: 14.6 ppg* 3.4 rpg* 1.6 spg

1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 16 Pts/ 57% (4-7) 3PtFg/ 7 Reb (2 OffReb)/ 2 ast/ 2 to
in 2008-2009: 13 ppg* 6.6 rpg* 3 apg* 1.5 spg* 73% FTMade

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 12 pts/ 8 Reb (6 DefReb)/ 2 Blk
in 2008-2009: 9 ppg* 4.5 rpg* .8 bpg* 36.4% 3PtMade

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 3 Pts/ 4 Reb (3 OffReb)
in 2008-2009: 10.3 ppg* 7.1 rpg* 1 spg* 51.4% FGMade

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR : 14 Pts/ 4 Ast/ 33% (2-6) 3PtFg/ 25 Mins
in 2008-2009: JUCO

32 F Justin Brownlee JR : 12 Pts/ 7 Reb (3 OffReb)/ 2 Stl/ 22 Mins
in 2008-2009: JUCO

The Red Storm was paced by DJ Kennedy, who has found his inner outside shooter. The biggest hole in his game was probably the unreliable jump shot, but just because he can hit from distance doesn’t mean that DJ should ignore all the things he does well off the bounce. Of the starters, Justin Burrell’s time was limited with foul trouble, but his aggressiveness was on display on both ends; Burrell was more of the forward the fans thought he would be. But overall, the response was mixed; St. John’s struggled a little in putting LIU to bed.

Horne and Evans had forgettable openers. Boothe made plays with assists, but he will likely have to score at some point this season. And in general, a team that has never shot the three ball well shouldn’t be settling for outside jumpers just to show off; they should work the ball around, attack the defense’s weak points, and control the pace of the game. The long jump shots are nice, but the ball needs to get down low.

At the end of the bench, Dele Coker, Omari Lawrence, and Quincy Roberts had great games, making plays when they got in and showing that this team might actually be very deep. Hardy’s shot was off, and it seemed that he might be a little uncomfortable at the point, but he made plays; and Brownlee made plays as well.

Keys to the Game

Make Them Run. You want to play fast? This is a good game to test out the limits of playing fast. Nicholson can be a difference maker, but big men are generally not eager to get into an up and down game, especially not one who takes high percentage shots in the post. The Red Storm should look to run and test the Bonaventure athletes on defense. And in this testing, the Storm needs draw fouls on offense and force turnovers on defense.

Stay Excited… But In Control. The game on Friday against LIU showed the newfound excitement the players have for their style of play. But it is important to stay in control – taking smart shots, controlling the pace on defense, and not turning the ball over. In the second half, especially, the Johnnies seemed to lose their concentration, letting the Blackbirds back into the game. The team has to look to assert control from beginning to end.

More Effective Minutes. Friday’s opener was a feature for newcomers Dwight Hardy and Justin Brownlee, and for DJ Kennedy. Meanwhile, Sean Evans had a real game to forget, taking a few jump shots and only pulling down 4 boards in 21 minutes. And in truth, most of the starters could have played better on offense and defense. Burrell’s minutes were limited by foul trouble, and he needs to play more. Horne’s shot was a little off (including an airball). Malik Boothe didn’t make a field goal. This team needs more impact minutes from the starters.

Defend the Post Intelligently. Against a post player who will get his touches in Andrew Nicholson, the Red Storm need to defend intelligently. This means keeping him out of his favored positions, not picking up silly touch fouls, and not leaving the paint exposed for backdoor dunk/ layup attempts from his teammates. Expect to see Evans use his strength on Nicholson, and hopefully Coker will log some minutes without fouling. His shot blocking was an asset to the interior defense.

Rebounds. Offensive rebounding was a key to maintaining control of the Long Island University game, and the team will need to control the glass in Rochester. On defense, Justin Burrell was a glass cleaner. But against the smaller Blackbirds, one would have liked to see the Red Storm keep them off the glass more (especially the guards).

Prediction: Could be a tough game, especially if the Storm play like they did on Friday. Here’s saying they will take this game more seriously. St. John’s wins on the road, 79-70.

Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter is a/k/a Pico. He writes for the East Coast Bias and the Church of Bracketology. He’ll be doing the Calm Before the Storm posts, just like last year.