3/9/2025
The Bonnies completed an undefeated week by nipping UMass by 1 at the Reilly Center on Wednesday followed by a rare road win down in North Carolina defeating Davidson by a count of 64-61. The victory over UMass was in front of what appeared to be a disinterested spring break crowd of 3,457, as the game volleyed back and forth like a food fight at Faber College.
Melvin Council Jr. failed to play 40 minutes due to some early foul trouble, forcing Coach Schmidt to deploy three bench players, including one normally relegated to an auxiliary cheer squad role.
Council Jr. returned to his staple of 40 minutes, and along with Noel Brown, led the victory in Davidson with 15 and 14 points respectively. The two wins with other on-goings in the A-10, helped the Bonnies secure the 8th seed and a date with Duquesne on Thursday morning at 11:30am Eastern. The winner likely meets their demise in the Quarterfinals on Friday vs VCU.
3/2/2025
The Bonnies dropped their only game of the week 75-64 to St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia after entering the half tied at 35. The Bonnies were led again by Melvin Council Jr. and his 18 points over his 40 minutes of play. Lajae Jones chipped in 14 during his 40 minutes of court time as well. This marked the 5th game that the Bonnies have dropped while leading or tied at the half…..so for those of us into trends or familiar with becoming more tired as a game progresses….extended minutes might impact effectiveness.
Bonas’ host UMass on Wednesday before the final regular season game at Davidson next Saturday. The Bonnies currently sit tied for 9th with UMass, so no longer control their own A-10 seeding destiny, trailing GW by a half a game and Duquesne by a full game. GW’s remaining game is at Fordham (and they hold the Head 2 Head tie breaker), while the Dukes still have games with VCU and St. Louis and split the season series with the Bonnies.
2/23/2025
It was 80’s weekend at St. Bonaventure this weekend! In a departure from a great decade, the event was largely absent Big Hair, Leg Warmers, Polo Shirts with Preppy Collars, Members Only jackets, mixed tapes and Bonnie defeats; as the squad delivered a Hickey Dining Hall Dish best served cold, REVENGE! The Bonnies avenged their earlier road defeat at the hands of the fighting LeBron James’ Dukes of Duquesne Saturday by a count of 70-63. Once again the squad was led by ironman Melvin Council Jr., with 40 minutes and 20 points, and Lajae Jones matching the 40 minutes with 24 points. Coach Schmidt’s 6 man rotation was effective with a week in between tilts, as the Bonnies improved to 7-8 in Conference. Only one game on tap this week with a trip to Philadelphia to meet St. Joe’s before two games the last week of the regular season, at home vs UMass and on the road at Davidson. The Bonnies are currently in a two way tie for 7th in league play with GW (who owns the tie breaker), with a game in hand over Rhode Island, Davidson, Duquesne.
2/16/2025
The Bonnies split their two games this week in the coastal northeast, dropping a game vs the Rhode Island Rams 68-64 after leading by a dozen at the half, only to whip the Minutemen of Massachusetts on Saturday 73-59 and never trailed after the 10 minute mark of the first half.
Ironman Melvin Council Jr. played all 40 minutes, helping keep his season average over 36.5 minutes per game, In fact, of the 1080 available minutes this season, Council Jr. has played 985.5. It’s unclear whether the bench lacks depth, their ability, or the trust of Head Coach Mark Schmidt, but since Dasonte Bowen went down in early December, the Bonnies have had four players average over 30 minutes a game, with Jonah Hinton averaging a shade under 28 minutes per game. In contrast to the other A-10 members that have a record better than .500 in conference, conference leading George Mason has one player averaging 30+ minutes per game; VCU – one; Dayton – Two; Loyola Chicago - One; St. Louis is the only squad comparable with five averaging 29.7 minutes or more.
NIL money will continue to impact the year over year roster for every NCAA team, the Bonnies no exception, and the hope of player continuity is a thing of yesteryear. The lack of any contribution from the bench makes an A-10 tournament run seem incredibly unlikely, and the Bona faithful may need to plan accordingly and accept that a better than .500 record on an annual basis and an occasional run to a NCAA berth is the best once can hope for. That, and ice cold beers and tremendous burgers at The Burton!!
2/9/2025
The "good vibe, best record start since 1969" Bonnies have hit the proverbial wall as the schedule has gotten tougher in A-10 play. Not unexpected due to the fugazy win-loss record through the cupcake portion of the early season. St. Bona’s were buried by Loyola Chicago on the road Tuesday, marking the 4th loss in the last 6 games by a score of more than double digits, this one a 77-53 thrashing at the hands of Jesuits in Wolf Mascot clothing. The squad returned home for a Super Bowl Sunday clash, where student attendance appeared as sparse as mine at Friedsam Memorial Library in the late 80’s. Not uncommon to me, per se, but a majority of students were apparently sleeping off a raucous mid winter Saturday night.
Following the loss to the sub .500 in conference play George Washington Revolutionaries, one of the finer mascot uni’s in the business, the Bonnies now sit at 5-7 in A10 play, and towards the back half of the Conference Standings. Barring a reversal of fortune in the six remaining regular season conference games, including four on the road, Bonas will likely end the regular season with less than 20 wins prior to the start of the A10 tournament in Washington and possibly setting themselves up for a First Round game on Wednesday March 12th , not the preferred path in getting an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2/1/2025
The Bonnies completed a 2-0 week, with a blowout win over the Dayton Flyers and a nail-biting, nearly spitting the bit, victory over the Fordham Rams on Saturday. In what is increasingly an alarming trend, particularly at the friendly confines of the Reilly Center, Bona's continues to play to their level of competition. Dayton visited ranked 72nd in Net Rankings; 70th in Ken Pom; 84th in Torvik; and 71st in Massey Ratings, was easily dispatched by 22. Conversely, the middling Fordham team, who Bona’s previously whipped by 20 on the road, were defeated by a mere 2, despite the Rams being ranked 218th in Net Rankings; 203rd in Ken Pom; 207th in Torvik and 193rd in Massey’s rating.
The upcoming week includes a visit to Chicago to face Loyola before returning home for a Super Bowl Sunday clash vs George Washington. With only 8 regular season games remaining on the schedule, and absent any opportunity of resume building Quad 1 or Quad 2 victories, Bonaventure's postseason hopes will rely on obscure Lent repentance vows of ZERO losses at the A-10 tournament, contested at the Capital One Center in Washington DC this year.
1/25/2025
The Bonnies completed an abysmal week with two losses, extending the overall losing streak to 3. In what amounted to a week filled of pardons, neither school were offering any to Bonas as both VCU and George Mason took their nicknames literally to heart by Ram(ming) some Patriots through the Bonnies defense.
Both games were a Tale of Two Halves. First was a home thrashing by George Mason, 75-62, after the Patriots rolled to a 14 point half time lead; followed by a 2nd half Friday night implosion vs VCU, where mascot Rodney the Ram and his fellow teammates ramrodded back from a 10 point second half deficit to claim victory as the Bonnies failed down the stretch scoring 10 points over the last 6 minutes, after cutting the deficit to three.
The club closes out their January schedule hosting the Dayton Flyers on Tuesday, trying to better the 2-5 January record. Three successive double digit losses sadly maybe a harbinger of “to be or not to be” things ahead. A once promising season of dining on out of conference cream puffs may have set the fanbase up for an all too familiar disappointment of an empty calorie winter season weight gain. Lack of rotational depth around injuries will continue to plague the team as nearly every starter played 40 minutes vs VCU, including Chance Moore, who missed the George Mason game with a foot injury.
1/18/2025
The Bonnies improved to 15-3 and 3-2 in the A10 with a 63-49 victory over the Spiders of Richmond. Under the more you know headline and right from a Seinfeld episode, the Spiders got their nickname from a sportswriter describing a former pitcher in 1894….and the names involved are just TREMENDOUS. Ragland Chesterman, sportswriter, described the lanky arms and legs of Puss Ellyson as a Spider, which became the permanent mascot in the 1920’s. Despite extensive review, neither Chesterman, no known relation to the proctologist in Fusilli Jerry, nor Puss, were names redacted in conformance to political correctness.
To ensure equity from historical nicknames, Bonaventure has used the Bona Wolf for the last 25 years after a failed Bona Fanatic attempt from 1996 to 1998. The Bona Fanatic was panned by nearly everyone associated with the University and resembled a red-faced rotund Smokey the Bear. From 1927 to 1992, the Bonnies mascot was the Brown Indian, and from 1967 to 1992, included a female Brown Squaw. Both names and images were dropped because it was considered disrespectful to the Seneca Nation, who are currently offering two-way sides and totals at -110 for the full slate of College Basketball games on the rotation schedule via bricks and mortar wagering at any nearby establishment.
The Bonnies traveled to Pittsburgh on Saturday for an A10 meeting with Duquesne, led by former LeBron James HS Teammate Dru Joyce III. The non-Randolph/Mortimar Dukes rolled out to a quick halftime lead and coasted to an 18 point victory. The Bonnies fall to 15-4 and 3-3 in the A10 and any reality based NCAA aspirations will come down to the A10 Tournament……further extending the unspoken ‘curse of the Barend Domination Rankings Refrigerator.
1/11/2025
The Bonnies dropped both A10 games this week, Wednesday in St. Louis by a 74-69 margin, and then on a 3-point buzzer beater in overtime by A10 winless La Salle at the Reilly Center on Saturday. The Bonnies record now stands at 14-3 overall and 2-2 in league play. All 5 starters played in excess of 40 minutes on Saturday, long a staple to the Mark Schmidt coaching style.
The season is getting late awful early as the club sits mid table in the A-10, a conference that is unlikely to garner support for more than one automatic bid and will likely fall significantly in all of the important measurement sticks for post season basketball. And of greater concern, the precipitous fall down the Barend refrigerator Domination Rankings where the Bonnies entered the week in the Top 10, and now find themselves buried under ice packs and frozen peas in the base of the bottom freezer…..and spring is far far away in the greater Olean/Allegany area.
1/4/2025
St. Bonaventure closed out calendar 2024 by nipping VCU at the buzzer, 77-75, prior to heading down the New York State Thruway to the Bronx on Saturday, where they quickly rewarded the nearby alumni faithful in attendance’s with a blowout of host Fordham by the count of 86-66. Balanced scoring was the elixir as Melvin Council Jr. led the Bonnies scoring attack in both games. The Bonnies with the win improved to 14-1 on the season, continuing to make the #17 Domination Ranking of CBT Editor In Chief appear to be prescient, despite other national publications holding Bonas in the 50+ ranking range.
Additionally, there are reports that Bonnies have requested afternoon tilts for the balance of the regular season so the faithful can maximize an early start time of imbibing in celebratory victories, but have yet to confirm the rumors of adjusted scheduling.
12/22/2024
The Bonnies continued to excel in the early season, besting Siena by 17 in Albany on Tuesday Night, and in the process, retained the coveted Franciscan Cup. For those unaware of the Franciscan Cup, the Bonnies now hold an 9 to 5 advantage since it’s illustrious introduction in 2010, and improved to 34-12 overall vs Siena since the series began in 1939-40. On Saturday, the Bonnies returned home to beat a middling Niagara team by the count of 71-52. Despite the gaudy 12-1 record to start the season, Bonas remains mired between the 70’s and 80’s in all of the major power rankings; yet for those of us that rarely saw 12 victories over a full season during our college experience, it’s been a smile filled reminiscent experience when the Burton and OP had 50 cent draft night …..more change in your pocket with the comparable level of weekend inebriation. Happy times!!!
12/15/2024
The Bonnies "Unfurled" their 10th victory of the 2024-25 College Basketball Season with a “never trailing” performance vs the Friars of Providence on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino. The Bona faithful, in between hands of blackjack and numerous front line winners throwing dice at the craps tables, were treated to Melvin Council Jr. #11 pouring in 24 points to lead the squad. For those of a certain age, a quick shoutout to Bona great Kyle Anglin, who proudly wore #11. Noel Brown, Lajae Jones and Chance Moore also contributed double digit scoring in the victory. For those that dabble in the gaming markets, the Bonnie victory was an upset as most had forecasted a Friar win. The team stops off to face Siena on Tuesday in Albany, prior to returning home for finals and a visit from Niagara on Saturday.
12/8/2024
The Bonnies, fresh off two victories over Quad 4 opponents vs Bucknell and Buffalo, now sport a lofty 9-1 record to start the season. This mark ties the 2024-2025 team with the best start to a season with two other squads, the 1969-1970 season and the COVID 2020-2021 team. The 1969-1970 Bonnies, 55 years ago, were led by Bob Lanier, and jetted out to a 21-1 record, before losing the national semifinal game on March 19, 1970. The 2020-2021 Bonnies lost game 11 to Saint Louis, on their way to a 16-5 record and an NCAA berth. Next up is Providence, who currently sits 5 spots below Bonaventure in the Massey ratings, comfortably in the mid 80’s in power rankings. Not one to usually provide health guidance, but we strongly recommend the faithful NOT holding their collective breath expecting a Top 25 AP Ranking in this calendar year. Providence will be the biggest test remaining until the start of the A10 schedule New Years Eve, with only Siena and Niagara remaining on the schedule. Siena and Niagara should further improve the Quad 4 record, since neither team currently sits in the top 275 teams, at the moment.
11/30/2024
St. Bonaventure’s “best start to a season” in school history ended with a 5 point defeat to Utah State on Thursday. The Bonnies led by 6 at the half, but were undone by several lengthy scoring droughts throughout the 2nd half, eerily reminiscent of Dave Barend’s college dating success in the greater Allegany / Olean area, per reputable sources. The Bonnies netted a total of 3 points from the 16:48 to 6:33 mark of the 2nd half, and while we’d never outwardly try to dampen the spirits of the Bona faithful by suggesting the 6-0 mark was completely fugazy (probably wouldn’t), nor was a reversion to the mean a shock to anyone….the average power ranking of teams they’ve defeated to start the season in D1 was 269.8 per Massey ratings (total 364 teams), including (2) bottom 20 (Canisius and Le Moyne) teams in Division 1…..and a Div 2 team ranked 299th. If only Thanksgiving calories were as empty as Bonas’ gaudy 6-0 record. Nonetheless, the squad responded to the loss with a victory vs #162 ranked Northern Iowa on Friday by exhibiting the same level of gumption, fervor, and conviction that Dave has shown in dealing with life’s many disappointments, including our collective musings!!
11/24/2024
St. Bonnies, a present day scheduling pseudonym for “Master of the Quad 4 win”, picked up two victories this week vs Mansfield (Div 2) and the Bryant Bulldogs on Sunday. For those logging the schedule at home, the Bonnies two road wins look a tick less spectacular by the day, since last Tuesday Canisius was nipped 108-37 by Maryland, assuming Canisius resides in the neighborhood of “nipped” as an appropriate past tense verb for a 71 point loss. The other road W, Florida Gulf Coast sports a 1-5 record on the year. The Bonnies this week will break from the inauspicious tradition of Joe Manhertz decision making, having ACCEPTED a preseason NIT bid and will play the Aggies of Utah State Thursday at 5:30pm from Lake Buena Vista Florida. For those unfamiliar with the Aggies, they spanked Iowa this week, so I suggest you plan the timing of your Thanksgiving Dinner accordingly…and in true Western NY fashion, be sufficiently into the beverage portion of day by tip off!!
11/7/2024
The Bonnies improved to 2-0 dispatching Canisius 87-78 on Saturday. The Bonnies were led by Chance Moore's 27 Points and the chance for more (in all of its' spellings) will be the operative words for the 24-25 rendition of Bonas, since the defense has appeared less than formidable to start the season. Up next is the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in Fort Myers, prior to Titanic clashes at home vs Le Moyne, Mansfield Mountaineers (apparently hailing from Pennsylvania), and Bryant prior to the Thanksgiving Break.
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