Written By Matt Shalloe
The Bonnies hosted the Coppin State Eagles Wednesday night in the Reilly Center. They hoped to get things back on track after a tough home loss to Northern Iowa Panthers over the weekend. The Bonnies dropped from the AP Top 25 for the first time this season with the loss. They came into Wednesday night with a chip on their shoulder, with hopes and aspirations to have a ranking next to their name yet again.
The Eagles came into this game with a record of 1-9, suffering blowout loss after blowout loss. In a way, it was a perfect opportunity for the Bonnies to bounce back after Saturday’s loss. And they did just that. The final score of the game was 93 to 81 in favor of the Bonnies, but it didn’t always look like it was going to be that way.
Coppin State
Halftime hit, and the Eagles saw themselves clinging onto a four point lead, 44 to 40. They led by as many as 12 points, and actually held a lead for 38 percent of the game, a mark that was not expected coming into this game. All of the success that Coppin State had was owed to sophomore guard Jesse Zarzuela, as he finished the game with 27 points on 50 percent shooting.
Junior forward Tyree Corbett and freshman guard Nendah Tarke also enjoyed nice games for the Eagles. They scored 16 and 17 points, respectfully. The Eagles shot a solid 45 percent from the field. The 81 points they scored tonight is the most they have scored in a game all season long.
St. Bonaventure
As for the Bonnies, it was the usually suspects providing the scoring. Senior guard Jaren Holmes did his thing, tallying 24 points on an astounding 10-for-14 shooting from the field. Holmes added 10 rebounds as well as six assists, really doing it all for the Bonnies in this one.
Senior forward Jalen Adaway was a monster on the glass as well, finishing with 16 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. The Bonnies were able to win the rebound battle by a final tally of 44 to 32, which proved to be one of the major reasons they were able to win this game.
The Bonnies suffered a little bit of a scare with about two minutes to go. Senior guard, and captain, Kyle Lofton went down holding his knee in his own end. He was helped off the court and was unable to put any weight on the injured leg. When asked about the injury, head coach Mark Schmidt was pretty straightforward in his reluctance to diagnose Lofton, simply saying “I’m not a doctor.”
This win sees the Bonnies improve their record to 6-1. The hunt to find a ranking once again will continue on Saturday. The Bonnies will play host to another solid WNY basketball team in the UB Bulls, at 4 o’clock.
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