The Bonnies smoked the Hawks on January 19th in the conference opener. It was so bad that St. Joe’s had to see the Bonnies play the walk-on. Going into the game on Tuesday, the brown and white are looking to get back on the right track after getting manhandled by conference mate Virginia Commonwealth University. Bonnies Head Coach Mark Schmidt has to be feeling confident after the blowout at the early end of the schedule.
Since the start of the conference slate the young age of the “wolf pack” has shown tremendously. Momentum was the key to success for both units of the contest. There was also hope in the air as Schmidt needed one to clinch the all-time victories record for Bona.
Lorenzo Edwards came out “flapping his wings” with a three-pointer to make it look like the Hawks were going to fire all night long. The Bonnies or, should I say Ladarien Griffin, and Courtney Stockard responded very well. Kyle Lofton chipped in some assistance to put the Bonnies up 14-6. The Hawks chipped away to make it a three, and then a five-point game. The Bonnies swatted the Hawks away yet again to lead 27-18 with 7:33 left in the opening portion. In the first twenty minutes, Hawks sharp-shooter Charlie Brown was almost dead on the hardwood. At the half, the Bonnies were halfway done with the journey to a blowout leading 41-25. The brown and white shot a solid 54.6% beyond the arc. The Bonnies extended the margin to 22.
With under fourteen left, the Bonnies led the way by 26 points. In the lopsided contest, it was all Bonnies leading 67-36 with 6:44 remaining. The Bonnies led from buzzer to buzzer in dominant fashion. The brown and white really cracked the whip as the Hawks shot only 29% on the night. On the other side of the ball, the brown and white performed well compared to the last two. They shot 51% from the floor and 8-19 from beyond the arc. It was icing on the cake when Mark Schmidt tied Larry Weise for all-time wins in the 76-51 blowout victory.
Two seniors really showed up to play. Courtney Stockard put 19 points in the book and Ladarien Griffin punched in with 10 boards. Griffin also had 16 points to make his efforts enough for a double-double.
Overall, it was a great night as the brown and white’s success on the road continues after they won their fourth consecutive road game. The Bonnies better study because they have a test Sunday at Reilly Center against George Mason.