The BV Online continues to move into the next century with the set up of this blog. Thanks for reading our rambling.
Might as well start out with the biggest news in St. Bonaventure sports, the run of the men's rugby team (sorry, men's basketball). The ruggers took a tough loss Saturday at the Northeast Rugby Union tournament in West Point to Middlebury in the final minute of play. While the loss is a set back, it shouldn't be too much of a discouragement--Middlebury is a power in the league, ranking atop the polls for the past two seasons. Furthermore, the Outlaw ruggers' run isn't done yet-- they play again today, and thanks to the point differential from their blowout victories all season, they still stand a shot at advancing....
Which brings me to this thought: why hasn't the ruggers' success been a bigger story? Sure, it's gotten the attention of local media outlets, but only in passing. Is it the "club sport" image? Is it because rugby isn't a "mainstream" sport here in the States? Either way, I think the guys are getting a bit short changed. It is nice to see the turnout growing each home game, though.
Now, let's take a look inside the box score from the Bonnies' loss to Boston University in men's basketball Friday night.
Of course, I'd hoped the Bonnies could pull out the 'W' here. That hope was probably a bit unrealistic, though. The Terriers are a team that thoroughly stomped SBU at the RC last year, they could've beaten the Bonnies by 50 if they hadn't "put the dogs in" as new coach Mark Schmidt said. The game seemed pretty close throughout though, so all in all a huge improvement over last year's result vs. BU.
-Interesting to see Matt Morgan only get one minute of play. With Da'Quan Cook out, the Bonnies sorely lack a big man presence , although D'Lancy Carter appears to be Schmidt's man for now.... I expected to see the 6'8'' Morgan get some action. He appeared a bit stiff in the Slippery Rock exhibition and Schmidt apparently has little faith in the frosh at this point.
-Sounded like a bit of a struggle for G Malcom Eleby. All in all, not a bad DI debut for the standout recruit, though. As Eleby goes, the Bonnies will go this season, in my opinion. When Eleby shows flashes of his ability, the Bonnies will succeed. When he plays like the freshman he is, which will be most games, the short-benched Bonnies will really struggle. Twenty minutes for Eleby here, that might be the fewest minutes he sees all season. Expect 25 Monday at home.
-An absolutely abysmal performance by Tyler Relph. He went 0-for-7 from the field and put up a donut for the game. For some reason, both within the student section at games and on certain online message boards, Relph remains an icon. I've been waiting for three plus years now for this vaunted image of Relph to show up, and I've yet to see it. Ever. Even in glimpses. The numbers don't lie: Relph just isn't a good player. Whatever he was in high school he isn't in college, not at this level, not ever. There's been many calls to "free Peaches," but it is the Bonnies who will be freed when the oft-injured guard graduates at season's end.
-Sorry to see Fereti struggle. He's the streakiest player to wear Brown and White in some time. He'll be on fire one night and then won't be able to buy a basket for the next three games. He's an exciting player, though.
-Finally, an observation on coach Schmidt: Walking past practice in the RC this year as well as watching him at the SRU exhibition, I've seen Schmidt do more coaching thus far than Anthony Solomon did in four years. Schmidt is an in-your-face type of guy, showing the players exactly how he wants business to be done. After a few months of the Schmidt era, I'm completely on this guy's bandwagon. His squad might not win more than Anthony Solomon's Bonnies did last season, but one thing is for sure: he's going to bring a heck of a lot more energy to the program than Sol ever did. Seeing as though he's basically starting the program from scratch again, that's enough for me this year.
By the way, the men's basketball team will be holding their first annual season kick off pep rally tonight. Let me say this is an excellent idea. What better way to get a new feel pumped into this program. I really like where things are headed with Bonnies basketball. It'll take time, folks, let it happen.
Some parting shots....
-Nice win by the Bona's women on Friday night over Bucknell. They're a bit short-armed with the losses of the Edwards', but they beat a successful program, one picked to challenge for the win in the Patriot League this year. The women played some terrific D all night long. Nice turnout from the crowd, too. Hopefully that support stays strong all year.
-Very entertaining victory by the SBU Hockey team Saturday night at home, 3-2 over Penn State-Berks. If you have the opportunity to catch one of these games, don't miss out. It's colder on the inside than it is outside of the rink, but you'll see some good, hard-hitting action and there's plenty of hot chocolate to warm you up as you're cheering. Not bad for a couple bucks.
That's all for now, and as I really realize after jotting all that down, there's a lot going on in the world of Bonnies' sports. It's a great time of the year to be on campus.
-Scott Eddy, BV Online Director
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