St. Bonaventure basketball struggled once again without their star Jaylen Adams, but the Bonnies were able to squeeze past Jackson State.
Matt Mobley and Josh Ayeni combined for 43 points to lead the St. Bonaventure Bonnies past Jackson State, 72-58 at the Reilly Center on Nov. 18. Mobley and Ayeni were the only two players to reach double figures for the Bonnies (1-1), who were without starting point guard Jaylen Adams. Adams has missed the teams first two games of the season after injuring his ankle in an exhibition game against Alfred.
Mobley and Ayeni didn’t waste any time getting things going. The pair tallied Bona’s first 15 points to give the Bonnies an early nine-point lead after just the first five minutes of action. Mobley recorded eight points and two assists while Ayeni had seven points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key, during the run.
Mobley was fantastic as he poured in 18 of his game-high 27 points in the first half as SBU took a 39-26 lead into halftime. The 6-foot-3 combo guard also knocked down four of his five triples during the opening 20 minutes. He finished the game 7-for-16 from the floor along with five rebounds and six assists.
“I thought we played decent offensively, much better in the first half, ” head coach Mark Schmidt said. “I thought did a tremendous job of carrying us in the first half. Having eight days off, the kids were itching to play. We didn’t play great but we found a way.”
Ayeni battled foul trouble all game long but he still managed 16 points and four rebounds in 20 minutes of action. The 6-foot-8 sophomore has increased his range out to the 3-point line and is 1-for-3 from there this year. He was 6-for-9 from the floor, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc in this game.
St. Bonaventure had its largest lead of the game four minutes into the second half at 54-31. Jackson State slowly ate into the deficit but was unable to get it to single digits until there was 5:22 left.
Paris Collins‘ layup cut Bona’s lead to 64-57 with 3:24 remaining and the Tigers looked poised to get even closer. However, Idris Taqqee blocked Julian Dautry’s drive and then dove on the ball to record the steal
“I thought the play of the game is when Idris (Taqqee) dove on the ball,” Schmidt added. “I thought that was a momentum stopper. That doesn’t take skill, that’s just toughness — kid with a big heart. To me, that was the play of the game his ability to dive on those 50/50 balls and have the IQ to call a timeout.”
In the ensuing position, Mobley essentially put the game out of reach with a 3-pointer coming off of an Ayeni ball screen.
With Adams and Courtney Stockard (groin and hip strains) sitting out And Ayeni along with Amadi Ikpeze in foul trouble, freshmen Izaiah Brockington and Tshiefu Ngalakulondi saw some playing time. Ngalakulondi did a fabulous job in his nine minutes of action, posting two points, four rebounds, two blocks, and one assist.
Taqqee and LaDarien Griffin also were strong defensively. Taqqee came up with two steals, two blocks, and five rebounds. In the meantime, Griffin finished with five points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.
Jeremiah Jefferson scored 13 points to lead the Tigers, who were limited to 32.8 percent shooting and 32.0 percent (8-for-24) from long-range.
Next: Previewing the PK80 Victory Bracket
St. Bonaventure now leads the all-time series against Jackson State 2-0. This game was part of the Emerald Classic. Bona will now face Maryland Eastern Shore in a makeup game on Nov. 20 at the Reilly Center as part of the Classic. The Bonnies then will head to Niceville, Florida, to face Maryland on Friday.