By CONNOR JACKSON

Special to the Era

The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team received a generous first round home game to go along with their invite to the NIT Tournament.

The Bonnies (22-11) will face off against the Kent State Golden Flashes (22-11) from the MAC at the Reilly Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPNU, Bonnies Online Network, 100.1 The Hero).

“You play for your seniors,” Schmidt said. “Melvin Council Jr., Noel Brown, and Chance Moore wanted to play. If you have a chance to play postseason play, and you have enough guys, it’s almost like a reward for the season that we have had.”

The Bonnies reached the final four of the NIT Tournament in 2022, beating three power six conference opponents to get there. “These team’s are totally different,” Schmidt said. “Those guys were veteran guys that were with us for three or four years.

This year Noel is the only guy that has returned, and he has only played with us one year.”

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing this season for Bona, but Schmidt considers this year success amid the challenges. “If anybody told me that we were going to win 22 games before the season, I would have been pleasantly surprised.”

One questionable thing for the Bonnies is just how deep their roster will be. They have already been shorthanded with some injuries, now bench player Duane Thompson will be missing due to a violation of team rules.

Schmidt already plays his starters without much worry about how tired they might get. He says they are well conditioned enough to endure the whole game if they have to.

Council Jr. played all 40 minutes in each of the two Atlantic 10 Tournament games last week.

“18-22 year old’s never get tired,” Schmidt said after the Duquesne win Thursday.

“When you’re dead, that’s when you can sleep.”

So with that mentality, it might not be a big deal how deep the bench goes. Noah Bolanga and Miles Rose may be the only bench players that get playing time.

“We have been shorthanded most of the season, and can’t complain about it” Schmidt said. “We have won 22 games with it, and you know hopefully we can get another one tomorrow.”

The Golden Flashes went 11-7 in the MAC this season, which was good enough for a third place finish in the conference.

“We played them in scrimmages for the last 10 years,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt said. “We know them, they know us. They are a very aggressive team, and we got to meet their physicality.”

5 foot 10 inch guard Jalen Sullinger leads the Kent St. scoring with 15.4 points, and forward VonCameron Davis averages 14.6. “They are really good,” Schmidt said.

“Sullinger is a scorer from the perimeter, Davis is a power forward that can shoot threes.”

Kent St is a really good rebounding team. They have

Jerry Trass/ Olean Times Herald grabbed over 100 more offensive rebounds than their opponents this season. “We have to block them out,” Schmidt said.

“We have to keep them above the foul line. When the shot is taken, we have to be physical.” It should be fun, one more home game at the Reilly Center is a blessing for Bonnie fans that want to continue watching their team. A non-conference postseason game against a quality opponent will make it even more enticing. “The players are all excited,” Schmidt said.

“They understand the reward that the NIT has given us. It’s a tremendous honor to play in postseason play, and I think they are looking forward to it.”