And Massachusetts men’s basketball coach Derek Kellogg, who had plenty of looks at his offense in a 69-55 loss to St. Bonaventure Saturday, knew that neither the eye test, nor the statistical output, was very good.

The Minutemen produced their lowest point total of the season, shot 19-of-54 (35 percent) from the field and posted an even worse 3-point shooting performance, going 4-of-22 (18 percent) from beyond the arc.

Furthermore, UMass committed 15 turnovers while tallying only 10 assists, scored two fastbreak points and gave up 25 points to the Bonnies off turnovers alone.

“I thought our offense again was not very good, it led to easy baskets (for St. Bonaventure),” Kellogg said. “A couple of plays that gave them a nine-point halftime lead I thought were crucial to them getting that cushion and pulling away.”

Kellogg added, sarcastically, “I thought, obviously, our shooting percentage from 3 was fantastic.”

The story of what, to date, has been a disappointing season for the Minutemen is stretches of complete, detrimental offensive efficiency. It wasn’t any different Saturday.

At the 10 minute, 51 second mark of the first half, UMass guard Donte Clark made a 3-pointer to take a 15-13 lead. The Minutemen made only two field goals the rest of the half, a layup by Maxie Esho and a layup, which was goaltended, by Trey Davis.

During that stretch, UMass missed seven shots and committed six turnovers. By halftime, the Bonnies led 28-19 and slowed the pace down considerably.

“We have to get better,” Kellogg said. “We have to get better with the ball, we have to share the ball more, we have to make better decisions. And then, once you do all those things, put the ball in the basket.”

Kellogg referenced his team’s assist-to-turnover ratio (10:15) as an indicator the team didn’t play well, saying it’s been the “story of the year.”

If that’s the story, the sub plot is the Minutemen’s inability to find a consistent scorer.

Cady Lalanne and Trey Davis – two players which St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt said his team keyed on specifically – scored 12 points apiece, but neither looked comfortable. Davis shot 4-of-14 and 1-of-9 from 3-pointer after scoring 25 points in his last performance against Iona, and Lalanne struggled with Bonnies center Youssou Ndoye.

Kellogg was asked whether it was difficult to find a guy to get a basket.

“Yeah, that’s pretty evident at times,” he said. “Obviously we’d like to get the ball into Cady and Maxie (Esho). I may have to design a couple different ways to get them the ball. And then they have to deliver.”

Yet above all, the Minutemen haven’t delivered when asked to adjust their style of play.

They still thrive when the game turns into a track meet – the 87-82 victory over Iona is evidence – but when it slows down, so does the offensive production. UMass often looks stagnant and befuddled when facing zone defenses and it can’t create transition opportunities.

“They want the game in the 80’s, we want to keep the game in the 60’s and 70’s,” said St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt, who said his team’s ability to limit turnovers in turn limited UMass’ transition opportunities.

An inability to run, factored in with no dominant presence to carry the offense, continues to spell trouble for a team that’s been routed by the Bonnies, Florida Gulf Coast, Louisiana State and Notre Dame.

And the momentum created with a victory over Iona and a fresh start in conference play against St. Bonaventure? It’s no longer. Now, UMass heads back to the drawing board, again.

“There’s definitely a lot of work to do, so this is going to be a long couple days,” Kellogg said.

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.