Atlantic 10 stars Noah Fernandes and Kyle Lofton turned a conference game into a playmaking clinic on Wednesday night in St Bonaventure’s 83-71 win over the Massachusetts men’s basketball team.
Fernandes, a star point guard for UMass (11-13, 4-8 A-10), and Lofton, quarterback for the Bonnies (16-7, 8-4 A-10) offense, both finished with double-doubles in points and assists. Fernandes tallied 14 points and 12 assists, while Lofton scored 11 points and dished out a school-record 17 assists for St. Bonaventure.
“Honestly, [our battle] was pretty cool, because growing up and stuff you watch these older guys that you play against, so it’s always a great opportunity to go at them,” Fernandes said. “We actually had some words in the corner, I just thought it was really cool. [Lofton] is a super competitive guy, super cool dude.”
“Obviously, he’s a big part of their offense, and tonight we couldn’t really do much to stop him in the pick-and-rolls, he was getting in the paint, making passes, making layups. He’s a tough player and hard to stop, that’s why he’s one of the best guards in the A-10.”
Fernandes and Lofton produced high-level playmaking performances. While Lofton is a pass-first player in the Bonnies’ system, Fernandes has a primary scoring duty for the Minutemen. When Fernandes ––the team’s leader in points–– isn’t shooting well, he must look for other ways to contribute on the court.
Ever since returning from concussion protocol versus Rhode Island, Fernandes lost his scoring groove. He’s played four games since then and shot 28.8 percent from the field in that stretch. Shots that he’s used to seeing go in, such as floaters or mid-range jumpers, aren’t going in.
Fernandes responded by creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. With his 12-assist performance on Wednesday, Fernandes has averaged eight assists per game in his last four games.
“There was an intent to just make the right play,” UMass head coach Matt McCall said of Fernandes’ career-high in assists. “Put him in a pick-and-roll, he was going to find the roll guy, maybe a fill-behind guy, whoever it was he was going to find the right guy tonight. He’s had big nights scoring, but he was a wizard with that ball in his hands in terms of executing pick-and-rolls.”
His playmaking allowed him to play at a high level even when he isn’t hitting shots. He shot 31.3 percent from the field against the Bonnies, but still generated 47 total points with his scoring and passing.
“The coaches keep telling me just to be aggressive, when I go to score, go to pass too,” Fernandes said. “I’m still staying aggressive, sometimes the ball just isn’t falling but I’ve got to bounce back and just stay in the gym, for sure.”
Lofton didn’t need to shoot (3-for-4 from the field) in order to dominate the Minutemen. The senior manipulated the UMass defense at will and generated 52 points for his team with his 11 points, 17 assists and five steals.
McCall said the game plan against the Bonnies was to limit points in the paint as much as possible and force them to win with the outside shot. Lofton made that extremely difficult. Not only was St. Bonaventure hitting 3-pointers, but it finished with 38 points in the paint, largely thanks to Lofton’s efforts. Every single one of the Bonnies’ dunks was assisted by the guard, and four of them for alley-oops.
Fernandes, on the other hand, assisted 10 of his team’s 16 threes. He looks to maintain his playmaking prowess while also rekindling his scoring abilities as the Minutemen close out the regular season.
“I just want him to continue to make the right plays like he’s doing,” McCall said. “He’s constantly telling his teammates ‘If you roll here, I’m going to find you; if you lift here, I’m going to find you,’ he’s constantly talking in timeouts and stuff like that, he knows the right play to make… So, I just want him to continue to be aggressive and continue to make the right play.”
Pedro Gray Soares can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @P_GraySoares.
