Behind The Wolfpack: Bonnies' Seniors Aim To Leave On Last Mark
[St. Bonaventure seniors Demitrius Conger and Eric Mosley, along with Chris Johnson and Michael Davenport will play their final home game tomorrow on Senior Day - Photo by Daulton Sherwin]
By Ryan Lazo, Editor in Chief, @RMLazo13
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — While tomorrow’s game against Fordham represents a win and in scenario to make the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, it also represents the final home contest for four seniors who have changed the program around.
Demitrius Conger, Michael Davenport, Chris Johnson and Eric Mosley.
Each of these seniors have etched their names into Bona program lore for their accomplishments, but all are aiming to leave a final mark on the program.
“It’s there, man. Everyday we come into the gym, you see the banners and stuff like that,” Chris Johnson said before practice. “But we still got an opportunity to make something happen this year and that’s where the focus is."
Because after starting the Atlantic 10 Conference season off with three consecutive losses and facing a daunting road trip to Philadelphia, a place of horrors for the Bona program, things looked bleak.
But those three losses, part of a six-game losing streak, were a turning point for a team that stunned everyone last season by capturing the A-10 Conference Tournament title with a late-season run.
Bona has seemingly captured their footing, winning three out of their last four games. Even more impressive: during their three-game winning streak, Bona averaged 93 points per game, getting hot at the right time once again.
“It’s a different team,” Johnson said. “We’re definitely turning it on in the stretch, but we’re running different plays, different guys are stepping up.”
Perhaps no one has stepped their game up more than the Bonnies’ senior point guard. While Mosley, at 5-foot-10, is the smallest Bona player on the roster, he has played bigger than any of his teammates.
With Bona needing every win they can get, Mosley entered Wednesday night’s game against Dayton averaging 27 points per game over the past four games. What makes that even more scary — it’s nearly identical to Andrew Nicholson’s 27.6 points per game average during last year’s Bonnies’ run.
“I’ve been telling Andrew that he wasn’t better than me,” Mosley said with an ear-to-ear grin. “I don’t know if he believes me or not, but we’re just trying to win games, stats don’t matter. I just want to get another ring.”
Another ring?
This coming from the same program that won just 32 games during a five-year span from the 2003-04 season to the 2007-08 season.
Why the sudden change?
Because players such as Davenport committed to a program that they believed was only going to get better, but even the Cincinnati native did not know the challenge that awaited him.
“I didn’t realize that they went 8-22 until after I had signed,” Davenport said. “My dad said, ‘you know they went 8-22’ and I was like, ‘what?’ To me, that was exciting. To start from scratch and be one of many to leave an imprint on rebuilding a program. That’s the biggest thing that will stick with me.”
But Davenport has also left Bona fans with memories that will stick with them for a lifetime. There was Davenport’s last-second 3-pointer against in Duquesne in 2010, handing the Dukes their first A-10 loss of the season.
Then, there were the numerous highlight dunks, none more so than when on a break, he received a bounce pass from Conger and skied over Lamont Samuel of Fordham. It’s a picture that is enshrined on the walls inside the Reilly Center.
With each highlight play, each signature win like the one over St. John’s, the near misses versus perennial powers such as N.C. State and Virginia Tech, the Bona program rose. And one player who rose each step of the way with it was No. 11.
Conger is truly in a class of his own.
The Brooklyn native has etched out a career so steeped in Bona history that only two other St. Bonaventure players have matched him. Conger has amassed over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists in his career, the only other two were David Vanterpool and Ahmad Smith.
Additionally, this season may be Conger’s best.
The senior forward is the only player in the A-10 to lead his team in points (14.2), rebounds (7.1) and assists (3.1).
But more importantly, the quiet and humble Conger has become more of a leader on the court, talking to his teammates and quieting them down when they become heated with the opposition or referee.
“It’s just something that going into your senior year, you need to do,” Conger said. “You look back on the people before you like Ogo, (Andrew), Quan. You look back on the leadership they showed and what they had done and you try to take that and use your own personality.”
And the personality of the team has changed.
For years, Bona sat in the basement of the A-10 as a perennial joke, but with the additions of players who aimed to make a difference, they have become a tough-minded team capable of anything.
“Once we get our foot in the door, we can play with anyone,” Davenport said. “Last year, while it wasn’t a surprise we got the No. 4 seed, we earned it. And we’re doing the same this year.”
While this year’s Bona squad has not reached the heights of last year’s team, the confidence of being defending A-10 Champions is still there.
“We could have had a better record, but we just dropped a couple of games,” Mosley said. “Making it to the tournament, anyone can win it.”
Whether this Bonnies’ team has any magic left remains to be seen, but with a core group of seniors looking to make a final mark on a program they helped rebuild, anything can happen.
Behind The WolfPack: Walker Leaves Lasting Legacy With The Bonnies
[Alaina Walker embodied what it meant to be a Bonnies' player over her four years with her determination - Photo by Daulton Sherwin]
By Ryan Lazo, Editor in Chief, @RMLazo13
Walker has proved invaluable to the Brown and White’s success over the course of her four-year career. While it was Jessica Jenkins, Megan Van Tatenhove and Armelia Horton who received much of the accolades, Bona would not have had as much success without the play of Walker.
“Alaina has the greatest skill we could ever ask for in a player,” Crowley said. “And it’s effort. Effort is a skill and she has it. She’s exactly what we want our players to be like.”
A member of the Atlantic 10 Conference’s All-Defensive Team, Walker helped shut-down opposing guards and forwards alike, keeping Bona ranked in the top half of the conference on defense.
The 5-foot-9 guard racked up 107 steals, 38 blocks and dished out 190 assists during her time with the Bonnies. However, with just 1:23 left in regulation against La Salle, Walker jumped high into the air and corralled her fifth rebound of the contest.
Why is that rebound significant?
It was career rebound No. 600, making her just the 10th St. Bonaventure player to reach that mark as she averaged 4.8 rebounds per game over her career.
Even more impressive?
Only one St. Bonaventure player grabbed 600 plus rebounds and was shorter than the 5-foot-9 Walker. That player was Missy Ward who was 5-foot-8.
“I just do what I do best,” Walker said laughingly. “That’s one of my assets, rebounding. On both ends of the floor, so I tried to keep that going throughout my career here.”
But just like her coach who fought his way through three consecutive nine-win seasons and subsequent one-year contracts to turn the program into a winner, Walker has fought to make herself a better player.
Turn the page to her freshman season and Walker was rarely a threat to take a mid-range jumper. Even last season the sight of her pulling up may have brought groans from the crowd, but this year has been different.
Walker turned in a career-high 21 points against UMass and unveiled a lethal mid-range jumper that helped bump her scoring average in Atlantic 10 play from 6.4 last season to 10.7 points per game this year.
“She scored the ball in high school, but struggled on how to carry that over,” Crowley said of his senior starter. “But she kept working to improve. She probably could have scored more the past few years, but she didn’t need to. She needed to play defense, grab rebounds and keep others involved.”
Selfless.
Walker did whatever was needed for the good of the team and Crowley said her battle with mononucleosis was what derailed Bona from qualifying for the A-10 Tournament to defend their crown.
“I still think this year is a heck of a lot different if mono doesn’t grab her halfway through our conference season,” Crowley said. “She’d come off her 21-point game against UMass, finding her rhythm and we were finding ours with her.”
While Bona never was able to find their groove and qualify or the A-10 Tournament, one can not discredit the impact Walker had on the program. She never relented no matter the score, no matter the record and did whatever was needed to win.
They say the team normally represents the attitude of the coach, but perhaps this time the coach represented the player.
Behind The Wolfpack: Bona Surging After Third Straight Victory
[Matthew Wright has rediscovered his lost stroke since dealing with his foot injury as he dropped 20 points in Bona's 104-84 rout of Charlotte - Photo by Daulton Sherwin]
By Ryan Lazo, Editor in Chief, @RMLazo13
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — It was around late February to early March of last season when the St. Bonaventure Bonnies finally hit their stride and lived up to their preseason billing and suddenly this years squad is beginning to revisit history.
Facing a Charlotte team that was among the three teams tied with Bona for ninth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings, the Bonnies came out of the locker room on a mission. Bona scored the game’s first four points and the 49ers never came any closer in a 104-83 rout at the Reilly Center.
The 104 points is tied for the most Bona (14-13, 7-7) has scored against an Atlantic 10 opponent and is the first time eclipsing the century mark since a 112-107 four overtime win against Ohio on Dec. 18, 2010.
A little bit of a let-down may have been the only aspect wrong with St. Bonaventure’s dominating performance that surely captured some attention from around the league. The Brown and White connected at a season-high 58 percent clip and played stingy defense, limiting Charlotte (18-10, 6-8) to just 38.7 percent shooting from the field.
It’s a performance that puts the rest of the A-10 Conference on notice.
While VCU, Saint Louis and Butler get most of the attention, and rightfully so, the defending A-10 Conference Champions are surging at the right time once again.
Charlotte learned of Bona’s penchant for going on second-half-of-the-season runs the hard way as the Brown and White barraged the 49ers with nine 3-pointers in the first half alone, connecting at a blistering 61 percent for the game — also tied for a season high.
But even with the win and statement it sent, Schmidt was not happy with the way his team finished the game.
“We talk about curbing,” Schmidt said. “It’s an IRA term about knock a guy down, open his mouth and knock his teeth out. That’s what you try to do when you have someone down and we didn’t curb them.”
That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league as the A-10 Tournament nears.
The Bonnies did not finish off Charlotte in the manner they would have preferred, but they still captured a dominating 21-point victory. And how did they accomplish that?
It starts with the play of Matthew Wright.
Wright’s importance to the Bona team has never been fully realized until the Bonnies began conference play by dropping their first four games while looking at a road trip to both Temple and Saint Joseph’s, a bad omen. Yet, Wright came out out of the shadows and scored 22 and 18 points respectively in the two Bona wins.
But a left foot injury slowed him down, limiting him to an average of just 17 minutes per game over the last four, not including missing two games against Butler and Duquesne. However, Wright is seemingly getting healthy and he showed it against the 49ers.
Wright followed up a Youssou Ndoye jump-hook with a mid-range jumper from the top of the key himself in the games opening minutes, giving him all the confidence he needed. The Toronto native would hit his first four shots of the game, three of which from beyond the arc as he compiled 20 points on the night, helping Bona pile on Charlotte.
“My high school coach said if you’re going to lace them up, there’s no excuses,” Wright said of dealing with his injury. “I told myself, ‘I’m going to play and I’m going to play as hard as I can’.”
But Wright is not the only player who is playing as hard as he can.
Eric Mosley has been garnering much of the attention over the past few weeks and for good reason. The reigning A-10 Player of the Week dropped in two 30-point games and a solid 16-point effort against Duquense.
However, the senior has continued to catch fire from beyond the arc as he connected on 5-of-8 3-point attempts en route to another 23-point performance against the 49ers. Mosley’s elevation of his game is leaving many to think back to how Andrew Nicholson elevated his game when Bona needed him most.
“I think we are playing more collectively as a team,” Mosley said after Bona racked up 22 assists against Charlotte. “But more importantly guys are making shots, but we have guys stepping up, like Dion tonight.”
Right.
Because it wasn’t just the usual suspects for the Brown and White during this victory. With Marquise Simmons and Youssou Ndoye both fouling out, someone needed to fill their minutes and Dion Wright proved to be more than a place-holder.
The freshman had not recorded a minute of game action since Feb. 6 at Butler, but there was no rust in his game. The 6-foot-7 forward proved agile around the basket, throwing down two dunks and recording two putbacks en route a career-high 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting.
With 10 Bona players cracking the scoresheet, this Bona team is confident as they hold sole possession of the ninth spot in the A-10 standings with just two games to go.
“Around this time last year we started to hit our peak,” Wright said. “We know how crucial that is going into the A-10 Tournament. So yea, I think we are starting to hit our stride.”
Scoring an average of 93 points over their three-game winning streak, a message has been sent to the rest of the league — The defending champions were not curbed and now they aim to repeat recent history with another magical finish.
Behind The Wolfpack: Mosley's Historic Night Snaps Bona Skid
[Eric Mosley races up the court for two of is career-high 39 points, helping Bona capture a 99-94 victory over UMass Wednesday night - Photo by Daulton Sherwin]
By Ryan Lazo, Editor in chief, @RMLazo13
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — After suffering two overtime defeats in the past week and dropping to 12th in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings, St. Bonaventure needed to snap their recent malaise with a victory.
And these Bonnies came out with urgency and determination right from the opening whistle, taking a 7-2 lead over the University of Massachusetts-Amherst just two minutes into the game.
It was a harbinger of events to unfold as Bona used a devastating offensive attack en route to earning a 99-94 victory at the Reilly Center, just their second win in their last seven games at home.
Schmidt’s correct.
The Bonnies (12-13, 5-7) needed to find a way to defeat UMass after comically finding every which way to lose a basketball game. But Schmidt’s club is not filled with wide-eyed youngsters, but battle-tested seniors playing out their last games.
And it was the Brown and White’s seniors who helped down the Minutemen (16-9, 6-6) for the second-consecutive match-up dating back to last year’s A-10 Semifinal contest.
But on this night, no senior shined brighter than the smallest player on the Bona roster — Eric Mosley.
The 5-foot-10 guard entered the contest averaging 22 points per game over the past three contests, but his effort against the Minutemen was historic.
Mosley scored a career-high 39 points on 12-for-18 shooting, scoring the most points by a Bona player in a regulation game since Greg Sanders’ 46-point effort in 1977 against Detroit. It also marked the most points scored by a Bona player against an Atlantic 10 opponent.
“I can’t really explain it,” Mosley said after his career day. “My teammates looked at me and I just tried to make plays.”
But Mosley hasn’t just tried to make plays — he’s made plays and at a frequent clip.
Last season, the Bona faithful were witness to the brilliance of Andrew Nicholson as he developed ice-water in his veins, coming up big when the Bonnies needed it most.
While it would be unfair to compare the two, Mosley is giving his best impression. With Bona needing a clutch shot at Rhode Island, it was Mosley nailed a fadeaway 3-pointer. With Bona needing a two to tie against La Salle, it was No. 2 hitting the shot to force overtime.
And with the hot-shooting, more minutes have come the senior’s way.
“Eric’s defending better,” Schmidt said of Mosley. “And that’s keeping him on the floor longer. And I’m no dummy. When someone is shooting the ball the way Eric has, then I can give in a little bit.”
But Mosley was not alone in Bona’s highest scoring regulation game since scoring 101 in a loss to Ohio in the 2002-03 season.
Chris Johnson has struggled recently because of foul problems, but the senior played smart in logging 38 minutes of game action and scoring a career-high 22 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
Johnson did not make a 3-pointer on the night, but adjusted his game plan and aggressively took the attack to the Minutemen, driving the basket for acrobatic lay-ups and tear drops.
With each swoosh of the nylon, Johnson grew more and more animated: pumping his fists, unleashing a Tarzan-like yell and a trademark jump and fist pump, showing the true importance of this game.
“It’s the urgency of being a senior,” Johnson said. “You only got however amount of opportunities left in this gym and just looking at the playoff picture. We needed this win, so I came with a high energy level.”
And that urgency was also shown on the stat-sheet after Demitrius Conger posted his third double-double of the season after scoring 16 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out four assists.
But even more importantly was the team-effort Bona showed, especially at the line where the Brown and White proved that they are the No. 1 free throw shooting team in the conference.
Bona shot 32-for-33 from the charity stripe, missing just one shot on the night for a mind-blowing 97 percent.
“No. Nope. I haven’t,” Derek Kellogg said in reply to whether he had ever seen a shooting performance like that.
But Bona fans have seen a game like this before.
Turn the clock back to last year when Saint Joseph’s visited the Reilly Center. The Hawks answered each Bona run, but the Brown and White always answered back and captured the victory.
In their final five games last season, Bona went 4-1 to nab the No. 4 seed in the A-10 Tournament.
While Bona won’t be grabbing a No. 4 seed, an end-of-the-season run could put them in good position after entering the game just two back out of the No. 6 position.
“Our record isn’t what it’s supposed to be,” Charlon Kloof said before practice on Monday. “We still have games left and still have a chance to get on our winning streak.”
If the Bonnies can get a winning streak together it may be deja vu all over again as the Brown and White head into the A-10 Tournament to defend their conference crown.
Behind The Wolfpack: Bonnies Fall To La Salle, Face Uncertain Future
[Demitrius Conger is helped up from the Reilly Center court as his 3-point attempt to tie the game falls short in overtime. St. Bonaventure falls to La Salle, 69-66 - Photo by Daulton Sherwin]
Behind The Wolfpack: Bonnies Receive A Boost From Gathers, Drop Duquesne
[Charlon Kloof draws the Duquesne defense into the middle of the paint during St. Bonaventure's 68-60 victory in the Reilly Center - Photo by Daulton Sherwin]
By Ryan Lazo, Editor in chief, @RMLazo13
And Ferry’s right.
Conger is the Brown and White’s biggest offensive weapon, making him the point of emphasis for opposing teams. But when a team has other players producing from out of nowhere, it’s the maturation of a team beginning to gel.
With unexpected production from Gathers, clutch 3-pointers from Michael Davenport and Charlon Kloof, Bona received production from everywhere they looked, a mark of a mentally tough squad stepping up when needed.
Even Eric Mosley got into the act, scoring 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
“When we’ve won we shot the ball,” Schmidt said. “Saint Joseph’s, Temple, today. We made some tough shots and when we shoot it, we have a chance to win.”
Truth be told, it’s very hard to lose when you shoot 12-for-22 from 3-point range on the game for an absurd 54.5 percent. And it’s even tougher when you dominate the boards by a 35 to 24 margin.
It’s a recipe for success and with just nine games left, four of those at home, Bona needs to win out. After suffering through the most difficult stretch of their schedule — St. Bonaventure was the only team in the A-10 to play all of the top-4 teams in the preseason poll in their first six games — the opportunity is in front of them.
While Bona still has to play some tough teams including La Salle, Butler, UMass and Charlotte — three of those are within the friendly confines of the Reilly Center.
“We had five games left in the Reilly Center and we want to be 5-0,” Schmidt said of his team’s goal. “You can’t accomplish that without being 1-0 and that was the goal today.”
If they accomplish that goal, Bona will be able to defend their A-10 title in Brooklyn. And as we’ve seen last year and this season, if the Brown and White get hot at the right time and shoot a blistering percentage from outside, they can beat anyone.
Whether they get the chance to step foot on the court at the Barclays Center will come down to defending their home court and receiving contributions from everyone — becoming the mentally tough team they have shown glimpses of being.
Behind the Wolfpack: Bonnies Erase Dark Past With Win
[Andrew Nicholson and Charlon Kloof start celebrating as the clock nears zero and their upset of Xavier is complete - Photo by Daulton Sherwin]
By Ryan Lazo, Co-editor in chief/feature columnist, @RMLazo13
Nine years ago this never seemed possible for St. Bonaventure.
The basketball program was in ruins. Scandal had overtaken the community, resulting in the resignations of both the school president and head basketball coach.
Players refused to play out the final two games of the season after they were banned from the conference tournament.
News crews from the local and national media descended on the small campus in Olean, N.Y., covering the biggest college basketball story of the year.
Fast forward nine years to the day - March 11. Sr. Margaret Carney O.S.M., university president, did not stand in front of media to discuss a basketball program in ruins, but stood on the court watching one rise from the ashes.
The 67-56 win continues to captivate Bona fans, students and locals as the team refocuses themselves to play No. 3 seeded Florida State in Nashville, Tenn. on Friday.
It will mark the first time they have been in the NCAA Tournament since a double-overtime loss to Kentucky in the first round of the 2000 tournament and marks a recovery from the darks days of 2003.
Mark Schmidt was hired in 2008 to help rebuild the program, following Anthony Solomon's disastrous stint as coach, and immediately realized how important Bona basketball is to the community.
"I did an alumni function at Buffalo," Schmidt recalled. "An elderly woman stood up and told me the winters here are long and cold, but the last four years they have been really long and really cold.
"Basketball is the rallying point. It's good, it brings us together."
It has done more than that. It's brought a common dream of upset wins, especially because of the Bonnies’ Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Andrew Nicholson.
Nicholson is a dominating inside presence and a first round NBA draft prospect.
He toys with defenders using an assortment of moves: hook-shots, up and unders, spin-moves and even long-range jump shots. It is these moves that have him compared to NBA Hall of Famer and Bona legend Bob Lanier.
During the A-10 Tournament, Nicholson did his best impression of the man who led St. Bonaventure to the 1970 Final Four.
He averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks during the three-game stretch of dominance.
The effort not only placed him on the All-Tournament Team but he was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
"People always ask me if he's better than Bob Lanier," Schmidt said. "I don't know, but I know he's our Bob Lanier."
"He's a poor man's Tim Duncan, by far the best player in our league and an NBA team needs to take him in the first round, period," Xavier coach Chris Mack said following his team's loss to the Bonnies. "Glad he's gone; great kid, though."
But looming in Nashville are the Atlantic Coast Conference Champion Florida State Seminoles. The Seminoles are the first team since 1995-96 to beat both Duke and North Carolina twice in the same season.
They have a big front court, with three players standing at least 6-foot-8, and are extremely athletic.
They boast one of the top defenses in the country, ranking fourth nationally in field goal percentage (37.9) and eighth in blocks (5.9 bpg).
But as talented as they are, they can be beaten, having lost to both Princeton and Harvard out of the Ivy League.
"To win the ACC Tournament, that's all you need to say," Schmidt said. "It's not like we are playing the Bulls. They are a talented team, but we are going there to play.
"We just won the Atlantic 10 Tournament, and that's the seventh-best conference in the country. We don't have to take a back seat."
Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said his team is not taking the Bonnies lightly.
"They've got an outstanding go-to guy that everybody says is a first round draft pick," Hamilton said. "They are a very well-coached team that obviously beat a very good Xavier team that was nationally ranked.
"They have our attention - no question about that."
Nine years removed from scandal and 12 years removed from their last tournament appearance, the Bonnies are back.
With a late-season surge, role players stepping up, Nicholson playing the part of Lanier and a team commitment to defense and rebounding, the Bonnies have brought pride back to the Franciscan university.
"Our thing is if we're in it, we might as well win it," Schmidt said of his team's mindset.
After shocking everyone by winning the A-10, Schmidt and his team aim for a first round upset that could send the Bonnies into the national spotlight once again.
Behind the wolfpack: Bonnies drop Xavier, make history
[Andrew Nicholson celebrates St. Bonaventure's victory over Xavier in the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament - Photo by Daulton Sherwin]
By Ryan Lazo, Co-editor in chief/feature columnist, @RMLazo13
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (March 11) - Five years ago, St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt stood at the podium during his introductory press conference and discussed bringing Bonnies basketball back.
Flash forward to today, and he has done just that.
The Bonnies defeated the Xavier Musketeers in the 2012 Atlantic 10 Championship, 67-56, at Boardwalk Hall in front of 6,101 spectators.
It marks the first Atlantic 10 title the Bonnies have won in program history, completing a magical run through the end of the season.
Take a second to comprehend this fact.
St. Bonaventure, the smallest school in the A-10, won the title and will face FSU in the NCAA Tournament.
The foundation for this run did not begin this season but four years ago with the recruitment of Andrew Nicholson.
Residing in Mississauga, Ontario, Nicholson was in relative obscurity but did not escape the eyes of Bona scouts.
"Our assistant coach said I needed to get there and see a kid because he reminded him of Greg Oden," Schmidt said of Nicholson. "As soon as he started playing, I had goose bumps."
Staring down a Xavier team that had gone undefeated in four previous A-10 finals, Nicholson took control and carried the team when it needed him the most.
The Musketeers had no answer once Nicholson touched the ball in the post, sending multiple men to help with no avail. Like so many teams before them, they could not limit the A-10 Player of the Year.
He not only dominated on the offensive side, tallying 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting but on the defensive side as well with a championship game record eight-blocks.
"That's what I came to Bonaventure for," Nicholson said. "To bring the Bonnies back. We did it."
But once again, it was a team effort that helped the Bonnies outlast the Musketeers.
Without Charlon Kloof's defense on Tu Holloway, limiting him to 17 points on only 5-of-13
shooting, or Jordan Gathers’ defense on Mark Lyons, the Bonnies would not have enjoyed all the adulation after the game.
Without the team focus on rebounding, a focus of their’s throughout the tournament, out-rebounding Xavier by a 42-29 margin, the Bonnies could have been manhandled inside.
But this did not happen, and the reason is simple.
Schmidt not only has laid a solid foundation of players who complement each other, but the experiences of losing in heartbreaking fashions allowed them to learn.
Instead of watching an Xavier team celebrate winning a fifth A-10 Tournament crown, the Bonnies learned from their experiences and executed to perfection a winning game plan.
As St. Bonaventure cut down the nets for the first time, Bona fans stood in the stands smiling, crying and cheering after witnessing Schmidt and his team accomplish something truly special.
They put St. Bonaventure basketball back on the map and will dance into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.
