By Jonathan Sawyer
Sports Assignment Editor
The St. Bonaventure Bonnies held off the University of Massachusetts Minutement, 85-83, to improve their season to 20-8, 12-4 in conference play. This is the Bonnies first 20-win season in the regular season since 1977 and first 12-win season in conference play ever.
With four seconds left in the game, UMASS’s redshirt-senior guard Jabarie Hinds took the ball up the court and to find sophomore guard Donte Clark in the corner. He pump faked to get senior forward Dion Wright to fake and then nails the three-point shot as time expired. Unfortunately, Clark wasn’t able to get the shot off in time as the Bonnies held off the Minutemen.
It was senior day for seniors Wright and guard Marcus Posley, and what a way for these two to go out.
Posley drives the lane, to get the foul and the basket, with 13 seconds left in the game to tie the game, and then later knocked down his free throw to put the Bonnies up 84-83. On the next possession the Minutemen missed the jump shot from Hinds, and Wright leaped in the air for the rebound and the foul. He went to the line to hit one of two shots and later to finalize the game at 85-83.
Posley talks about his final game winning shot in the Reilly Center.
“The time was winding down; I just wanted to make a play for the guys. Like coach said, it is just a special moment for us,” Posely said.
Head Coach Mark Schmidt said this win was for the seniors
“On senior day, it’s a special day that they will never forget as a basketball player,” Schmidt said. “And for Marcus to make that shot at the end, and for Dion to make the foul shot, I think that’s how it should end, with the two seniors that have meant so much to us to help us win the game.”.
The Bonnies struggled in the first half to get going, being down as much as 18. A strong end to the first half pulled the Bonnies with in 10, as the half time score was 45-35. The Bonnies came out firing in the second half going on a 13-3 run to start the half and the rest of the half is history—literally.
There were multiple career milestones set tonight—starting with sophomore guard Idris Taqqee, who was a key player for the Bonnies, knocking down five 3-pointers and a career high in points with 19.
“My teammates have faith in me, and I just wanted to make plays for the seniors,” Taqqee said. “I remember how it felt loosing to UMASS at home last year; that’s not what I wanted to happen this game.”
Posley had a career night as well. Beginning the second half, he was 11 points shy of 1,000, 30 seconds later he passed that mark. Posley, only having played two years for the Bonnies, said his achievement was “pretty cool.”
“This is something we talked about in the huddle to try to not let that get to us to much because we knew how important this game was,” Posley said. “At the same time it happened to lie on the same night of senior night, my last home game in the Reilly Center and the game was a nail biter for us, but to have a cool milestone like that in two years is something special, and I’m just humbled.”
The Bonnies will head to Rochester Wednesday night to take on Saint Joseph’s University Hawks in the Lightower Conference Classic. The game will be played at 7 p.m. in Rochester, at the Blue Cross Arena.
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
