By Jonathan Sawyer
Sports Associate Editor
Courtesy of Mikael DeSanto BV Sports Editor
Two years ago, a then-junior guard Marcus Posley drove the lane and threw up a prayer that went through the net as the buzzer sounded to upset No. 18 VCU Rams. Saturday it was like déjà vu, with a twist.
With three seconds left in the game, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies were down 65-63 and called a timeout as the ball was in their possession. Junior guard Jaylen Adams found fellow junior guard Matt Mobley coming off a screen in the corner. Mobley made a move, stepped back and let it fly. At this point everyone in the Reilly Center was seeing another buzzer beater. The ball fell through the hoop with .4 seconds left in the game, and the Bonnies held the lead, 66-65.
At this point, the Bonnies and all their fans thought the game was over. The clock started, the buzzer rang and out came the faithful student section on to the court. The problem, at this point, was that the clock was not supposed to start because there was no inbound of the ball.
Senior forward Mo Alie-Cox, who finished with a team high 20 points, is familiar with the Reilly Center, with him being on the team when Posley’s shot beat them a couple years ago.
“I was telling the guys since pre-season, we have to go to Bonnies this year, that place is so crazy and the last time we came here it was pretty much the same exact situation. So that was the only thing that was going through my head.” Mo Alie-Cox.
All that went through Cox’s mind was, “Oh my god, I can’t believe,” as last time Posley hit the shot on him.
“Yeah, I had flashbacks because last time it was one me and this time it was kind of on me,” Cox said.
The referees called a technical foul on St. Bonaventure, which sent senior guard JeQuan Lewis to the line for one. With the Reilly Center screaming to try and distract Lewis, he would knock down the free throw to send the game to overtime.
Bonnies Head Coach Mark Schmidt said to have his guys lose like that is a travesty.
“They [the referees] have to make that call. I am not sure what the protocol is for us with security so the students don’t storm the court,” Schmidt said. “We had two timeouts, that’s two minutes that maybe we make an announcement to tell the crowd that if you storm the court it is a technical foul. I don’t blame the students, I blame whatever protocol we didn’t have.”
Rams Head Coach Will Wade said, “It takes some guts to call that.”
From there the air was let out of the arena, students and fans looked confused and distraught by what had happened. VCU would take an early overtime lead and would never trail again. VCU held off the Bonnies in overtime 83-77.
Schmidt talked about the magnitude of this game does for a school.
“It’s a loss for everybody. What a game like this does in terms for the school, national television and then to lose it that way,” Schmidt said. “It is not going to be Matt’s shot; it is going to the people storming the court. It is going to be a negative and it should be a positive.”
Disappointed was the word Mobley used repeatedly to talk about the loss.
“We thought we stole one and they called a technical and we still could’ve won in overtime but we just didn’t get it done,” Mobley said.
Mobley finished the game with a team high 34 points and a school record nine threes in a single game. Adams scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half of play.
Wade thought that the technical should’ve come against the Bonnies bench for coming on to the court.
“I was disappointed we had a five-point lead and couldn’t close it out. I mean we had chances and didn’t do a good job there. We defended the inbounds well. Once they lined up we knew what they were doing,” Wade said. “There was .5 seconds left. I actually told the ref that it should’ve been a technical because their bench came on the court. I thought that was the administrated technical.”
VCU’s difference was the inside presence, as they outscored the Bonnies 44 to 14 in the paint.
“[I] thought our difference was inside; our big guys were just dominant down there. [We] did a great job on the offensive glass,” Wade said.
Schmidt discussed the sell out crowd and what they did for the Bonnies.
“This is a great place the Reilly Center is a tremendous place and we wouldn’t have won without the students. With what they brought and the excitement they gave our guys is irreplaceable. They don’t know better and it us; our job is to educate them,” Schmidt said.
Coming up to the Reilly Center to play in that kind of environment is enjoyable to Wade.
“I will say this I thought the crowd today was great. I thought the support was tremendous. I thought the students gave St. Bonaventure a great advantage. I love coming up here, the atmosphere is great. I love the people up here, everybody is very welcoming.” Will Wade
The Bonnies fall to 14-8 and 6-4 in the A10. They will host the Saint Louis Billikens on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
