It was Sunday Jan. 6 in Fairfax, Virginia. The banged-up, inexperienced Bonnies entered its first conference game with a lousy record of 4-9, the worst non-conference record of the Mark Schmidt era, and almost nobody had any hope for this team. As they walked out of the locker room after taking a 15-point thrashing at the mercy of the George Mason Patriots, the 4-9 record turned into an even worse 4-10 record.
Fast forward to about 3:30 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on March 16. With Bona Nation rejoicing in the stands and with the team jumping for joy on the hardwood, the Bonnies had punched a ticket to Championship Sunday – something that nobody, not even Courtney Stockard, imagined on that January day in Virginia.
“We probably would’ve told you that we would be playing for a championship,” said Stockard, in regards to how the team felt after its first game of conference play. “But deep down inside, we probably thought something different. We were 4-10 after that George Mason loss. It would’ve been easy for us to throw away the season. We did a good job of keeping our heads up and battling through adversity.”
Stockard added, “We can forget about it now.”
And we can. The Bonnies will be playing in their fourth conference title game in program history, hoping to go to the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. That has never been accomplished in Bonaventure history.
The game started off much like the beginning of the season – hopeless. The Rhode Island Rams threw heavy punches for most of the first half.
The Bonnies shot a woeful 6 for 25 to begin the game, while Rhode Island had its lead up to as many as 15 points. It looked like this magical, but fun run would come to a sudden end.
But it didn’t.
Then came a furious run to close the first half. A 13-0 run to be exact.
The run started at the four-minute mark, and it was lead by freshmen. Kyle Lofton started it. And it ended in a similar fashion, as Dominic Welch, who has played his best basketball of the season the last two days, stepped into another three-pointer and got the Bonnies within two points to close out the half.
“It was a microcosm of our season,” said Schmidt, who smiled ear-to-ear entering the press room for his postgame press conference. “Thing weren’t going well for us early in the year and early in this game. The kids never felt bad or got down. They just kept on working. And that’s what we did today.The last five minutes of the first half were critical. We got some momentum. Our guys answered. We stood up to challenge.”
And the biggest answer came in the second half, as the Bonnies were able to keep its grip on momentum. Rhode Island took one more brief lead early in the half, but like this season, the Bonnies got up and struck back.
Around the seven minute mark, the Bonnies started to screw the nails into the coffin, as Stockard drilled a jump shot from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, the defense stayed lethal – as it has been for the majority of this season, holding yet another opponent under 60 points. Remarkably, this Bonnies team has held 18 opponents to 65 points or less. When they do that, they are 18-0.
“This is the best defensive team we’ve had since I’ve been the coach,” said Schmidt. “Osun [Osunniyi], does a really good job of being a rim protector. We’re connected and committed on the defensive end. And we’re disciplined. It’s a mindset. We’re not a great offensive team, and we haven’t been all season. But the kids have figured it out that in order for us to win, we have to defend.”
And now, with a 68-51 victory today, the Bonnies are 40 more good minutes of play away from dancing again, and winning its first Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title in seven years.
Stockard smiled, pondering the idea of confetti flying, holding a trophy and cutting down the nets.
“One thing I’ve never done since I’ve been playing basketball is cut down the nets,” said Stockard, giving a smile as he sat at his locker deep in the tunnels of the Barclays Center. “If we get that win tomorrow, we’ll be able to do that. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Another day is coming for the Bonnies, and it will be another historical one for Schmidt and his team. But as the team hits the floor tomorrow, they will be motivated by where they have had to come from to get here. Championship Sunday.
Tip off is at 1 p.m. as the Bonnies are set for another round with the St. Louis Billikens, a team they handled just a week ago, by a score of 66-57 at the Reilly Center. The game will be broadcasted nationally on CBS.
Buckle up, and prepare for the madness of March.
By Mike Hogan, Sports Editor
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
