BY TOM SEIPP, MANAGING EDITOR
Just over a year ago, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies dismantled Hofstra in a 73-45 victory in front of a sold-out Reilly Center crowd.
In the first few minutes of Saturday’s game, it seemed like the only difference would’ve been the attendance number, as the Bonnies got out to an early 30-7 lead thanks to a 26-2 run.
Just 20 minutes of gameplay later, Hofstra regained the lead.
It was a rollercoaster of emotions in the Reilly Center, but St. Bonaventure was able to finish the game on a 15-4 run to secure a 77-69 victory.
“It was a tale of two halves,” St. Bonaventure Head Coach Mark Schmidt said. “I thought we got off to a great start… The positive out of [Hofstra’s comeback] was that when they took the lead, I thought our guys collectived themselves, didn’t hang their heads, and fought back.”
It was all Bonnies in the first half. Dominick Welch started out hot scoring 10 points early with the help of two threes. But, once St. Bonaventure captured that 30-7 lead, Hofstra fought back immediately. The Pride responded with a 10-2 instantly. The back-and-forth start would continue the entire game.
In the first 14 minutes of the second half, Hofstra outscored St. Bonaventure by 14 to take the lead.
“We got really sloppy offensively, we weren’t swinging the ball, we were playing selfishly,” said Osun Osunniyi, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bonnies were able to come back to secure the victory thanks to veteran leadership.
“We need them,” Schmidt said of Osunniyi, Lofton and Welch. “Those three guys, along with Jaren [Holmes], have to score the ball.”
“It all falls back on veteran leadership,” Osunniyi said on the win. “The older guys, the experienced guys, told everyone to stay calm, run our offense and play defense.”
Forty-five of St. Bonaventure’s 77 points came from Osunniyi, Welch and Lofton, with Jalen Adaway and Holmes contributing nine and eight.
Lofton filled his stat sheet, finishing with 16 points, nine assists and four rebounds.
“We had 19 assists, 11 turnovers, we outrebounded them by 15, so there were a lot of positives in our effort. We aren’t in great shape yet, we haven’t practiced all that often. I’m proud of the mental toughness of our guys to come back after they took the lead. Our guys really handled it well,” Schmidt said.
After their disastrous 1-for-14 shooting from three-point range on Tuesday, St. Bonaventure stepped it up. St. Bonaventure shot 7-for-16 from beyond the arch today, with three of those coming from Welch.
The Bonnies will host Buffalo Tuesday at 4 p.m. on ESPN+. A year ago, the Bonnies fell by five on Buffalo’s home court due to significant foul trouble.
