BY TOM SEIPP, MANAGING EDITOR.
DAYTON, OHIO – Just two years ago, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies were one shot away from winning the Atlantic 10 Championship and making the NCAA Tournament.
Sunday, the Bonnies didn’t need a last-second heave to determine their fate.
St. Bonaventure defeated VCU, 74-65, in the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bonnies are seeded as a No 9 seed, as they will match up against No. 8 LSU in the NCAA Tournament Saturday.
“It’s bittersweet. I’m really proud of our guys, it’s a little bit surreal. When Dr. DePerro passed, we honored him. This season was in his honor,” St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt said. “The smiles on our guys’ faces, that’s what you coach for. Those types of experiences, those are the memories that will last a lifetime… For them, this is a dream come true. This is what you dream of.”
With the win, the Bonnies secured their second Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship, with the last coming in 2012 against Xavier.
“Going to the NCAA Tournament is a dream come true,” Lofton said, who will be making his first NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Bonnies will be going to their second tournament in the last four years, the last coming in 2018 where St. Bonaventure beat UCLA. Ironically enough, that was in the same building – UD Arena – where the Bonnies won their 2021 A10 Tournament Championship.
In the first half of Sunday’s championship game, Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Bones Hyland picked up three fouls in the first seven minutes, which sidelined him for the remainder of the first half; he was held scoreless in the first 20 minutes. The Bonnies were able to take advantage, as they took a seven-point halftime.
In the second half, it was all Bonaventure. The Bonnies quickly took off in the first few minutes of the second half. Just under nine minutes into the second half, the Bonnies had extended their lead to 17.
As expected, VCU wouldn’t go away without a comeback effort, as they brought the game within single digits with just a few minutes to play. But, in the end, the Bonnies hit clutch shots to give them the championship victory.
“It’s a special group,” Schmidt said. “These guys are holding close to my heart. They endured a lot this year and they were able to come through…. I can’t say it enough, I’m so proud of our guys.”
Osun Osunniyi, Jalen Adaway and Lofton were all named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team. Osunniyi won the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.
“He is – from a defensive standpoint – everything to us,” Schmidt said of Osunniyi. “Even though he doesn’t block all the shots, he’s always there… He makes up for all of our mistakes. Defensive Player of the Year in the Atlantic 10 says it all.”
Lofton led the Bonnies in scoring, as he finished with 23 points. He knocked down four threes, which broke his season-high for threes in a game.
“Kyle’s everything,” Schmidt said of Lofton. “He’s invaluable. He’s our leader… He’s a special player, special kid, and I’m lucky that he’s on our team.”
As it was in 2018, UD Arena was flooded with Bonaventure fans. With 1,500 fans in the arena, the majority was undoubtedly full of Bonnie fans.
“It seemed like a home game with how loud the fans were,” said Osunniyi, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Coach Schmidt couldn’t agree more, as he recognizes how important basketball is to the St. Bonaventure community.
“Bonaventure is a special place. When I got here 14 years ago I knew it was important, but I didn’t know basketball was this important. The support that we get night in and night out, for them to come down to Dayton in the pandemic, just tells you how important basketball is to the university,” Schmidt said. Bonaventure is everywhere.”
