It was a beautiful start of a Sunday afternoon for St. Bonaventure Bonnies fans, as the Buffalo Bills secured a victory. It may have been a lot closer than the Bills game, but it was the Sunday afternoon 69-60 comeback victory against Little Three rival Canisius that made the afternoon even more sweet.
For the first time in the 2021-22 campaign, fans saw all five seniors start for St. Bonaventure, as Jalen Adaway made his return to the lineup. But, it took a while to get the group going.
The game was close through the first 13 minutes until a mini Osun Osunniyi 4-0 run. Osunniyi had an alley-oop dunk and an and-one layup to give the Bonnies a seven-point advantage three quarters through the first half. The Golden Griffins quickly responded, going on an 8-0 run to give them a 25-24 lead 16 minutes in. Canisius kept that lead into the halftime break, where they led 31-26 thanks to a 14-2 run over the last six minutes.
That trend continued in the second half, as Canisius built their lead to as many as 11 in the opening minutes.
Eventually, it was the Bonaventure veterans who sparked the comeback. Down 57-50, the Bonnies went on a 8-0 run in just 93 seconds, ignited by a Jaren Holmes dunk, to regain the lead.
Thanks to Kyle Lofton’s 15 second-half points, the Bonnies would end up with the nine-point victory.
“We didn’t play well. In the second half, we got off to a bad start. I give our guys credit. We overcame some adversity,” head coach Mark Schmidt said. “I thought we played much harder in the last 10 minutes of the game, almost in a sense of desperation.”
The Bonnies comeback was fueled by their defense; they only allowed two field goals over the final 11 minutes.
“It was togetherness,” Holmes said of his defense. We made the plays that we needed to make. I think it just shows our togetherness as a group.”
It’s the second consecutive slow start for the Bonnies, who have been saved by second half comebacks.
“We have to come out strong. We came out slow in every single game: Kent St., Alfred,” Lofton said of his team’s slow start.. “I think we have to emphasize coming out and jumping on them first.”
Lofton and Holmes tied with 17 points, Adaway finished with 16.
After closing out the first week of basketball, the Bonnies, ranked #23 nationally in the AP Poll, leave the week with a 2-0 start to the season.
“It’s college basketball,” Jaren Holmes said. “Anyone can beat anyone on any given night.”
St. Bonaventure will now head to the Charleston Classic where they will open up against Boise St. on Thursday.
seipptw19@bonaventure.edu
