BY WILL POLADIAN, SPORTS EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure faithful came out in droves to the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, New York as the Bonnies renewed its over century old rivalry with Canisius.
St. Bonaventure dropped to 1-1 on the season, losing too Little Three rival Canisius, 84-80, in overtime on Saturday.
“We scored 14 points [in overtime],” Schmidt said. “So it wasn’t from an offensive standpoint, it was defensively. We gave up 18 points [in overtime] and that’s the difference.”
Freshman guard Yann Farell got the Bonnies started quickly with five points to set up a back and forth first half between the Golden Griffins and Bonnies.
Bonaventure went into the locker room outshooting Canisius (1-1) 45% to 41%. The Griffins drained five 3-pointers in the opening frame to take the one-point advantage, 34-33.
“Give Canisius credit, they shot the ball really well from the three,” Schmidt said. “Eleven for 22, it’s hard to beat.”
With under eight minutes left in the second half, the Bonnies extended their lead to six after a 7-0 run, capped off by a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kyrell Luc. This was their largest lead of the contest.
Luc ended the game with 13 points and a career-high nine assists.
Sophomore guard Xzavier Long hit a 3-pointer with just over seven minutes to play to bring the Griffins within three. Graduate guard Jordan Henderson and Long led the team with 19 points on the night.
“They hit a big shot when we’re up by five and they hit a big three,” Schmidt said. “So we missed some shots, they made some shots. And that’s what happens when you make the shots, when you lose, you don’t.”
After redshirt junior guard Daryl Banks III hit a pair of free throws, Canisius went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 57. Banks ended the night with a game-high 22 points, 14 of which came in the second half and overtime.
Redshirt sophomore Chad Venning hit a long two as the shot clock winded down. Venning ended with 11 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Venning got to the charity stripe and hit two free throws with under 25 seconds left to tie the game at 66.
St. Bonaventure made a stop on defense, but a by Banks with 1.7 seconds missed and forced the game into an extra period.
In the opening minutes of overtime, the Griffins jumped out on a 5-0 run to set the tone.
Banks shot Bonaventure back into the game, hitting three 3-pointers with just under 30 seconds to bring the game within one.
“I kind of got into a rhythm,” Banks said. “I had some open looks and just having knocked them down they start flowing.”
With 1.4 seconds left, redshirt freshman Tahj Staveskie headed to the line, nailing both free throws.
On the inbound, the Griffins fouled redshirt freshman Anouar Mellouk, sending him to the line to shoot two. Mellouk ended the game with 13 points and two rebounds.
Mellouk made the first basket and missed intentionally on the second, which the Griffins corralled and ultimately sealed the deal for Canisius.
“I thought we showed some toughness coming back by making some shots at the end and making it a game,” Schmidt said. “But we got to get better. We have a long way to go. Guys are still learning, and we didn’t really execute both offensively and defensively.”
In the 170th meeting all-time, 14 lead changes and nine ties were exchanged over the course of the contest.
St. Bonaventure outshot the Griffins 47% to 45%. Canisius outshot the Bonnies from three going 11-for-22 compared to 6-for-18.
Bonaventure won on the boards 39-32 and tallied a 36-22 advantage in the paint.
The Bonnies head to the Sanford Pentagon for a matchup against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
“We have to get back in the gym,” Schmidt said. “We’re young, we’re going to make mistakes and we’re going to grow. We need to learn from the mistakes today and use them to get better.”
poladiwj20@bonaventure.edu
