BY ANDREW HALE, SPORTS EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team defeated Oklahoma State 66-64 in a back and forth affair in the opening-round of the Legends Classic.
Oklahoma State went on a 10-2 run to begin the game, but the Bonnies responded with a 17-9 run of their own, evening the score at 19.
After a back and fourth half, an Assa Essamvous three with 4:12 left gave the Bonnies their biggest first-half lead at six, 28-22.
The Cowboys responded, scoring seven of the last nine points of the first half.
A Mika Adams-Woods layup with 38 seconds left gave the Bonnies a 30-29 going into the half.
With guards Kyrell Luc and Moses Flowers out, the Bonnies relied on Adams-Woods to carry the load.
The graduate senior guard played all 20 minutes in the first half and shot 4-8 from the field, scoring 10 points.
Redshirt senior guard Daryl Banks III also played the entire first half but struggled to get anything going on the offensive end, shooting 1-5 from the field with two points.
Essamvous had eight points and five rebounds at the half.
OSU guards Bryce Thompson and Quion Williams led the way for the Cowboys, each finishing the half with seven points.
“We didn’t get off to a good start and fought our way back,” said Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt.”
The Bonnies had to fight through some early adversity as Charles Pride picked up his third foul a minute into the second half.
Sophomore forward Barry Evans, who played nine minutes in the first half, replaced Pride and immediately came up with his third steal of the game.
“I thought Barry Evans was the player of the game, being active getting steals,” said Schmidt. “I thought he really had an impact on the game.”
Evans’s defensive presence wasn’t enough as the Bonnies allowed the Cowboys to go on an 11-0 run, quickly taking the lead 42-35.
With 10 minutes to go, a Charles Pride and-1 to cut the Cowboys lead to three.
With the game tied at 46, a Banks III three gave Bonaventure the lead, erupting the Bonnies faithful in the Barclays Center.
“You see how [the crowd] impacted [the game], they got real loud and that just gets us going,” said Banks III. “They’re always amazing. They support us wherever we go, it doesn’t matter. There will always be some brown in the stands.”
Bonaveture’s defense came alive late in the second half as they held the Cowboys without a field goal for over seven minutes.
Down 57-58, John-Michael Wright’s and-1 layup gave the Cowboys a three-point lead with three minutes remaining. In the process, Brooklyn native, Chad Venning fouled out for the Bonnies. Venning ended the night with 10 points.
With a minute left, Adams-Woods was fouled by senior center Mike Marsh giving the Bonnies an opportunity to take the lead.
Less than a week after missing two late-game free throws in the Bonnies loss against Canisius, Adams-Woods stepped to the line with the game on the line once again.
This time Adams-Woods knocked down two free throws, tying the game at 62.
“[After Canisius], coach said get to practice and make 50 free throws and that’s what I did the next day,” said Adams-Woods. “In times like that, I just want to grow day by day. It teaches me sometimes to grow and I feel like I grew from it.”
The Cowboys answered, retaking the lead 64-62.
With 20 seconds left on the clock, Banks III was fouled while attempting a three pointer.
Banks III made all three free throws, giving the Bonnies a 65-64 advantage.
After two stops on defense and a Noel Brown free throw, the Bonnies defeated the Cowboys 66-64 in game one of the Legends Classic.
Adams-Woods finished with a game-high 20 points.
Freshman forward Eric Dailey Jr. had 15 points for the Cowboys.
“I thought we grew today,” said Schmidt. “I felt we showed some toughness today. Oklahoma State is athletic, and they have really good players. We’re learning and we’re growing but we’re nowhere near where we need to be.”
The Bonnies take on the winner of Auburn vs. Notre Dame in the championship game of the Legends Classic tomorrow at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
halea22@bonaventure.edu
