Photo Courtesy: GoBonnies on X
BY: CARSON HAYEK, SPORTS EDITOR
With 12:34 remaining in the second half, the Bonnies’ season looked to be coming to a close. Down by 13, St. Bonaventure was projected with a 6.4% chance to win, according to ESPN’s win model. For every Bonnies run, Duquesne had one of their own.
A little over a minute later, Bonnies senior guard Melvin Council Jr., had other plans. Council ignited the Bonnies’ comeback with three steals on three consecutive Duke possessions.
In the last four minutes of the game, Bonaventure didn’t allow a single field goal and outscored Duquesne 13-1. Enough to pull out an impressive 64-59 comeback victory.
According to Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt, winning one game in the tournament is all that it takes to build momentum.
“You have to win the first game and then you can gain some momentum and feel good about yourself,” Schmidt said. “It’s all about trying to get by the first game and we have a very difficult first game.”
A major role in the comeback was the energy of Bonnies fans in the second half of the game. Council Jr. had great appreciation for the fans that made the trip to Washington D.C.
“I appreciate [the fans],” said Council Jr. “When I came on my visit, coach told me that the fans travel well and I didn’t believe him until I came to the school. I just want to thank you guys for coming out and supporting us.”
Bonaventure’s opponent in the third round will be No.1 seed VCU. The Bonnies defeated VCU on New Year’s Eve 77-75, and fell to the Rams on Jan. 24, 75-61. With a VCU team that lost to Dayton 79-76 on Mar. 7, the Rams haven’t seen the court since.
The Bonnies will be challenged by playing games in back-to-back days. Junior forward LaJae Jones emphasized the importance of recovery following the win over Duquesne.
“[We have to] do what the trainer says,” Jones said. “We will have to take the time to stretch and hydrate.”
Schmidt said he knows that the Bonnies will have a tall task at hand against VCU.
“They’re good,” Schmidt said. “They have the [conference] player of the year, they have athletes, and when they shoot the ball well from three they are almost unbeatable. We have a big challenge ahead of us.”
For the Bonnies to upset the No.1 Atlantic 10-seeded VCU Rams, Bonaventure will need to ride the momentum of a large-scale comeback from the previous game. After all, a year ago No. 6-seeded Duquesne had multiple upsets, including one over VCU, at the right time and won the A-10 Tournament.
