ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Nearly every one of the 3,548 fans rose to their feet, doing everything they could to will their team to one final bucket.
Thirty-seven seconds remained in this critical, potentially season-swinging game for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, but the outcome still hung perilously in the balance. If there was any question as to how Bona fans would respond to their team’s recent rough stretch, it was answered in that moment.
Jaylen Adams scored the go-ahead basket with 19 ticks left and the Bonnies held on for a much-needed 70-67 Atlantic 10 triumph over Saint Joseph’s Wednesday night.
As the horn sounded, it would have been impossible to decipher if this team was in first or 11th place coming in, if it was on the verge of an NCAA Tournament bid or had just played its way out of contention.
That’s the Reilly Center.
“Credit to the fans staying with their team,” long-time Joe’s coach Phil Martelli said. “Most places you lose four out of five, they run away … pretend like they don’t know you. Here, they were very embraced in the game, and I salute them. I think that’s a wonderful thing.”
Playing at home and in front of a student section for the first time since Dec. 9, the Bonnies did what they normally do in those circumstances: They won.
Since 2015-16, coach Mark Schmidt’s team is 18-3 in A-10 home games (including a pair of wins in Rochester), with losses to just two teams: heavyweights Dayton and VCU. It’s now 7-1 at home this season, and unbeaten (5-0) with Adams in the lineup.
Bona still has to prove it can win on the road, but the RC might be just what it needs to compete for one of the four conference tournament byes down the stretch. Out of the 11 games remaining, six are at home, the next five with students.
When asked about the crowd support Wednesday, and how important it’ll be going forward, Schmidt was candid.
“First, I’m not surprised,” he said of the atmosphere, despite the recent slide. “This is a basketball school and community and the students have been terrific since I’ve been here. The Reilly Center is the Reilly Center for a reason — because of the students and community.
“I tell the guys all the time: This isn’t the richest place to live. People spend a lot of money to get season tickets, to come and support us. We owe it to them to come out and play hard because there’s a sacrifice there. When they leave those seats and go back to their car, I want to know that they got their money’s worth, and I think they have and I think that’s why they continue to come back. There’s a passion in Western New York for Bonaventure basketball, and we’re lucky.”
For the first time since the Syracuse game, Schmidt was asked specifically about where his team stood in the NCAA Tournament picture.
It was a fitting time to ask. On hand Wednesday was ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, who moonlights as the Saint Joseph’s radio analyst and runs one of the most credible bracket projections in the media.
For what it’s worth, Lunardi believes the Bonnies still have a sliver of a chance at an-large bid, assuming, of course, they go on a massive run. He still has Bona listed among his “next four out,” meaning they’re within a group of eight teams just on the outside of the NCAA field.
Schmidt wasn’t quite willing to have that conversation.
“Oh, it’s way too early,” he said. “We have 11 more games; it’s a long way to go. Our whole focus now is George Washington, and we’ve got to get another one. You can’t look ahead. We’re not good enough. We’ve got to just keep on banging heads.”
Aside from defense and a strong start to the second half, one of the big reasons Bona beat the Hawks was its job on the boards. The Bonnies’ 46-33 advantage on the glass was their biggest of the season, and the 46 total caroms were second-most behind the 50 they pulled down against Buffalo.
Bona held that advantage despite playing big men Josh Ayeni (4 minutes) and Amadi Ikpeze (13) a total of 17 minutes. This allowed it to play what probably is the Bonnies’ best lineup — with LaDarien Griffin and Courtney Stockard at the forwards — for a majority of the game. It also gave them a sizable 18-12 advantage in second-chance points.
As part of that effort on the glass, Griffin (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Stockard (15 points, 13 rebounds) both finished with double-doubles.
It was the fourth double-double of the season for Griffin (and the fourth of his career) and the first for Stockard.
After being suspended for the Davidson game due to a violation of team rules, Ayeni returned to the lineup against the Hawks, but didn’t do anything to get back in his coaches’ good graces.
The 6-foot-8 forward committed five fouls in four minutes, the last of which was a technical for taunting a Saint Joseph’s player after a whistle with 13:54 remaining. Earlier in the game, he swatted a ball into the crowd well after a play had finished, but wasn’t whistled.
