ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Their story began, in earnest, in a locker room at Connecticut College on March 8, 2018.
Kyle Lofton had just helped Putnam Science Academy to the National Prep Basketball Championship with a thrilling 74-66 overtime win over Northfield Mount Hermon. In the immediate afterglow, the normally soft-spoken point guard added to the celebratory air by announcing in dramatic fashion to his eagerly awaiting teammates where he intended to play collegiately.
“I’ll be continuing my basketball career in the fall …,” he began excitedly, rubbing his hands together before turning a backwards black ball cap forward, “at St. Bonaventure University.”
On that night in New London, three nights before those Bonnies etched their own place in history by beating UCLA in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament, Lofton, unknowingly, ignited the next great era of Bona basketball.
Dominick Welch, the Cheektowaga native and Western New York’s all-time leading scorer, committed just over a month later. The true turning point came in May, however, when Lofton helped coax one of his prep teammates into joining him at Bona, the player who memorably chose brown over Syracuse and Georgetown:
Osun Osunniyi.
The interesting thing is that, initially, neither was destined to end up Bona.
Lofton, despite a glittering career at Union Catholic in Hillside, N.J., had no Division I offers after high school and was entertaining the junior college route until ending up at Putnam and raising his profile from there. Osunniyi, remember, was signed and sealed to La Salle until coach John Giannini was fired following that 2017-18 season.
But, amazingly, here’s where destiny brought them: To the dais in Dayton, Ohio, sitting side-by-side in their yellow championship shirts and white caps, reflecting on the Bonnies’ Atlantic 10 Tournament title … their second title together.
“It means a lot to me,” Lofton said of the accomplishment. “I was talking to my dad and he was telling me, I wasn’t supposed to be here. After high school, I was going to junior college, looking into that. Then just to be blessed with the opportunity to get found by Putnam Science Academy was a life changing moment for me.
“I did that and then I happened to win a national championship and I got looked at by St. Bonaventure. I’m thankful for that. And just since my freshman year, they trusted me and they gave me the confidence to be what I am now. I give credit to my teammates and coaches.”
As prep school teammates, Lofton and ‘Shoon actually weren’t that close of friends, the junior guard acknowledged.
The pair wound up becoming tight in much the same way another celebrated Bona point guard-center combo – Bill Kalbaugh and Bob Lanier – did 50 years earlier, by becoming roommates with one another. For the latter, the primary bonding point was pool and basketball. For Lofton and Osunniyi, it’s video games and, of course, basketball.
“It’s like my brother,” Lofton said of his 6-foot-10 teammate now. “We grew closer as the (prep) season went on and then coming here my freshman year, we were roommates, so once that hit, we were like brothers.
“Our chemistry got better, we talk a lot about basketball on and off the court; even the off the court stuff that doesn’t involve basketball, I help him, he helps me. I just see him as a lifelong friend, and after this level, I hope I get a chance to play with him again.”
From Day 1, they’ve essentially followed the same path through their collegiate careers, one that has been mostly fruitful, but not without its hurdles.
Lofton and Osunniyi came in together and weathered the same rocky start (1-5, 4-10 and their welcome to major college basketball moment, an 81-48 loss to Syracuse) together. They became starters around the same time, Lofton from opening night and ‘Shoon against Georgia State in the fourth game of the year, made the All-Rookie Team (in 2019) and their first all-conference teams (in 2020) together.
And three years later, here they are:
A two-time Atlantic 10 First Team selection and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, the two most important players on another all-time Bona team, having led the program, for the first time, to both the A-10’s regular season and tournament championships, an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament and its highest seed in the modern era.
Their talent, of course, is a massive part of that.
Lofton is a wise-beyond-his-years point guard, a guy capable of scoring 30, and Osunniyi is a double-double player and one of the best defensive presences in the country. Things truly did change with their arrival in the spring of 2018.
Equally important, though, is just how tight they are. And that’s a reflection of how much chemistry there is on this entire 2020-21 team.
“On any good team, the closer you are off the court, the closer you’re gonna be on the court,” coach Mark Schmidt said, “and the more you can get along and get on guys. If there’s no respect off the court, it’s hard to get on guys, they take it personally. But if there’s a great relationship off the court, then you can tell guys something on the court that they may not agree with and they will still respond.
“I think Kyle and ‘Shoon are like that.”
He added: “And not just them, the whole team. I think we have a tight-knit group that respects each other and guys can get on each other and motivate each other and there’s no animosity, and that’s important for any team. If you’re going to be successful, that’s most important.”
Schmidt has said it, and so did Lanier before him: If you have a standout point guard and center, you have an opportunity to be great. And that’s where Bona finds itself entering this year’s Big Dance.
On the biggest stage to date, both were at their best: Lofton had 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and just two turnovers against VCU’s “havoc” defense. Osunniyi had a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, with three blocks. Behind them, Bona topped the Rams 74-65 for that Atlantic 10 title.
Three years after their story began with a title, it was only fitting that, to this point, it culminated with another. And here’s how symmetric the two were: Osunniyi was named the Most Valuable Player in both.
Sitting on that dais in Dayton, you could tell how much that title meant to the junior stars, quickly becoming one of the most significant pairings in program history. And it was apparent how much they meant to each other.
“Kyle’s been the captain, the quarterback, the shot caller, the general on the court at all times,” Osunniyi said. “Even when we came in as freshman, the ball was in his hands and everything ran through him. I trust him, whatever he does and however he plays, I’m backing him up 100 percent. He’s Kyle Lofton.
“He’s been playing like this since he came here as a freshman for us … (now) we’re back here, we’ve been playing together since prep school. So for us to be able to win this … that’s my brother.”
Lofton, smiling wide, then reminded his brother, “second one together.”
