ST. BONAVENTURE — For much of this physical, emotional, roller-coaster of a game, it seemed as though every call was going against them.
And then, just when they needed it most, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies had one go their way.
Jaylen Adams had just given Bona the lead, finishing a layup to make it 69-67 with 19 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Taylor Funk was whistled for a moving screen, forcing Saint Joseph’s to foul and sending the crowd of 3,548 into a frenzy.
Back home for what seemed like the first time in weeks, Bona had much to overcome: a numbing 26 fouls, a Saint Joe’s comeback, the second-guessing that might have come with losing four of the previous five games. But with the Reilly Center faithful behind them, the Bonnies rose above all of it, earning a much-needed 70-67 triumph over Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday night.
In the end, they not only avenged a road loss to these Hawks from three weeks earlier, they issued a resounding statement: The season isn’t over just yet.
“As you guys know, we were desperate for a win,” coach Mark Schmidt acknowledged. “We found a way.”
“It was a physical game,” added junior Courtney Stockard, who was a big help with 15 points and 13 rebounds. “We did a good job of fighting. We didn’t want to come all this way and slip up and lose it.”
In a back-and-forth game between teams that have developed a real rivalry in recent years, there were 18 lead changes and 15 ties. Bona trailed 67-65 before getting a dunk from LaDarien Griffin with 1:24 left and Adams’ go-ahead bucket, on a nifty curl off a down screen, in the waning seconds.
Ultimately, Bona (13-6, 3-4) broke back into the win column by doing the things it hadn’t been doing in four-straight road losses:
It defended, holding the Hawks to below 40 percent shooting, including 5-of-18 from 3-point range. It rebounded, holding a decisive 46-33 advantage on the glass. And it played well coming out of halftime, ripping off a quick 11-2 run to start the half and eventually going up by 12 to set itself up down the stretch.
Those things helped to offset an alarming number of fouls from an officiating crew that was inconsistent at best and a below-average night offensively.
The Bonnies, who have won eight of the last nine over the Hawks, jumped from 11th place in the Atlantic 10 standings to a tie for eighth, and took the first step toward toward mending a once-promising campaign.
“This is how we won early in the season,” Schmidt said. “You win with defense, you win with rebounding, and we defended them. We fouled a little bit too much, but we defended, and that’s the ingredient.
“We got back to playing the way we’re capable of playing defensively. Hopefully our offense can come around.”
Bona did enough offensively despite 17 turnovers to give itself a chance in the end.
Adams had 16 points, Stockard and Griffin (10 points, 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles and Matt Mobley added 11. Though he only finished with six points, junior reserve Nelson Kaputo hit two of the biggest shots of the game: a 3-pointer to tie it at 59 with 7:51 left and a corner 3 to bring the Bonnies to within one with 3:46 remaining.
It was a return to its identity from the non-conference, the very components that led to a 10-2 record and wins over Maryland and Syracuse — defense and toughness — that made the difference, however.
Bona limited the Hawks to just a single point over the final 4:12. Twice Saint Joseph’s (9-10, 4-4) was awarded possession in crunch time off a replay review, and twice the Bonnies picked up stops: forcing an errant pass that led to Adams’ game-winner and the offensive foul on Funk.
After being torched by Shavar Newkirk and James Demery in Philadelphia (the two combined for 47 points), Schmidt’s team limited the seniors to nine and 13 points, respectively. Nick Robinson also had 13 for the Hawks while Funk finished with 10.
“On the road, it’s been difficult,” Schmidt said. “We just wanted to get back to fundamentals and playing hard and competing, and that’s what we did tonight. We had a good crowd. Thank god the students came out. We persevered, we found a way, and that’s good to see, especially when we didn’t play our A game.”
Stockard made 1-of-2 free throws to put his team up 70-67 with six seconds left. Bona held its breath after a desperation heave by the Hawks fell well short at the buzzer. It was also aided by the fact Joe’s went a mere 16-of-28 at the line.
But that was how it went for the Bonnies … they fought past a Saint Joe’s run, all the whistles, a pair of technicals (one for each team) and multiple chances for the Hawks to take the lead in the end.
For the first time in two weeks, there’s momentum — optimism — on their side.
“We just had to keep our composure,” Stockard said. “We did a good job of defending today, especially when they made their (second-half) run. We’ve got to make it even more of an emphasis to defend. And I think we did a pretty good job of that.”