The Bonnies reeled off another four straight victories to end the regular season at 20-5. The 76-77 Bonnies jumped out to an 11-3 record by the end of January, losing only at Georgetown and DePaul and to Princeton at the Rochester War Memorial in the championship of the Kodak College Basketball Classic. He carried a 26 points-per-game average during the tournament, yet prior to the Bona game, Lewis remarked, Hed be the first to tell you he hasnt had a good tournament. One high point of Birdsongs season was scoring 43 in a nationally televised loss to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in January, proving that explosive games were possible. St. Bonaventure had won 99 straight games at home. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Even before the final buzzer, Donovan walked to the Niagara bench to congratulate Gallagher, who got the game ball with Donovans approval. Over his Bonnies career, Adams was a three-time First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection. They responded. To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. Nicholson was key to the program's turnaround under head coach Mark Schmidt as he led the Bonnies to the 2012 Atlantic 10 Championship before being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. 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Providence (#15) upended St. Bonaventure, 82-75, before a Dick Vitale-coached Detroit squad (#19) defeated the Bonnies, 78-62, in the Motor City. The NCAA announced the cancellation of all winter and spring sports championships because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thank goodness we had a strong first half.. Havlicek won eight NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, and both he and Lucas were named to the 50 greatest NBA player list in 1997. In their first-round game, a sophomore named Larry Bird nearly derailed Houstons season. In these cases, the average was taken. Stith had an almost unstoppable hook shot and won more national attention for the program than any other player up to that time. He is tied for the SBU single game record for assists with 14, and second in steals for a game with seven. "For more than 30 years, Bob served as our global ambassador and as a special assistant to David Stern and then me, traveling the world to teach the games values and make a positive impact on young people everywhere," Silver said in a statement this morning. Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Thank you for signing in! He more than handled it for us. More than anything else, I was petrified that I wouldnt get on the air or something would go wrong. Low 29F. OSU was ranked #1 in both the UPI and AP postseason polls; SBU came in third place in both rankings. He scored 2,067 points in three seasons at Bona, and was the No. Ahead 37-36 at halftime, the Bonnies faced a persistent Wake Forest team that forced six lead changes in the second half. St. Bonaventure reached the A-10 Tournament championship game each of the last two times it was played, falling to Saint Louis, 55-53, in 2019 and cruising as the No. Along with an online fan vote and at games this season resulting in over 2,000 votes, a group of Olean Times Herald columnist and former sports editor Chuck Pollock and former beat writer Mike Vaccaro '89 along with current Olean Times Herald sports editor JP Butler '07 and longtime voice of the Bonnies Gary Nease selected from a group of 60 players for All-Time Team consideration. Its just that youre not there to help them. Bonaventure will also institute hygiene and cleaning measures in its athletic department. We played the best teams, which proved to me that I was right in saying that we were good enough to win this thing, he said. That whole dynamic was very interesting., The Bonnies entered the Holiday Festival with the third most potent offense in the country, averaging 92 points a game. St. Bonaventure needs to capitalize on the remainder of their schedule, including four games against teams that are in the bottom half of the , Starting this weekend, spectators who attend basketball games at St. Bonaventure won't be required to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination for e. During NCAA Tournament runs in 1968 and 1970, he scored in double figures in every game he played with dominating performances. An Honorable Mention All-American selection by the Associated Press following his senior season, Adams' name is written throughout the Bonaventure record books. Welcome! Noted for his aggressive play and the polish of his many skills, he was St. Bonaventure's captain in 1967-68. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. National media, including Sports Illustrated, headed to the corner of Times Square and Barry Street for the February 25 spectacle. Over his four seasons, Adams helped the Bonnies to 87 wins, which is the most ever for a graduating class. Lanier's death was announced this morning by St. Bonaventure. It was an obstacle that turned into an opportunity.. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, City mourns Buffalo firefighter Jason Arno as investigation into fatal fire launches, Buffalo firefighter makes 'ultimate sacrifice' in blaze that may have sparked backdraft, Paula's Donuts to move Clarence store that faced backlash for tax breaks to Amherst, Vandal damages 'brokenhearted' Russell Salvatore's tribute park in Lancaster, Chad Hall's departure from Buffalo Bills to Jaguars remains a bit of a mystery. Satalin led a 20-6 squad to Princeton, NJ, to face Rutgers, a matchup with a team that the Bonnies had lost to 374 days prior in the previous season. The 1994-1995 team brought impressive victories to the Reilly Center that included wins over SEC foes Mississippi State and Mississippi as well as over Louisville, Virginia Tech, and VCU. Was there pressure in the moment with such a long win streak on the line? As a student at St. Bonaventure (SBU), I had the joy of interning in the Sports Information office and experiencing the excitement of Reilly Center games from a pressbox perspective. In 52 years, only his career points record has been surpassed by three men who played 29, 37 and 48 more games than Lanier did, when freshmen were allowed to play varsity (after 1972) and schedules grew larger. St. Bonaventure men's basketball completes home-and-home sweep of Saint Louis. 31 on their uniforms this season, the school's athletic department anno, Lanier made the NBA All-Star Game in seven of his first eight seasons. Niagara just had control of the game., Final score: Niagara 87, St. Bonaventure 77. He earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Year twice (1980, '81) and helped the Bonnies to a 70-41 record during his career before earning selection to the Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991. He was picked to the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988 and his No. 71. However, the idea of the Bonnies even being picked for the NIT that season was uncertain. The Reilly Center Arena court where the Bonnies have played since 1966 was named after Lanier in 2007. Hollis layup at the buzzer electrified the Bona crowd in capping off its first post-season tournament championship. The Bonnies prevailed despite 17 turnovers, the last of which could have been most costly. I didnt know at the time I had torn my MCL. He was honored as a Jim Staunton Champion for Character by the CIF-Southern Section in 2017. A distinguished guard for the Bona basketball program, he was co-captain of the NCAA Final Four team of 1970. His roll that postseason continued with 19 points and 18 rebounds vs. Villanova and he also scored 16 points in the Final Four vs. Jacksonville. The key to SBU's 1970 Final Four team, his No. An upset loss to Wake Forest in the 1961 NCAA tournament prevented any Bona hopes for a rematch with Ohio State. The Bonnies led, 45-42, at halftime, but, by midway through the second half, he had already scored 36 points with Houston leading, 73-63. 9. There was an error processing your request. Thats exactly what the Bonnies did that evening in the Reilly Center, and it was Francis Tommasinos most memorable Bona game behind the microphone in his Bona tenure. Houston then survived against Illinois State (91-90) before beating Alabama, 82-76, to reach the championship game. One of the main article in the sports section headlined, The Fortress Falls100 Never CameJoy for OneTears for Another.. ST. BONAVENTURE (14-17) You have permission to edit this article. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Sage Hill (16-9): Lightning will say goodbye to the San Joaquin League after this weeks games against St. Margarets and Webb. In only his fourth season as the Bonnies head coach, Jim Satalin found himself in the national spotlight against famed coached Guy Lewis. At that point, once we got ahead of them, that was going to be hard for them to come back, Satalin said. (This brief stretch may be the only consecutive three-game run of facing top 20 teams in Bona history.). The St. Bonaventure Basketball Centennial Season All-Time Team: Jaylen Adams Collins Sets Single Season Assists Record as Billikens Beat Dayton on Friday Night, Dayton Visits Billikens for Final A-10 ESPN Friday Night Showcase, Legendary Richmond Radio Broadcaster Bob Black to Receive Bob Vetrone Media Award, Hawks, Dukes, Colonials All WIn While Mason Takes Overtime Affair and Rhody Survive Rambler Rally.