DAYTON, Ohio- The Bonnies of St. Bonaventure were awarded A-10 regular season champions and the A-10 Tournament champions. This is the first time the Bonnies have ever won both titles in the same season.
The Bonnies were led by its Junior guard Kyle Lofton who tallied 23 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Osun Osunniyi racked up another double-double and anchored the team defensively. The Bonnies out-rebounded VCU for the first time this season in their three matchups. Another key contributor was Jalen Adaway with 10 points and 6 rebounds. All three players were awarded on the A-10 all championship team.
In the beginning of the game, Jalen Adaway led the game with two threes for the Bonnies settling the teams nerves. From then on, the Bonnies didn’t look back. A-10 player of the year, Bones Hylaand, saw limited playing time with three fouls in the first six minutes. Lofton’s back to back threes would propel the Bonnies to a first half lead of 32-25.
In the second half, Bones Hylaand, checked back into the game trying to compete with the champions. He ended the game with 21 points but Dom Welch played very tough defense on him forcing him into difficult shots. Lofton controlled the entire second half taking care of the ball against VCU pressure. Lofton had eight points in a row with two threes and a floater pushing the lead to 12 with 11:26 to play.
From then on, Welch and Osunniyi were limited due to fouls with about 10 minutes to go. VCU could not cut into the lead too much trailing by seven for most of the game. With about a minute to go Dom Welch hit a dagger with a hand in his face to put the nail in the coffin. Announcer Ian Eagle exploded saying, “Bullseye for the Bonnies!”
“I’m really proud of our team, players, staff and administration. We didn’t change what got us here. We defended, we rebounded and we took care of the basketball. You know VCU, they’re so well-coached and if you don’t take care of the basketball they’re going to get out on the break and their fast break numbers are lethal, said Head Coach Mark Schmidt.”
This game punched St Bonaventure’s ticket into the big dance. They would later find out they will play LSU Saturday afternoon at 1:45 p.m.
The Bonnies are playing the best basketball we have seen since the last time they were dancing. No A-10 team could even compete with them in the A-10 tournament. They have a top 20 defense in the country according to KenPom, an experienced team, and a leader in Kyle Lofton who always shows up in big games. They also have the A-10 defensive player of the year who has combined for 13 blocks in just three games. He is locked in.
Watch out for the Bonnies in March. They want to not only win but humiliate their opponents. They have a chip on their shoulder and are not done yet. Watch out Tigers!
Tom Doyle Blog 