Sam Stith The final 14 seconds were sweat-producing, as described by The Times Herald, and found Weise, the 5-11 senior guard and subsequent Bona head coach, sinking two foul shots in the final two seconds to seal the win. But Houston was not like that. Southern Mississippi took the lead in the second half, in part due to the Bonnies poor foul shooting (20-38), but the team prevailed behind Nelson-Richards. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called the Hall of Fame player among the most talented centers in the history of the NBA, but that his impact on the league went far beyond what he accomplished on the court. The Bonnies went 14-10 in their 1975-1976 season. He had scholarship offers to more than 80 colleges to play basketball, but stayed close to home at Bona. The following season in the NCAA Tournament, he poured in 19 points vs. Penn. Winn is also second all-time in steals with 319 and first in steals per game at 3.0 - he's also third all-time in Atlantic 10 career steals. Neil J. O'Connell, OFM, 84, former president of St. Bonaventure University, died Thursday evening (March 24, 2022) at the nursing care unit of St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany . Bad rotations on the defensive end and unnecessary fouls put them in the 1-and-1 (on free throws).. He scored his 2,000th career point and averaged a double-double in the final week of the 2011-12 season, posting 25.5 points and 11.0 rebounds. The game was also unique in a way likely unmatched in any NCAA game since 1961. But when I ran back down the court and tried to pivot, my leg collapsed. Orange County girls basketball top 25, Jan. 31, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Saturdays OC schedule for the basketball, soccer CIF SoCal Regional playoffs, Marina girls basketball earns its revenge against Gahr, advances to regional semifinals, Boys and girls basketball: Thursdays scores, updated schedule for CIF SoCal Regional playoffs, Strong finish lifts Orange Lutheran past St. Pius X-St. Matthias in boys basketball regional playoffs, St. Bernard falls short against Mater Dei in boys basketball regional playoffs, Live high school updates: CIF Southern California Regional basketball, soccer playoffs, Orange County girls water polo Top 10: Orange Lutheran finishes No. As a senior in 201112, Nicholson earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors in addition to All-American Honorable Mention, and First Team All-Atlantic 10 and All-Defensive team honors. Athlete, coaches and staff members will be required to wear a mask provided by the school, and equipment such as basketballs will be cleaned before and after each practice or workout. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. A four-year floor general, Winn was a program-changing recruit for Jim Baron. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Low 29F. A game that St. Bonaventure should have won, remarked Tommasino. OLEAN - Frank S. Jester, 76, passed away Sunday (Feb. 26, 2023) at home, surrounded by his family, following a courageous battle with cancer. He tallied 659 points and his skillful play was instrumental in leading Bona to a 65-12 record during his career (1967-70). He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. . He ranks fifth in rebounds with 849 including a career-high 305 in 1966-67. At Bennett High School, Lanier dominated even after he was cut from Bennetts basketball team as a sophomore, but honed his basketball skills with Lorrie Alexander, the athletic director at the Masten Avenue Boys Club. A part of that seemed to be the respect given to Coach Gallagher, who was carried off the floor by Niagara fans after the game. A two-time ECAC All-Star (1976, '77), he was a co-captain of the NIT Championship Team in 1977, scoring 24 points in the championship game win over Houston after scoring in double figures in every game of that tournament. They made me so proud. In the preview story, an OTH reporter wrote, Its practically unanimous that the hapless men of Siena will be the 99th Armory victim. The reporter was correct: The Saints were marched out of Olean, 99-57. In an email to The News, the athletic department outlined its protocols for athletes who return to campus. Orange Lutheran (17-7): Lancers play JSerra, Santa Margarita and Anaheim this week. To me, it was the best job in the world, he said. I've worked in sports journalism since 1997 and I have covered everything from college football to the Stanley Cup playoffs, high school sports and the NCAA Tournament. pic.twitter.com/8GD9BhKt7C. ST. BONAVENTURE (14-17) You have permission to edit this article. An upset loss to Wake Forest in the 1961 NCAA tournament prevented any Bona hopes for a rematch with Ohio State. The Reilly Center fans were energized for the post-season matchup with Southern Mississippi. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. He played professionally for the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Buffalo Braves and Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and his No. And win they dida first post-season tournament championship in a program dating to 1919-20. Then, after Adaway missed the back end of a pair of free-throw attempts, Fred Thatch Jr.s 3-pointer cut Bonas lead to 78-74 with 3:03 remaining. 2. His 281 three-pointers are the most in school history while he shot 38.5 percent from distance for his career, good for sixth in program history. Bob Lanier, St. Bonaventure and NBA legend, dies at 73. Bob Lanier thanks the current players after the St. Bonaventure Bonnies basketball Final Four team was introduced at the end of the game at the Reilly Center at St. Bonaventure in Olean on Dec. 7, 2019. Error! More than anything else, I was petrified that I wouldnt get on the air or something would go wrong. Buffalo sports' greatest what-ifs: Would Bona have beaten UCLA in 1970 title game? {{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. St. Bonaventure started 0-3 before win streaks of four and five games boosted them in the home stretch of the season. He really had a terrific game, said Tommasino, and pulled the team through it., Looking back, Tommasino saw the season as a pivotal one, describing it as an uplifting year overall. After all, he noted, By those standards of the time, it [an 18-13 record] was a great turnaround for Bona basketball.. Thosewho have donned the Brown and White over the past 100 years have created memories to last a lifetime with fans of the program. Even after Jordan Nesbitt missed a 3-point attempt that clanked off the rim with less than six seconds left, the Bonnies couldnt let up until after Jalen Adaway hit the front end of two free throws with 5.1 seconds left, which cemented the final margin and helped the Bonnies avoid completely squandering a comfortable, double-digit lead. Ask Sam Stith, the legendary player who scored over 1100 points in his three varsity seasons at St. Bonaventure University (SBU) from 1957-60. The St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team is doing more than taking on the Richmond Spiders on Saturday in an Atlantic 10 matchup. The Class of 2023 is headlined by former men's . In an 83-79 win against Saint Louis, the Bonnies saw the Billikens outrebound them, outshoot them and outhustle them in the final seven minutes as Saint Louis cut a 15-point deficit to two with 30.6 seconds left. He is also first in career field goals made (944) and shot a .538 percentage, also grabbing over 600 rebounds. Vanterpool helped lead the Bonnies back to national respect, taking Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors in 1991-92. The Niagara loss in the Olean Armory ended SBUs 99-game home winning streak that dated to 1948, while the Dukes upset the Bonnies in overtime, 79-74, in Pittsburgh. ); single-season rebounding (416); and average rebounds in one season (16) in 1969-1970. As a senior, he averaged 17.5 ppg and was named First Team All-A-10. A private, giving nature is one of the many qualities that local basketball dignitaries remembered about Lanier, a Buffalo native and a Bennet, The Bonnies will wear commemorative patches that bear Bob Laniers No. A win may have vaulted the team into the 32-team NCAA tournament. He was a consensus All-American each season. All of those guys were ready to take the next step, and that game showed them that they could do that.. Yes, I had them, too, not to mention a collection of Bona game programs from my time as a sports information intern in the early 1980s. If I miss that shot, it means Im the goat, and keep in mind that it would have broken the Bona winning streak, Stith added. Matt Gantt The Atlantic 10 announced the pairings Thursday. The lead story was about area flooding, though a top-page banner indicated that Niagara had used St. Bonaventure as a "stepping stone" to the NIT Tournament and . He was 73. Riding a seven-game win streak into the NIT, Indiana State relied on the high-scoring forward who averaged 33 points per game that season, but fell to Houston on the road. According to The New York Times, Houston guard Ken Williams hurried downcourt after the turnover and took a shot, seemingly in panic, instead of slowing down the game and setting up a play. Bona center Tim Waterman grabbed the rebound and headed to the foul line, making one free throw. In the 2014 Atlantic 10 tournament, the Bonnies were defeated by Saint Joseph's the semifinals. Yet, to the surprise of many, they did get an NIT invite. Glenn Price As a senior, he helped the Bonnies to the NCAA Tournament and First Four win over UCLA as well as a school-record 26 victories. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Jump to Sections of this page Thank You! Sign Up Today! A crowd of 12,451 packed Madison Square Garden for the 1pm tip on March 20, and Houston star Otis Birdsong was ready. The basketball success in that era was known for something else during Stiths playing days: a prominent home-game win streak. Bonas and Niagara seemed to have a good rapport with each other.. You have permission to edit this article. The Olean Times Herald storyheadlined Pipe-Dreamer Couldnt Have Improved on Bonas Victorycredited that basket with 15 seconds left as deciding the game and keeping the streak alive. As a senior in 2001-02, he averaged 24.6 points per game and scored 738 points that season alone. The Universitys webpage of Stith offers an apt description: When the game was on the line, he became the Go To Guy, and he seldom disappointed. Win #73 included. 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. Timmy was our only size to speak of, Satalin said. In his three seasons, the Bona teams coached by Eddie Donovan amassed a record of 62-13, good for a .827 winning percentage. The 6-foot-6 forward from Syracuse, N.Y. averaged 20 points per game over his four years with the team. He helped Bona to three NIT berths and one NCAA Tournament and went on to play for the New York Knicks. He served as captain his senior season of 1962-63 and was named All-East that year. The Bonnies prevailed despite 17 turnovers, the last of which could have been most costly. I think that was the reason for our success., College/high school sports enterprise reporter. We send our deepest condolences to Bobs family and friends.. Neither were we, quite frankly, but we and they were able to outscore teams most of the year. But coming out of the media timeout, the Bonnies answered with a 7-2 run, then opened their lead to 15 points with less than 10 minutes left in the game. Price was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. 6. The Bonnies made Bramah's list of three finalists . The 78-73 setback to Wake Forest in the NCAA East Regional semifinals at the Charlotte Coliseum was unique from the outset. Jan 30, 2023 @ 8:55pm. The New Years Eve matchup served as the most memorable game in the Bona career of Fred Crawford, who was later named as one of the best players in the schools longstanding basketball history. After all, this first visit to the NCAA tournament featured a Bona team ranked as high as second in the country that season. 25 was retired in 2007. Vanterpool stands 14th all-time in career scoring with 1,474 points and is also among the program's leaders in assists (401, eighth), rebounding (630, 22nd) and three-pointers (106, 19th). The final OSU starter that evening, forward Bobby Knight, later became one of the most winning college basketball coaches in history. Three other startersJohn Havlicek, Larry Siegfried, and Mel Nowellsubsequently played in the NBA. When we looked at that game, I thought, This team is really good, and were going to have to score a lot of points to win this thing, but it should be a great game, he said. "For more than 30 years, Bob served as our global ambassador and as a special assistant to David Stern and to me, traveling the world to teach the game's value and make a positive impact on young people everywhere," Silver said in the statement. 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. He was the kind of guy who did all the dirty work. Posting up: Memories of St. Bonaventure basketball, December 1960: A chance to beat the #1 team in the country, Francis Tommasino: The NIT home win in 1995, The launching of Posting up: Memories of St. Bonaventure basketball.