PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The winters in Olean can be long and tough. In years gone, residents and St. Bonaventure students would take solace in the play of the Bonnies on the hardwood, but the recent years have made the winters seem endless.
On Sunday, on a bright day in New Jersey, another ray of hope came through for Bonaventure faithful. St. Bonaventure upset Rutgers 64-63 in overtime at the Rutgers Athletic Center. The loss was the Scarlet Knights’ first of the season and gave the Bonnies the title in the Garden State Challenge.
Prior to the contest, Rutgers assistant Darren Savino remarked that keeping turnovers to a minimum was a Rutgers priority. Rutgers finished with 15 turnovers, but had 11 in the first half. That was crucial because those losses of the ball prevented Rutgers from going on any run. St. Bonaventure stayed even and trailed by one at the half.
“The longer we hung around the more our confidence grew,” noted Bonnie coach Mark Schmidt.
The game was close throughout. There were 22 ties, 16 lead changes and no one led by more than four. With under a minute to go, St. Bonaventure led by four. Anthony Farmer missed the second of two free throws. Rutgers rebounded and Mike Rosario tied it with a three pointer from the left side. Bonaventure’s Jonathan Hall had a last second shot blocked by J.R. Inman.
In overtime Rutgers scored the first four points and had momentum. Bonaventure maintained poise, answered and took the lead. With nine seconds to go Rutgers inbounded on their own end. A pass to Rosario on the wing found him defended. His pass back to the point was tipped by Ray Blackburn of Bonaventure as time expired.
“Our kids are resilient,” Schmidt said. “They are blue collar, play with a chip on their shoulder and were not on the top of the recruiting lists.”
Beside resilience, defense was a factor. Rutgers coach Fred Hill said that Rutgers did what was needed the final five minutes of the game and overtime. But the rest of the game was a different story.
“We didn’t do a good job in our ‘sudden’ set,” Hill said. In that particular set the Rutgers offense is in transition and enters an offense designed for a quick and good shot opportunity. “Credit their (St. Bonaventure) defense,” Hill said. “Their defense was solid.”
Rebounding was another big story here. Entering the game this was a concern for St. Bonaventure against a bigger Rutgers frontcourt. The Bonnies won the battle of the boards (51-40) and even had a 23-13 edge on the offensive glass. Rutgers coach Fred Hill noted on numerous occasions his team had their hands on the ball and lost it.
“Rebounds are crucial when the game is close and each possession is important,” Hill said. “We have to be stronger with the ball.”
Hill praised the work of J.R. Inman who began the year out with a suspension. Inman played 16 minutes and had five points but drew accolades from Hill for blocking a potential game-winning shot by the Bonnies’ Jonathan Hall in regulation.
Rosario and Greg Echenique led Rutgers with 14 points each. Echenique celebrated his birthday with a double-double as he added 14 boards. The Bonnies were paced by Hall’s 18-point, nine-rebound effort. Andrew Nicholson also had a huge game for the Bonnies, as the 6-9 freshman turned in a 15-point, 11-rebound, 5-block effort against a sizable frontcourt.
In the second game of the RAC doubleheader, Delaware stopped Marist in overtime. Jawan Carter led all scorers with 30 points for Delaware. The Blue Hens also received big performances from Alphonso Dawson (25 points) and Marc Egerson (23). Marist was paced by David Devezin’s 21 points but lost a war of attrition with three players fouling out.
The Challenge standings:
St. Bonaventure (3-1)
Rutgers (3-1)
Delaware (2-2)
Marist (2-2)
Robert Morris (1-3)
