BROOKLYN, N.Y. – It’s never easy. The Atlantic 10 championship. St. Bonaventure vs. Saint Louis. Winner exits Barclays Center with an NCAA bid. Runner-up? No dance given the teams respective records.
The tough thing about this is Bonaventure is my alma mater. Impartiality must rule. Regardless that is asking a lot. To no surprise there is the nervousness. This is not a regular season game. A championship is on the line. A player loses the nerves once the ball goes up. Not here on press row with an emotional investment factored in.
The Bonnies start fast. That is essential against a lower seed but talented Billiken team. Mark Schmidt’s group builds a lead and has a 34-25 advantage at the half. Battling aggressive Saint Louis (25-20 Bona rebounding edge) is huge. The Billikens counter with sophomore guard Jordan Goodwin, who is getting in the lane, rebounding and scoring. For the respective teams, twenty minutes to put it all on the line.
Teams make their runs. How you respond often determines the final outcome. Saint Louis’ run draws them within one with eleven minutes to play. The ‘alum’ and ‘impartial observer’ merge to simply assess: this is gut check time for the Bonnies.
The eight minute media time out finds Saint Louis within two. At this juncture Travis Ford’s Billikens are clearly the aggressor. The old axiom applies. For Saint Louis, the rim is a barrel; for the Bonnies, a tea cup.
Saint Louis took an eight-point lead. The margin was cut to two possessions as Bona made one final push. The last minute, with Saint Louis holding a 55-53 lead, loomed as an eternity to play out.
Down two with seconds remaining. Nelson Kaputo lets go with a corner attempt from three. The shot is a high arching type. The ball seems to almost be suspended above the Barclays floor. After what seems to be an endless stretch of time the ball comes down. Miss. A scramble for loose ball retrieved by Saint Louis. Game, and title to the Billikens.
For the Bona team and devoted fans, the cold slap realization that the basketball gods do not always smile. March Madness is the best. March they say can be ‘nature’s cruelest month’. And that is not just the weather.
