25 jersey was retired in 2007. He realized that the ending to the game nearly 55 years ago could have been different. The losswhat became the last setback of the 76-77 season may have been historic for St. Bonaventure. With so many greats to wear the Bonaventure colors through the years, coming up with an All-Time Team stands as a daunting task. Cloudy. Game over. And 72-game home win streak over. The Bonnies were 90th on Monday, and should move up with the win. Woollard averaged just four points per game that season, yet his performance against St. Bonaventure was pivotal in dashing NCAA championship dreams. Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt made sure to honor Lanier during his postgame media session. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. Love u big guy . Yet teams are planning for contingencies, and the Bills are no exception. The Bonnies were badly outrebounded, 42-23, with Oregon star and second team USBWA All-American Greg Ballard nearly matching the Bona total with 15 rebounds. A win may have vaulted the team into the 32-team NCAA tournament. The New York Times account described the Bona duo as the most dazzling practitioners among the six teams that day in playing with startling acrobatics.. Tommasino described the crowd as incredible with an energy level absolutely through the roof., The Bonnies responded in kind, surging to a 25-8 lead and ahead, 34-27, at half. A miss by Sanders, in Satalins eyes, wouldnt have meant defeat. He was that kind of guy, he remembered. 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. It hurt me to my heart that my guys were going (to the tourney) without me, Lanier said, wiping tears from his cheek. 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. A player in the NBA for Washington and New Jersey, Vanterpool today is a well-respected NBA assistant coach, today with Minnesota and previous with Portland. Syracuse started the game in an uncharacteristic man-to-man defense instead of a 2-3 zone, something that surprised Satalin according to an Olean Times Herald post-game story. St. Bonaventure will allow basketball players to begin returning to campus July 18. On 2/9, the Brea Olinda varsity basketball team lost their home playoff game against Orange Lutheran (Orange, CA) by a score of 49-40. As many college basketball fans know, the St. Bonaventure basketball fan base is a special one: dedicated, loyal, and vocal. He became the seventh player in the 35-year history of the league to earn both Rookie and Player of the Year honors and the first St. Bonaventure player to earn the top overall award since Earl Belcherwon two such honors in 1980 and 1981. He helped Bona to three NIT berths and one NCAA Tournament and went on to play for the New York Knicks. He was the kind of guy who did all the dirty work. But in the final five minutes, Saint Louis trailed 77-69 and attempted one more rally, despite Collins fouling out with 4:03 left. Youve got to execute defensively, just like youve got to execute offensively.. 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. Although. Price was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. (This brief stretch may be the only consecutive three-game run of facing top 20 teams in Bona history.). The 5-9 junior guard for the Demon Deacons averaged 17 points per game, but wasnt the scoring leader for the squad. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. If I went one more step, I would have run into him. He didnt want Lanier to get hurt playing against older, more skilled players. A look at the front page of The Olean Times Herald (OTH) on Monday, February 27, 1961, revealed little about the tumultuous event that took place two days prior at the Olean Armory. Probably five or so at least.. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 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It made me really focus on what I needed to do to get to where I wanted to go. We get to the tournament and we were just rolling through people. I survivedI got through it. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. All you have to do is activate your access. This would drift to the gym, and, by the start of the second half, the teams would need radar to find the bench.. We were kind of warriors in this trench together, and we had one focus: to win an NCAA title. The consecutive home victory streak, started in 1948, had neared triple digits. 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. His 10 three-pointers in February 2018 vs. Saint Louis stands as the program's all-time single-game record while his 14 assists in a game - twice - are tied for the program record. Game #179 would be fresh in his mind years later: Coach Jim Barons squad beat the University of Southern Mississippi for a first-round NIT victory, 75-70. He was picked to the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988 and his No. Rosary (13-7): Kaylee Byon had 30 points and seven assists in a 65-55 victory against Orange Lutheran last week. If you are experiencing difficulties logging in or are a subscriber getting a paywall, please try one or more of the following steps. Quick to steal the ball, he was the ultimate playmaker and team player. Fast forward 178 games to his first post-season call. With 21.7 seconds remaining, Saint Louis called a timeout. Bob Lanier (right) hugs friend and roommate Bill Kalbaugh after the two seniors left the court for the final time in their last home game at St. Bonaventure in 1970. The 201415 St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball team represented St. Bonaventure University during the 201415 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. He is also first in career field goals made (944) and shot a .538 percentage, also grabbing over 600 rebounds. for 1 day, Free ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. He finished his career third in rebounds and still stands there with 922, an average of 12.1 per game over 76 contests. (); : In the same year, 1163 students were at St. Bonaventure University. Siena visited the Armory on February 23. We kind of almost gave him that [center] position and hoped that he could handle it. Jan 30, 2023 @ 8:55pm. Stiths recollection of what happened after the final buzzer was vivid. Lanier played for 14 seasons in the NBA, with the Pistons and Bucks, and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. They lost their last two regular season games before falling in double overtime to St. Joes in the Atlantic 10 tournament and finding themselves with a record of 17-12. He compiles the Hot 150 list of football players to watch in Orange County before each season. Lanier finished his 75-game career as the St. Bonaventure record holder in seven categories: career scoring (2,067 points); career points per game (27.6); career rebounding (1,180); single-game scoring (51 points vs. Seton Hall); single-game rebounding (27 vs. Loyola, Md. We were ready, and they didnt do anything we didnt think they were going to do, Billikens coach Travis Ford said. 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. But when I ran back down the court and tried to pivot, my leg collapsed. Those players will remain on campus for the rest of the summer, and the remainder of Bonas athletes are scheduled to return to campus in August. Hollis enjoyed a tremendously successful career, ranking seventh in program history with 1,798 points while he still stands second in rebounds with 939 - 9.2 per game over 109 contests. The OTH called it the upset of upsets in Little Three basketball history. And win #100 was never reached. Each team shot 34 free throws with Wake Forest sinking five more than Coach Eddie Donovans squad. St. Bonaventure tied the score at 61 with 11:20 left, but Niagara surged ahead behind 70 percent shooting in the second half. 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. In the lone game St. Bonaventure has ever played against Oregon, Sanders only missed five shots, going 11 of 16 from the field and a perfect eight-for-eight from the free throw line. (); : 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. Crawford didnt remember a unique strategy designed to stop Lucas and the other Ohio State stars. 3 national ranking before losing to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tourney. Hollis scored 27 of Bonnies first 50 points as they headed into halftime with a comfortable 52-33 lead. A UB athletic spokesperson confirmed Tuesday to The News that the mens basketball program has not determined a report date for its players, m. Then there was an unusual item, something related to a Bona defeat to Wake Forest Collegeits name at that timein March 1961. St. Bonaventure men's basketball completes home-and-home sweep of Saint Louis. Nelson-Richards scored nearly half (16) of the Bona points in that half and eventually led all scorers with 24 points. The NCAA announced the cancellation of all winter and spring. Bob Lanier was a standout at Bennett High School, a superstar at St. Bonaventure, and an excellent pro in the NBA. An apparent late whistle against Baron on the steal affected the outcome. On your next view you will be asked to log in or create an account to continue reading. He didnt need to take any shots. A game that St. Bonaventure should have won, remarked Tommasino. He was the near-unanimous MVP of the tournament. He helped the Bonnies reach the 1970 Final Four, but sustained a knee injury in a regional final against Villanova, and did not play in a loss to Jacksonville in a national semifinal. access for current print subscribers. The captain of the 1959-60 team when he averaged 20.5 ppg, his No. He's played as a pro overseas for 15 years. By this point in the season, the Bonnies were 21-1, losing only to the top ranked team in the country, Ohio State, in late December. The Bonnies are fifth in the Atlantic 10 standings, and have six games left in the regular season a stretch run that could help propel the Bonnies into the Atlantic 10 tournament, which begins March 9 in Washington, D.C. Were not trying to get comfortable, or satisfied where were at, said Bona center Osun Osunniyi, who led his team with 21 points and three blocks. St. Bonaventure had won 99 straight games at home. 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. Recruiting buzz is already building just days after the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team's season ended at the hands of the LSU Tigers in the NCAA Tournament. Houston then survived against Illinois State (91-90) before beating Alabama, 82-76, to reach the championship game. If athletes are flagged from the screening, they will be evaluated by a physician. 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. Lettuce, tomato, onionsa nd sour cream will be included. During his three years of varsity competition, he totaled 1,738 points and ranks eighth in program history. 60 in the NET rankings, the sorting tool the NCAA Tournament committee uses in selecting the 68-team field. A Bonaventure athletic department spokesperson confirmed Thursday to The News that mens basketball players will return to campus July 18 and 19 for offseason workouts, and womens basketball players will return to campus July 25. The St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team is doing more than taking on the Richmond Spiders on Saturday in an Atlantic 10 matchup. A four-year floor general, Winn was a program-changing recruit for Jim Baron. ); The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. The Bonnies last loss had come to Niagara on February 11, 1948. But the win Monday should give the Bonnies a reminder that no lead is safe, especially as the regular season gets shorter. 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. Noted for his aggressive play and the polish of his many skills, he was St. Bonaventure's captain in 1967-68. Both The Bona Venture and Olean Times Herald reports of the game referred to numerous traveling infractions called against the Bonnies. I didnt even know at the time I tore my knee up. 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. Weve got a lot of games left. He was 73. Would you like to receive our breaking news? Nick Mogavero, the coach who cut Lanier, told The News in 1990 that he wanted Laniers stamina and coordination to catch up with his 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame. In fact, I distinctly recall listening to the championship victory in the 2012 A-10 tournament from a hotel in Armenia. At one point during the run, the Billikens went without a successful shot from the floor for nearly six minutes. 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. Named MVP of the 1977 NIT, he is St. Bonaventure's career leader in points with 2,238 (1974-78). Sign Up Today! Would you like to receive our daily headlines? Providence (#15) upended St. Bonaventure, 82-75, before a Dick Vitale-coached Detroit squad (#19) defeated the Bonnies, 78-62, in the Motor City. (); : It was the little engine that could in St. Bonaventure going against Ohio State, Crawford summarized. 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. Billy Packer, the famed Wellsville (NY)-born television analyst who covered 34 consecutive Final Fours, wouldnt have been courtside at that point. If it was a different team that might have been able to milk the clock more or wanted to do that, that might have been [different]. 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. We were good that year, Satalin recalled. Combing through them uncovered an array of Bona gems. He also was the interim head coach for the Golden State Warriors for 37 games in 1994-95, after Don Nelson stepped down. According to the Bennett Alumni Associations Sports Hall of Fame page, Lanier was an All-High selection as a junior and as a senior for the Tigers, averaging 25 points per game his senior year. He finished his career with 1,112 points, 620 rebounds and shot .761 from the free throw line. Would you like to receive our lifestyle headlines about food and wine, Olean living, local history and more? J.R. Bremer 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. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. He was inducted into the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990. They didn't get an opportunity to show their talent.". No question, he said. Lanier graduated from St. Bonaventure in 1970 with a degree in business, and his name is on the basketball court at the Reilly Center in Allegany, an honor bestowed in 2007. In the end, Lucas collected 21 rebounds and missed only seven shots from the field in scoring 32 points. Sign Up Today! He also helped Bona to the 1971 NIT with a 21-6 record and 62-17 during his career. Would you like to receive our ads to go? He's pictured at the opening of the Bob Lanier Center at the site of Kensington High. Hagan also posted 13 points in a win over Oregon as well as 14 points in the championship game win over Houston. Raised in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem, Crawford found the Holiday Festival experience to be a coming home of sorts, and playing at the Garden was a particularly special memory, especially in 1960. In 2015, Dan received the Bud Dwyer Jr. media award from the Southern California High School Football Coaches Association. And win they dida first post-season tournament championship in a program dating to 1919-20. The following games against Oregon and Villanova featured three- and four-point wins, respectively. Sanders performance earned him tournament MVP honors. Tom Stith, the two-time All-American and runner-up national player of the year that season, scored 34 points, while Freddie Crawford added 29 points. I think we could have extended the game and had an opportunity to win, he said. 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It was Crawford, however, who kept St. Bonaventure in the game, as he demonized Ohio States zone in scoring 18 points in the first half. 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.