CHARLESTON, S.C. – Through the early season, No. 22/24 St. Bonaventure has proven to be a second half team. The Bonnies produced their most thrilling second half in recent memory, erasing a 16-point deficit to shock Clemson in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic, 68-65, Friday afternoon at TD Arena.

Bona ironman Kyle Lofton played the full 40, delivering a season-best 22 points while handing out four assists. Jaren Holmes was also clutch during the rally, posting 19 points along with five assists and five rebounds. Jalen Adaway provided a third double-figure scoring effort with his line of 14 points and six rebounds.

Clemson (4-1) led by 16 with three minutes left in the first half and turned away multiple Bonaventure efforts at a comeback before the Bonnies finally broke through.

The Tigers lead remained at 14, 51-37, with 13:30 to play when the Bonnies exploded for a 21-2 run over a 7:26 span to change everything.

St. Bonaventure (4-0) took its first lead since the opening seconds when Lofton drilled a three for a 55-53 score as the clock hit the eight-minute mark, the Bonnies crowd roaring.

Bona's would never trail again.

Clemson didn't go away quietly, though.

After the Bonnies grabbed a five-point edge following Lofton's trey, the Tigers tied the game with 1:59 to go on a jumper from Nick Honor.

Holmes came back and knocked down another triple seconds later to break the deadlock.

Clemson got back within a point on the next trip, but a defensive stop forced the Tigers to foul. Lofton calmly knocked down a pair at the line for another three-point lead with 19 seconds left. One more lock down on defense, capped by a Holmes block of an Honor desperation three-point attempt at the buzzer, sealed the victory.

The Bonnies scored the game's first points on a layup from Lofton on the very first possession, but the Tigers immediately launched an 11-2 run and would not trail for over 31 minutes.

Clemson enjoyed an early double-digit advantage, but the Bonnies clawed back within 21-16 following a 3-ball from Holmes.

Though the large contingent of Bonnies fans inside TD Arena were roaring following Holmes' trey, the Tigers responded with another 11-0 sprint to double up the score. SBU chipped away before halftime, cutting the deficit down to 36-26 as the teams headed to intermission.

St. Bonaventure made several efforts to gain traction in its rally effort during the early portion of the second half, thrice getting within seven following threes – two from Lofton and one by Adaway – but each time the Tigers countered with a trey of their own to go ahead by double digits once more before the Bonnies took control. 

PJ Hall drained 22 points for Clemson. 

The Bonnies will play Marquette in the championship game Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. 

GAME NOTES

• Osun Osunniyi made his presence felt with 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks, playing a season-high 37 minutes.
• Dominick Welch posted nine points and four boards.
• Clemson is the first SBU opponent to shoot better than 34 percent so far on the year, finishing at almost 45 percent for the game (26-58). Bona went 23-54, good for almost a 43 percent clip. St. Bonaventure was red hot after halftime though, connecting on 59 percent of their tries from the floor (13-22). 
• The Bonnies hit a season-best 14 3-pointers, their most in a game since drilling 15 in a win over George Washington Feb. 27. The team went 14-for-24 from deep including a scorching 10-for-12 after halftime. Prior to Friday, the team-high through the first three games was four vs. Boise State 24 hours prior.
• In his 90th career game, Lofton tied Tim Winn, '00 for fifth all-time in Bonnies career assists with 449. 
• Osunniyi passed Caswell Cyrus, '00 and Dion Wright, '16 for 15th on the Bonnies career rebounds list (685). 
• Friday's win was the first for the Bonnies over an ACC team since winning at Syracuse in overtime, 60-57, Dec. 22, 2017. 
• St. Bonaventure and Clemson had never before met in men's basketball. 
• The Bonnies have trailed at halftime in each of the last three wins.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"We really struggled in the first half. We kept it relatively tight, we were happy only being down 10 at halftime the way we played. Give our guys credit; I was proud of their effort. We got stops. We showed physical and mental toughness. We didn't panic. Even in the huddles, it was 'we're alright, we're going to work at it.' And that's what we did. We're blessed to have five seniors who know what it takes to win."

"We had a terrible time guarding Hall. He is very difficult to guard and they have guys who can really shoot the ball. Clemson is extremely well-coached and they're a great team. But we found a way."

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