NORMAN, Okla. – When the NIT bracket was revealed Sunday night, it presented a stacked deck against the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team.

First, it was a trip on 50 hours' notice across two time zones to play at Pac-12 foe Colorado. The reward for that triumph? Another 1,200-mile trek cross country to play against a second consecutive Power Five opponent, this time in the form of No. 1-seeded Oklahoma.

In the end, the result was another thrilling Bonnies victory as the Brown and White held off the Sooners, 70-68, Sunday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.

With the win, the Bonnies (22-9) reach the NIT Elite Eight and will play at Virginia Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Jaren Holmes turned in one of his finest performances in a Bona uniform with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor.

"It's been a tough road this season. It's emotional for me," Holmes said after his outstanding performance. "It's our senior year. Being able to do this with these guys is special. I'm thankful to be here; thankful that my teammates have stood by me. Today is a day I'll always remember."

Once again, all five Bonnies senior starters finished in double figures. Osun Osunniyi logged his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jalen Adaway scored all of his 11 points during the second half and Kyle Lofton did all of his work after halftime as well with 10 points. Dominick Welch chipped in 10.

Like in Tuesday's first round win at Colorado, the Bonnies started strong, scoring the game's first eight points while starting on another 10-2 run.

Bona held Oklahoma to just one field goal for nearly six minutes to begin the game, but the Sooners gained steam and grabbed a 23-21 lead. From there, the advantage swapped back-and-forth right up until the halftime buzzer when Umoja Gibson drained a trey from NBA range for a 36-33 Sooners lead at intermission.

During the first half, the scoring came nearly exclusively from Holmes and Osunniyi who combined for 25 in the opening period. After being held scoreless in the first half, Adaway produced 11 of Bona's first 18 points out of the locker room as the Bonnies pushed ahead, 54-46, with 10:30 to play.

From there it was a heavyweight bout to the finish.

An 8-0 sprint from the Sooners gave the hosts a 58-56 lead as the energy level in the arena seemed to buoy the top seed.

St. Bonaventure counterpunched, though, surging ahead by four with 3:53 to go.

After a lull in the scoring, Gibson brought the score to just a one-point margin with his trey at the 2:29 mark.

The score remained stuck on 64-63 in favor of the Brown and White until Lofton calmly sank a three-ball in front of his own bench, quieting the home crowd while leaving the Bona contingent behind the visitor sideline overjoyed.

Oklahoma (19-16) pushed back within 67-65 after free throws, but defensive stands from the Bonnies when the Sooners twice had the chance to tie or take the lead left OU stymied.

Welch made one of two at the line and a jumper from Marvin Johnson for the tie with five seconds left went off the mark. Osunniyi pulled down the rebound as the Bonnies wrestled another postseason victory away from a power conference team.

"Just really proud of our guys. The crowd got into it, but we made big shots when we needed to make them and got stops," head coach Mark Schmidt said. "I thought Jaren played terrific. 'Shoon was excellent; big rebounds, blocks. This win says a lot about our guys. Our guys showed some great mental and physical toughness. I'm just really proud of the way we played."

Gibson, an All-Big 12 Tournament selection earlier this month, finished with 26 points on the night.

GAME NOTES

• The Bonnies will make another flight across the country to play at Virginia Tuesday night in a game that will air live on ESPN. Virginia will make the same trip after outlasting No. 2 North Texas in overtime just prior to Bona's game. The winner of that contest moves on to the semifinals in Madison Square Garden.
• Bona shot nearly 51 percent for the game including over 52 percent from long range, hitting 10 of 19 3-point attempts. Bona also hit 10 threes in the win at Colorado Tuesday, marking the first time this year SBU has connected on double-digit treys in back-to-back games.
• Oklahoma shot 47 percent overall and went 11-26 from distance, and won the battle of the boards 29-27. 
• The Bonnies forced 14 OU turnovers, leading to 19 points of offense.
• Prior to Tuesday, the Bonnies had never won a true road game in NIT play, going 0-6. Now, they've won back-to-back road contests.
• St. Bonaventure advances to the quarterfinals of the NIT for the first time since winning the championship in 1977. 
• With his 10 rebounds Sunday, Osunniyi passed Andrew Nicholson, '12, for fourth in school history with 889. 
• Adaway scored in double figures for the 20th consecutive game.