ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – With 2:51 remaining in the first half, it could be understood if some Bonnies fans were thinking of heading for the exits or grabbing for their remotes.
After all, visiting VCU had opened up a 20-point lead and it looked as though the Rams could do no wrong.
According to ESPN Analytics, the Rams had a 95 percent chance of victory.
Fortunately for the Bonnies, they put their money on that five percent chance.
St. Bonaventure (13-7, 4-4 A-10) came roaring back, completely turning the tide for a 67-62 victory that left Bonnies fans with a win that will be remembered for quite some time and the Rams shell-shocked.
For stretches of the first half, it seemed VCU couldn't miss.
The Rams opened the game by making six of their first nine tries from long distance, powered by Max Shulga who started the night absolutely on fire.
VCU's senior guard, who had just seven points in the first meeting between these teams just under four weeks prior, had 11 points by the second media timeout.
The Utah State transfer sank six of his first seven field goal tries while going a perfect 5/5 from deep.
Before the end of the half, however, the Bonnies started to chip away.
They began what would end up as a 21-5 run with the final seven points of the opening period to cut the deficit to 39-26 at the break.
"We knew if we could just keep chipping away, we had a lot of time left and we knew we could come out with a victory," said Daryl Banks III, adding, "Cutting it down to 13 was huge. Our goal was to cut it to around 10 and we knew we were good."
And while the players may have felt optimistic heading to intermission … well, perhaps not all in the arena felt that way.
"I didn't feel that good," head coach Mark Schmidt quipped.
Things were completely different in the second half, though.
Kyrell Luc sank two quick buckets, then Assa Essamvous did the same. A corner trey by Mika Adams-Woods brought the score within three, and The RC crowd to a full roar with 10:56 left.
VCU (13-8, 5-3 A-10) tried to stem the tide, pulling back out to a 53-46 advantage as Essamvous was forced to the bench with his fourth foul under nine minutes to go.
Chad Venning drilled home a thunderous dunk as the shot clock expired to tie the game, 52-52, with 6:30 on the clock and the Bonnies finally took their first lead of the night on a Banks triple, 59-56, as the game was down to 4:30 remaining.
The Rams scored the next four to pull back in front, but the Bonnies responded to tie it at 61-all on a pair of free throws from Banks at the 2:30 mark.
Shulga gave the Rams the lead back with one of two at the line, but Charles Pride grabbed an offensive board on the other end following a Bona miss, drew a foul and made both following a trip to the line of his own with 1:15 to play.
The Bonnies wouldn't trail again.
Adams-Woods and Banks each made two at the stripe and a pair of missed 3-pointers from the Rams ended any chance for a comeback in the final seconds.
Consider some of the numbers: In the first half, VCU went 10-for-15 from distance. After intermission, that figure became 1-for-14. The Rams shot 54 percent in the first 20 minutes and just 26 percent in the last 20.
"The key to the game was the last two minutes of the first half where we got some stops and that gave us a fighting chance," Schmidt said. "We persevered; we fought. When you're knocked down, you've got to fight – and that's what we did today."
Banks posted a team-high 15 points off the bench while Adams-Woods also chipped in 13 points and three steals. Venning and Essamvous delivered 11 points apiece.
Shulga finished with 25 points for VCU, which suffered its first loss in a true road game in over a year as the Rams saw their 11-game road winning streak snapped.
"We have guys that keep us going and ready for tough moments like this," Venning said. "As coach says all the time, just keep going."
On Tuesday night, there was certainly no doubt that the Bonnies never stopped - and never quit, despite what the odds seemed to be early on.
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GAME NOTES
- The Bonnies outrebounded the Rams by a 43-30 margin and hauled in 16 offensive boards. Pride led the Bonnies on the glass with 10 rebounds including six on the offensive end, also recording five assists. As a result of their work on the offensive glass, the Bonnies had 16 second chance points.
- Bona outscored VCU by a 41-23 margin in the second half and led for just 1:51 of game time.
- The hosts made the most of their opportunities at the foul line, going 20-23.
- If Tuesday's game sounds familiar, you're right: three years ago, Bona trailed VCU by 15 at halftime in a game at the Reilly Center before emphatically rallying for a 70-54 win.
- Tuesday marked the largest deficit overcome in a victory this year for the Bonnies – they previously erased a 10-point hole in a win over Oklahoma State. It also is the largest deficit overcome in a win since coming back from 16 down in a November 2021 victory vs. Clemson.
- SBU has its first-ever season sweep of VCU after winning in Richmond earlier this month. Bona has now won six of the last eight meetings with VCU and three in a row.
- VCU had won 20 of its previous 23 Atlantic 10 road games entering the night.
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UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure hits the road to play at nationally-ranked Dayton on Friday night. The ESPN2 Friday Night Showcase game airs on national TV beginning at 7 p.m.
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