ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Homecoming Weekend is a time for alumni to return to campus and share fond memories of their time during college days.

Saturday afternoon inside the Reilly Center, those who returned to St. Bonaventure left with another memorable moment as the Bonnies held off Davidson, 81-80, in a wild overtime thriller.

This one was a rollercoaster of emotions for fans of both teams and, fittingly, it went down to the final tenths of a second before things were finally settled.

The Bonnies (16-9, 7-6 A-10) led by three, 81-78, following a pair of free throws from Mika Adams-Woods with 21 seconds left.

Davidson went for the tie, but Reed Bailey's trey try bounced off the rim. The Wildcats pulled down an offensive rebound, though, and momentarily seemed to force a second extra period as the shot from Connor Kochera was true from the wing.

After an official review, however, Kochera's foot was deemed to be on the three-point line, rendering his bucket merely a two-point field goal and the Bonnies were able to exhale with a one-point win.

"We found a way," head coach Mark Schmidt said. "Thank God that (three-point line) was a little bit thicker. I think the Franciscans made that line a little bit wider."

Schmidt described the wait for the final review as "torture," but it was seemingly the only way Saturday's battle could end.

Bona started fast, using a 10-0 run to build a 23-13 advantage in the early going.

Davidson (14-11, 4-8 A-10) answered, employing a 10-3 spurt of its own for a 34-34 tie at intermission as the Bonnies struggled to find an answer for Kochera who tallied 16 of his team's points on 6-of-7 shooting before intermission.

The Wildcats pulled ahead by seven at the 15:00 minute mark out of the locker room, but the Bonnies eventually found offensive traction to respond.

A trey from Assa Essamvous pulled the Bonnies even, and Chad Venning worked the window for a 48-46 advantage only to see Riccardo Ghedini drain a three to put the Wildcats back in front.

And so began a back-and-forth swing of the pendulum that saw the teams exchange the lead 16 times as well as share 10 ties.

The Bonnies had their only breathing room of the second half at 64-57 with four minutes left, but it would be short-lived as the Wildcats tied it, 66-all with 1:04 to go.

Bona made a bid to end it before the regulation buzzer as Daryl Banks III let a three for the win fly as time expired and, though it looked to be on line, it rimmed out to force OT.

"I thought it was going in," Banks said. "But this is up there for craziest games I've been a part of."

The game was still at a 73-73 stalemate with 1:44 left in overtime when Venning made two at the line and Banks followed up with artistry in the lane for a four-point edge.

The pesky 'Cats wouldn't go away, getting within one on a three-ball, and answering Essamvous free throws with another Kochera bucket.

Adams-Woods made two at the line, setting the stage for the finale.

Five Bonnies posted double-figure scoring as Essamvous, Venning and Charles Pride all had 15 points apiece. Banks also added 10 off the bench.

Kochera was nearly unstoppable, making 11-of-15 shot attempts for a game-high 29 points.

"We have to close possessions, do a better job of finishing," Schmidt said. "But we just made enough plays. Usually, when you miss a shot at the end of the game, it's a downer. But our guys really responded (in overtime). Our guys showed a lot of mental toughness."

GAME NOTES

• The Bonnies shot better than 56 percent from the floor, though they went just 6-15 from long distance. Davidson finished at 49 percent and 9-24 from deep.
• Davidson held a 30-26 edge on the glass and a whopping 17-2 margin in second chance points, owning a 11-4 lead in offensive rebounds.
• Bona had a season-high 23 made free throws, going 23-30 at the charity stripe.
• Pride became the first Bonnies player to have five steals in a game since Kyrell Luc had five swipes Jan. 11, 2023 at Rhode Island as he had that number to go along with his scoring effort.
• The Bonnies had five double-figure scorers for the sixth time this year.
• Adams-Woods had a team-high five assists.
• Venning had two blocks, giving him a swat in 27 consecutive contests.
• Noel Brown chipped in eight points off the bench while Banks had a team-high six rebounds.
• Saturday's game was the first overtime contest of the year for Bona and sets a new season high for number of ties in a contest.
• The Bonnies are now 8-12 vs. the Wildcats all-time and snapped a three-game losing streak. SBU is also 2-1 vs. Davidson in overtime games - memorably, the Bonnies scored a triple overtime win over Davidson at The RC in 2018. Davidson won a 2016 A-10 Tournament game in OT.

UP NEXT
The Bonnies will play their next two games on the road, beginning with a Wednesday night date at La Salle. Tip time in the City of Brotherly Love is set for 6:30 p.m.

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