July 28 marked 100 days until the 2019-20 tip off for the Centennial Season of St. Bonaventure basketball. Each day leading up to the first game, St. Bonaventure Athletics will treat fans to moments from the history of Bonnies basketball, from tremendous photos, game programs, memorabilia and more, all leading up to a November 5 season tip.
Fans wishing to share photos or memorabilia from their favorite Bonnies moments should email them to seddy@sbu.edu.
Days 100-91 | Days 90-81 | Days 80-71 | Days 70-61 | Days 60-51 | Days 50-41 | Days 30-21 | Return to #Bonnies100 Site
DAY 40 (September 26)
Anyone who was at Rochester’s BlueCross Arena March 2, 2016 will likely never forget the performance of Marcus Posley that night. Posley delivered 47 points – 29 during the second half – as the Bonnies held off Saint Joseph’s, 98-90, in a win that went a long way toward securing SBU’s share of the Atlantic 10 regular season crown that year. “I’ve been doing this for a long, long time and that’s the best performance I’ve seen,” head coach Mark Schmidt said post-game.
During the 99 seasons of Bonaventure Basketball, there have been 21 40-point performances turned in by eight different players. Posley’s 47-point performance ranks fourth in program history behind only Bob Lanier (51, 50) and Tom Stith (48). Read the post-game recap and see full highlights
DAY 39 (September 27)
Seen here are two of the great player/coaches in St. Bonaventure history. Larry Weise, left, was an outstanding defender who also scored over 800 points and led Bona to a fourth-place finish in the 1957 NIT as part of his playing career. As head coach, he guided the program to the national post-season five times including the Final Four in 1970. He posted 202 victories before becoming Athletic Director.
Bob Sassone helped put SBU on the basketball map during a playing career spanning 1951-54 including the program’s first two NIT bids in ’51 and ’52 when he was a Sporting News All-American. He would later serve as an assistant coach for three decades.
DAY 38 (September 28)
There are some moments where time seems to slow down. That is captured well in this photo as everything seems to stop while Tim Waterman puts his shot in air at the 1978 ECAC Championship Game.
Waterman's shot, which would become one of the most memorable in Bonnies history, would fall and Bona fans holding their breath could celebrate. His bucket sent the Bonnies to a 63-61 victory over VCU at War Memorial Stadium in Rochester. It won St. Bonaventure an ECAC Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament just three days after beating Syracuse in another nail-biter, 70-69, to advance to the title game.
Waterman ranks seventh in program history with 744 rebounds (7.2 rpg) and his 314 rebounds during the 1978-79 season are fifth-best in Bona history.
DAY 37 (September 29)
J.R. Bremer thrilled fans at the Reilly Center throughout his Bonaventure career.
Bremer ranks ninth on SBU’s all-time scoring list with 1,732 points and led the Bonnies to three postseason appearances (NCAA Tournament in 2000 and NIT in 2001 and 2002). As a senior in 2001-02, he averaged 24.6 points per game and scored 738 points that season alone. He ranks third in school history in three-pointers with 223 and also stands sixth in career steals (185) and ninth in assists (334).
Bremer also had memorable postseason performances - in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, he posted 17 points vs. Kentucky, then had 26 points vs. Pitt in the 2001 NIT and 29 points vs. Syracuse in the 2002 NIT. He went on to play in the NBA and later, a long and successful professional career overseas.
DAY 36 (September 30)
In this photo from the April 16, 1970 edition of the Olean Times Herald, Bob Lanier smiles from a golf cart he used to get around campus following his devastating injury in the NCAA Tournament just weeks before. The All-American still had plenty to smile about - Bona had just wrapped up a run to the Final Four and he was named First Team All-American. He would be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons as the start of a Hall of Fame career.
DAY 35 (October 1)
Today, we see the game program from a 1952 game at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo vs. Loyola Chicago. The Bonnies dominated the game, 79-48, as part of a season that was one of the top in program history to that point. St. Bonaventure finished the year 21-6 and reached the NIT for the second year in a row.
DAY 34 (October 2)
With 34 days left until tip-off, we remember the all-time program record of 34 points scored in the NCAA Tournament – a feat done twice: Bill Butler poured in 34 points as part of a win over Boston College March 10, 1968, and Fred Crawford dropped 34 in a victory vs. Rhode Island March 14, 1961.
Butler finished his career with 1,462 points and grabbed 650 rebounds. The captain of SBU's undefeated 1967-68 team who averaged over 20 ppg over three seasons, his No. 14 jersey hangs in the Reilly Center rafters and he is a member of the Athletics Hall of Fame.
Crawford, who scored in double figures in every postseason game he played in for Bona, established the SBU men's basketball scoring record for sophomores with 614 points in 1960-61. During his three years of varsity competition, he totaled 1,738 points and ranks eighth in program history. His 22.5 points per game is still good for third all-time among Bona players. His No. 54 is also one of Bona's retired numbers and he is an SBU Hall of Famer.
DAY 33 (October 3)
In this photo, Earl Belcher drives to the hoop for two of his 2,077 career points.
The third all-time leading scorer in program history, he finished his career 15th in rebounds (650) as well as third in free throw percentage (.831). Belcher averaged 20 points per game and was a member of the NCAA Tournament team in 1978, and also played on the 1979 NIT team. 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.
One of his finest performances was a 33-point effort March 8, 1979, in the NIT vs. Alabama.
DAY 32 (October 4)
Matt Mobley was nearly unstoppable on the night of March 8, 2018, as he drained nine three-pointers in an 83-77 win over Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Mobley broke the Atlantic 10 Tournament record for 3s in a game and, more importantly, sent the Bonnies to their 13th straight win and most likely clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
He went 9-for-12 from beyond the arc and finished with 29 points on the night.
DAY 31 (October 5)
With 31 days left until tipoff, we spotlight the unforgettable No. 31 - Bob Lanier (seen here in his NBA days).
A consensus All-American twice (1969, '70), Lanier finished his career as the St. Bonaventure record holder in seven categories including points (2,067), rebounding (1,180), single-game scoring (51 points vs. Seton Hall), single-game rebounding (27 vs. Loyola MD), single-season rebounding (416), single-season shooting percentage (.586) and average rebounds in one season (16.0 rpg) in 1969-70. In NCAA Tournament runs in 1968 and 1970, he scored in double figures in every game he played with dominating performances.
In addition, he was the NBA Rookie of the Year with the Detroit Pistons and played professionally for the Bucks as well. After a long career in the NBA, he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. The key to SBU's 1970 Final Four team, his No. 31 jersey that brought the University national fame hangs in the Reilly Center rafters and he was inducted into SBU's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975.
Check back each day as we continue our 100 Years, 100 Days Countdown To Tip Off! Continue to the next set of countdown days | Or look back at previous countdown memories
