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 70-61 | Return to #Bonnies100 Site
DAY 80 (August 17)
In this photo, fans welcome home the Bonnies back to the Reilly Center following the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
The 1999-2000 season was a magical one for the Bonnies – 21 wins, an 11-5 mark in the Atlantic 10 and an at-large bid to the tourney. It earned the team a spot against basketball blueblood Kentucky in the first round and the Bonnies captivated the nation by nearly toppling the Wildcats. SBU took Kentucky to double overtime before falling, 85-80. Four players scored in double figures for the Bonnies – Patricio Prato (20 points), JR Bremer (17), David Capers (16) and Tim Winn (10) while Caswell Cyrus hauled in 18 rebounds.
DAY 79 (August 18)
One night during the summer of 1979, St. Bonaventure sports information director Tom McElroy and a few friends were "sitting around looking for something crazy to do," as an AP story would later put it.
That crazy idea would be a set of bubble gum trading cards promoting the 1979-80 Bonaventure basketball team. Fresh off a run of three straight trips to the national postseason - including the 1977 NIT championship, an NCAA Tournament berth in 1978 and another trip to the NIT in 1979 - the Bonnies were known nationwide and new members of the Eastern Eight Conference.
McElroy sent his Bonnies trading cards - including the bubble gum - to reporters and broadcasters across New York as a part of that season's media guide and yearbook. The cards were also given out at home games that season.
Though bubble gum trading cards were popular in baseball and had been done in football as well, St. Bonaventure was the first school to promote its basketball team with bubble gum cards. McElroy's "crazy idea" gained the Bonnies even more popularity and that year's media guide was selected as Best in the Nation in the special publications category by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The card set - along with many other items - will be on display as part of the Centennial Season exhibit in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on campus beginning in November and running through the basketball season.
DAY 78 (August 19)
As the 1977-78 season dawned, the Bonnies were looking for an encore after winning the 1977 NIT Championship.
Pictured in this preseason prospectus for that season is Greg Sanders holding the 1977 NIT Championship from the season before.
Bona indeed got a solid encore - in 1978, the Bonnies reached the NCAA Tournament following a 21-win season. Glenn Hagan delivered over 16 points per game while Delmar Harrod (12.0 ppg), Nick Urzetta (12.0 ppg) and Tim Waterman (10.3 ppg) all averaged in double-figure scoring while Waterman's 9.6 rebounds per game paced the team on the boards.
St. Bonaventure knocked off Syracuse in a 70-69 thriller in Rochester, then, three days later, defeated VCU in another nail-biter, 63-61, at War Memorial Stadium in Rochester to win the ECAC playoffs.
Sanders, meanwhile, completed what was one of the finest careers in program history with 22.1 points per game - a career high. He became the program's all-time scoring leader with 2,238 points - a total that still stands atop Bona's scoring list today.
In 2016, Sanders' No. 53 would be officially retired.
DAY 77 (August 20)
The cover of the March 30, 1977 Eastern Basketball Magazine was one collected by many Bonnies fans for its celebration of St. Bonaventure’s NIT championship team.
Bona brought back thousands of well-wishers along with them from Madison Square Garden following a thrilling 94-91 win over Houston in the championship game. Greg Sanders sealed MVP honors in the tournament with a performance for the ages – 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the floor, adding 12 rebounds. Essie Hollis totaled 24 points and Glenn Hagan added 14.
Watch more about the title game and ’76-77 season
DAY 76 (August 21)
A trio of Bonnies – Greg Sanders, Bob Rozyczko and Essie Hollis pose outside Fred Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field for a 1976 promotional photo.
This trio was instrumental to some of the Bona powerhouse teams during the 1970s, continuing the trend of a decade earlier. In fact, St. Bonaventure had a .500 or better record every year between 1956 and 1985. Some of the best days were in the 70s when Larry Weise led the Bonnies to the Final Four in 1970 and the NIT a year later. In 1975-76, a reloading Bona team went 17-10 before capturing 24 wins and an NIT bid in ’76-77 to start a run of three straight national postseason appearances.
Hollis has his No. 25 retired while Sanders’ No. 53 is the most recently retired jersey in The RC rafters. Rozyczko, meanwhile, was inducted into the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002 after he averaged a team-best 18.5 ppg and 9.4 rebounds as a junior in 1974-75 and then as a senior captain the following year, he completed his career seventh on the program scoring list at the time with 1,283 points along with 695 rebounds.
DAY 75 (August 22)
John Hayes drives past his defender before in a packed house at the University Center vs. Providence during the 1967-68 season. St. Bonaventure won the game, 70-56, and this photo first appeared in Sports Illustrated.
SBU never lost during the regular season that year, finishing the campaign at 22-0 before winning its first game of the NCAA Tournament for a 23rd consecutive victory and a No. 3 ranking in the national polls.
Hayes, meanwhile, was outstanding during his Bona career. The nation’s leading freshman scorer, he bested UCLA’s Lew Alcindor for the top mark at 34.7 points per game. He and fellow Western New York native Bob Lanier would frequently battle in practices and were part of the program’s famed Ironman Five. A devastating knee injury suffered in practice in October 1966 perhaps kept Hayes from one of the best careers in program history statistically, but he still shot better than 53 percent and averaged 13.6 ppg during the ’67-68 season.
DAY 74 (August 23)
It was a game no Bonnies fan is ever likely to forget. In this photo, Jaylen Adams slices to the basket for a layup as part of his team-high 34 points in Bona’s triple overtime thriller vs. Davidson on Feb. 27, 2018. As part of a 13-game winning streak that propelled the Brown and White to the NCAA Tournament, the Bonnies scored a heart-pounding 117-113 victory.
With every game holding the utmost importance to SBU’s at-large bid hopes, this game ended at approximately 12:20 a.m. as the Bonnies tied the program record for regular season victories with 23. The game featured 23 lead changes and 14 ties and Bona overcame a four-point deficit and the loss of three starters to foul troubles in the third overtime.
Game recap
DAY 73 (August 24)
In this March 21, 1977 photo from the Olean Times Herald, the triumphant St. Bonaventure NIT champions celebrate with their fans at the Reilly Center.
Here, the Very Rev. Mathias Doyle, OFM, then-university president, holds the NIT trophy along with co-captains Jim Baron, left, and Essie Hollis. In the event called “Salute to the Bonnies,” Baron said to the crowd, “It seems like every night gets better. It was a great year, fantastic. The people are so warm, it gives you a great feeling. It’s a once in a lifetime shot.”
DAY 72 (August 25)
The late 20s cemented the Bonnies as a basketball program on the rise. Just a decade into their existence as an intercollegiate program, the foundation for success was set by the early pioneers. This 1928 photo shows members of the Bonnies on campus in a photo shoot for The Laurel.
Bona recorded winning records in every season between 1923-24 and 1930-31 including the 1927-28 season – a 14-7 campaign under coach Fred Ostergren. The 1928-29 squad would establish a new program record for wins with a 17-7 season under a new head coach – Mike Reilly. Reilly’s ’29-30 team would immediately tie that record with an impeccable 17-5 run, but the mark of 17 wins would stand until 1949.
DAY 71 (August 26)
Here is the program from the 1971 NIT inside the famed Madison Square Garden. On March 27, 1971, the Bonnies battled the Duke Blue Devils in the third-place game. The Brown and White took down the Blue Devils, 92-88 in overtime, before 18,134 fans in the only meeting all-time between the two schools.
Bona had five players in double figures with Greg Gary leading the way with 20 points. Matt Gantt registered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. St. Bonaventure rallied from five points down with six minutes to play and sent the game to overtime on a bucket from Gary just before the buzzer.
The win would complete a 21-6 season under head coach Larry Weise and gave St. Bonaventure a run of three 20-win campaigns in four years including the 1968 NCAA bid and 1970 Final Four.
Check back each day as we continue our 100 Years, 100 Days Countdown To Tip Off! Or look back at previous countdown memories | Continue to the next set of countdown days
