St. Bonaventure 81 Davidson 80 (OT): Numbers and Notes

Baseball is a game of inches. Those in attendance at a packed Reilly Center would certainly agree that Dr. Naismith’s game also falls under that category. St. Bonaventure defeated Davidson 81-80 in overtime. Saturday’s thriller before a Homecoming crowd saw the Bonnies improve to 16-9 (7-6) while Davidson is now 14-11 (4-8).  

Possessions: 70

Offensive efficiency: St. Bona 116, Davidson 114

Numbers: (Four Factors in bold)

Ball Control Index: (Assists  + steals/turnovers)

St. Bona 1.77

Davidson 1.43

Game of runs. Bonnies got out fast with a 10-0 run , building  a 23-13 advantage. Matt McKillop’s Wildcats came back with a 10-3 run of their own, forcing a tie at 34 as the first half ended.

Davidson ‘won’ those first four minutes after intermission, moving ahead by seven by the 15 minute mark. Mark Schmidt’s Bonnies responded and for a good portion of the second half the teams exchanged leads.  

  With four minutes left the Bonnies appeared ready to close out the contest as they held a seven point lead. The visiting wildcats weren’t finished and stormed back to force a tie with just over a minute remaining. Daryl Banks III appeared to have the game winner, but his three point attempt rimmed at the buzzer. “I thought it was going in,” Banks told gobonnies.com. “But this is up there for craziest games  I’ve been a part of.”

Overtime was back and forth. No surprise in a game that featured 10 ties and 16 lead changes. Mika Adams-Woods canned two from the charity stripe with 21 seconds remaining to give the Bonnies a three point lead, setting up the hectic ending.

Game of inches. Reed Bailey of Davidson attempted a potential game tying three. Bailey’s shot missed, the Wildcats grabbed the rebound and Connor Kochera buried what appeared to be a three to force another extra session. Following an official review, minutes in length that agonizingly felt like hours, it was “torture” per Schmidt, the officials’ decision deemed Kochera’s foot was on the line and it was a  two point field goal, allowing the Bonnies to hold on.

“We found a way,” Schmidt said. “Thank God that (three point line) was a little bit thicker. I think the Franciscans made that line a little bit wider….Usually when you miss a shot at the end of a game, it’s…