Kyle Lofton scored 17 points Sunday, including seven straight late in the second half, as No. 23 St. Bonaventure overcame an 11-point second-half deficit and averted an upset bid by visiting Canisius with a 69-60 win in Olean, N.Y.
Lofton’s tie-breaking 3-pointer with 4:01 gave St. Bonaventure the lead for good at 61-58. He added a floater after the media timeout and then drained two free throws to cap a possession in which the Bonnies missed four shots.
Jaren Holmes also had 17 points as St. Bonaventure, which is ranked in the national polls for the first time since 1971, improved to 2-0. Jalen Adaway added 16 points.
St. Bonaventure also improved to 102-67 all-time against Canisius (0-3) in a rivalry that was paused last season due to the pandemic.
Jacco Fritz (10 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double for Canisius, which led 41-30 with under 18 minutes left and 51-42 with 11:53 remaining before going 2-for-14 with seven turnovers the rest of the way.
Malek Green had a team-high 14 points while Ahamadou Fofana added 10 points for the Golden Griffins.
Both teams opened cold from the field, combining to go 3-for-15 with four turnovers before St. Bonaventure mounted a 10-3 run to take a 24-17 lead with 6:41 left in the first half.
But the Bonnies finished the half by going 1-for-8 with six turnovers as Canisius went on a 14-2 run to end the half with a 31-26 lead. The Golden Griffins stayed hot coming out of the locker room as Armon Harried and Jordan Henderson hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first minute to fuel a 10-4 surge that extended the lead to 41-30.
Canisius held serve over the next five-plus minutes and took a 51-42 lead on a jumper by Fofana with 11:53 remaining. Despite the Golden Griffins’ struggles from the field, St. Bonaventure got within three points just once in the next six minutes before a steal by Holmes and a pair of free throws pulled the Bonnies within 57-54 and began the game-ending 17-3 run.
–Field Level Media
