St. Bonaventure and Canisius are used to competing against one another in one of the longest-contested rivalries in Division I college basketball. But the 169th all-time meeting between the schools will be played against a backdrop like no other.
On Sunday, No. 23 St. Bonaventure will look to build on an opening-night win when the Bonnies play host to Canisius at Olean, N.Y., in the renewal of a series paused last year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
St. Bonaventure began one of the most anticipated seasons in school history Tuesday, when Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes scored 17 points apiece as the Bonnies beat visiting Siena 75-47. Canisius fell to 0-2 on Friday, when the Golden Griffins lost to host East Carolina 83-71 at Greenville, N.C.
St. Bonaventure’s first game as a nationally ranked team in more than 50 years didn’t go as smoothly as head coach Mark Schmidt would have liked. Siena raced out to an early 10-point lead, with the Bonnies eventually moving in front 36-32 at the half and 51-42 midway through the second half before finishing the game on a 24-5 run.
“We’ve got a long way to being 100 percent,” Schmidt said. “It’s a long season, we’re still tweaking stuff, still tweaking the bench. It’s not going to be all settled by the end of the Canisius game.”
While St. Bonaventure is ranked and the unanimous preseason pick to win the Atlantic 10 Conference, Canisius was picked to finish last in the 11-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conf. The Golden Griffins also lost to Miami (FL) 77-67 to open the season.
On Friday, Canisius watched East Carolina go on a 22-6 run to close out the first half and take a 47-26 lead. The Golden Griffins trailed by as many as 29 in the second half.
“Our first 20 minutes were really bad tonight,” Canisius head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “But these are the types of situations we need to learn from. We have to be locked in and ready to go right away. Our intensity level needs to take a step up, or we’re always going to be a step behind.”
Motivation is not likely to be an issue for either team Sunday. Lofton and Dominick Welch (11 points Tuesday) each started for St. Bonaventure when Canisius pulled off a 61-57 upset victory in the most recent meeting between the programs on Nov. 23, 2019.
Last season year marked the first time since 2001-02 St. Bonaventure and Canisius didn’t oppose each other and only the second time they didn’t play in the last 70 years. St. Bonaventure leads the all-time series 101-67.
“I remember six or seven years ago, this old-time guy, an alum, came up to me and goes, ‘Coach, I don’t care what you do in the Atlantic 10, but you can’t lose to Canisius and Niagara,'” Schmidt said. “So those games are still really, really important. They’re rivalry games, they’re tradition.
“And they should be.”
–Field Level Media
