College basketball games don’t come much stranger or more suspenseful than Wednesday night’s showdown between the Saint Louis University Billikens and the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
The Billikens won in dramatic fashion, 67-65, to improve to 13-8 overall and 4-3 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. It’s a much-needed win for SLU; the team failed to take either of its road games last week, blowing a 13-point second-half lead at George Washington and playing to their youth against Richmond, losing 62-36. The Richmond loss is the biggest of the season so far.
SLU went up by 11 and seemed to be cruising to victory before a resurgent St. Bonaventure reminded the Billikens that they were still in it. Kwamain Mitchell hit a jumper with just 0:02 seconds left in the game to claim victory.
“It’s hard to win games where you have to win twice,” head coach Rick Majerus said. “It was a nice win for us, particularly in light of the losses [last week]. Those fans that came saw a very competitive game; it was a hell of a college game. Both teams played like they were trying to survive.”
Kwamain Mitchell had 17 points and three assists. Mitchell has been in double-digit scoring in 15 of the last 17 games. Wille Reed finished with his sixth double-double of the season (11 rebounds, 11 points) along with four blocks. Jon Smith knocked in an additional 11 points for the Billikens. Kyle Cassity had a career-high four steals.
The first half was a tug of war between the Billikens and the Bonnies. SLU got its largest lead of four at the half on a field goal from Mitchell. In the first half, the teams tied five times. It took almost three-and-a-half minutes for either team to score a field goal. St. Bonaventure took a quick 2-0 lead on free throws before the first bucket of the game by Reed. Mitchell was silent; he had just one point in the first half.
It was in the second half where the game would take a dramatic turn for the bizarre. SLU started the half with a dunk by Jon Smith, but would then go on a three-minute drought, allowing the Bonnies to put up six unanswered points. The Bills took back the lead, and control of the game, after scoring on 10 straight possessions. All seemed to be going well for SLU.
At 6:09 left in the half, SLU’s Christian Salecich and St. Bonaventure’s Jonathan Hall were called for a double-technical. The technical was included in both players’ foul count, bringing the total for each to four personal fouls. At 3:01, Hall received what seemed to be his fifth foul (he was placed on the bench), and at 2:06, Salecich received what seemed to be his fifth foul. However, Salecich was allowed to stay in the game, and Hall was re-admitted after the scorer’s table decided that the technical foul did not count toward the personal foul totals. What followed was a heated discussion between Majerus, Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt and the officials.
“I want to apologize to St. Bonaventure for that terrible game management … this is our home court, and we didn’t run it right,” Majerus said in his post-game press conference. “I don’t know what the hell was going on. I’m perplexed, frustrated and angry about the situation. The game should be run in a professional, dignified manner, and I apologize for any transgressions.”
Hall’s readmittance would prove crucial; he hit two free throws with less than a minute to play and a three point shot with 0:26 seconds remaining to tie the game. However, the late game heroics by Mitchell ultimately gave the Billikens the win.
“Give Mitchell credit. That was a tough shot,” Schmidt said. “I thought we contested it decently, and you just hope that he doesn’t make it. SLU got the bounce of the ball.”
“You can’t let teams stick around like that. Late in the game, you have to put them away, and we didn’t,” Cassity said. “We didn’t finish like we would have hoped, but it’s better to learn and still have the win, than to learn and lose … We have to keep this going. We need to get the next two on the road.”
SLU takes the court next on Saturday, Feb. 6 against La Salle in Philadelphia. They stay on the road for a Tues., Feb. 9 tilt against Saint Joseph’s University.