ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For nearly the full 40 minutes in this thrilling early favorite for Game of the Season, Matt Mobley was nowhere to be found.
Facing a Vermont team determined to stop at least half of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team’s dynamic duo, the senior guard — amazingly — went into the final, frantic seconds scoreless on just 0-for-2 shooting.
Mobley had displayed this kind of cunning before, disappearing early before coming alive to ensure a Bona victory. He was, memorably, the almost-hero last season against VCU. On Saturday, in a storyline of taylor-made proportions, he outdid those performances with the biggest shot of his collegiate career.
With time winding down following a Vermont tip-in with five seconds remaining that put the Catamounts up 79-78, Jaylen Adams dribbled up the floor and found a wide open Mobley on the wing. Mobley drilled a 3-pointer as time expired — his first and only points of the game — to give the Bonnies a dramatic 81-79 non-conference triumph before 5,828 ecstatic observers inside Blue Cross Arena.
Just like that, a potentially demoralizing loss became their second stunning victory of the season, alongside a 63-61 triumph over Maryland.
“Matt made one basket, but as I told him in the locker room, I’m glad he made that one basket,” coach Mark Schmidt said. “Jay had the understanding and the basketball IQ to make a great pass and Matt made a great shot.
“We found a way.”
Said Mobley with a smile: “That was the best look I had all game, so I was hoping I’d knock it down at least … I’ve had a couple buzzer-beaters, but I’ll take this one, for sure.”
Even before Mobley’s shot splashed through, this was the most exciting Bona game of the young season.
Adams had a team-high 17 points for the Bonnies (8-2), who had six players finish in double digits. Vermont forward Anthony Lamb, a Greece-Athena product, was phenomenal in his homecoming, finishing with 27 points on 6-for-11 shooting and 13-of-14 at the line.
Bona led by as many as eight, but every time it looked to be pulling away, the Catamounts (7-5), one of the most skilled mid-majors in the country, would make a shot to climb back in it. In a back-and-forth contest that featured 12 lead changes and eight ties, it made every big play it needed down the stretch, capped by Mobley’s game-winner.
“(You’re) praying that it goes in,” Schmidt said. “Those guys put in a lot of time. They deserve to have the opportunity to be in that position. You hope and pray that they make the right decision and make the shot, and they did, and made me look good.”
Added Mobley: “I didn’t shoot a lot of shots, but my team did a good job (with six players in double figures). It was a great overall team effort, and with the last shot … as open as I was, (it was like) practice. Jay made a great pass and I just knocked it down.”
Courtney Stockard finished with 14 points and made a number of big plays down the stretch to give the Bonnies a chance (related story, page B-2). On a night in which the guards, at times, struggled, Amadi Ikpeze scored a career-high 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting and Josh Ayeni added 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting. Freshman Izaiah Brockington posted 13 points and LaDarien Griffin notched 11 with a big block in the final minute.
Down 78-75 following a Stockard three-point play with 2:05 remaining, Lamb made a pair of free throws to pull the Catamounts to within one, and then with five seconds left, Payton Henson tipped in a miss to give Vermont a 79-78 advantage.
With no timeout called, Adams took off, noticed most of the Vermont players in the lane, and skipped a pass over to Mobley. The result was the Bonnies’ second win over a Top 100 opponent (the Catamounts entered the game at No. 70, per KenPom) this year.
“I told him in the locker room (at halftime, when Mobley was scoreless), I don’t care if you’ve got zero points or 50 points, if you’re that open, I’m going to kick it to you,” Adams said, “and he knocked it down.”
Added Mobley, when hearing that sentiment: “That’s why he’s my guy over here. That’s why he’s my point guard. I would have done the same thing for him, too.”
Bona overcame plenty in this victory that gave it the program’s first 8-2 start since 2001-02: A monster outing from Lamb (plus a couple of big-time shots from senior Trae Bell-Haynes, who finished with 13 points, and Everett Duncan, who went for 11), eight first-half 3-pointers and a late 69-66 deficit.
The Bonnies, who shot a blistering 60 percent from the field, including 8-of-12 from 3-point range, erased that shortfall with back-to-back 3s from Stockard and Adams, setting up the final, nerve-wracking four minutes.
And now, here’s Bona, owner of a couple of huge victories, a 3-0 record in true road contests, a five-game win streak, and showing signs of having the same flare for the dramatic that the 2015-16 team had.
It’s early, but do they feel as though something special might be unfolding?
“We’ve been saying it all summer,” Adams said. “Everybody knows what the goal is. I think it’s understood in the locker room. The seniors are going to lead, and we’ve got the right guys and a deep team that’s going to follow. We’ll see where it goes.”
