NEW YORK — The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team had a chance at redemption, making the National Invitational Tournament.
A group full of seniors rarely lost steam towards the end of the season, but the ride came to an end Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden when the Bonnies lost 84-77 to Xavier in the NIT semifinals.
They trailed the Musketeers, 38-23, at halftime, but that 15-point Xavier lead would fade away throughout the second half, with the Bonnies rallying at the end.
The Bonnies pulled within six on a layup from Osun Osunniyi with 1:05 to go, but time ran out on their season.
Dominick Welch led St. Bonaventure with 25 points and 7 rebounds. Jaren Holmes and Kyle Lofton each added 15 points, and Osunniyi had 12.
After being named in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 1971 at No. 23, there were some bumps along the way for the reigning Atlantic 10 champions.
St. Bonaventure returns five senior starters from that conference championship team in Lofton, Welch, Holmes, Osunniyi, and Jalen Adaway.
Between their regular-season record and falling to St. Louis, 57-56, in the Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals, the Bonnies didn't make it back to the NCAA Tournament, but they punched their ticket to the NIT, beating Colorado, Oklahoma, and Virginia before falling in the semifinals to the Musketeers.
