Chants of "Let's go Bona" were met by the UB student section's chorus of "What's a Bonnie?" Taunts were exchanged as two of the best local teams in recent memory went blow-for-blow in a nail-biting, emotional thriller.
By the end of the game, St. Bonaventure's traveling fans were bellowing: "This is our house."
Senior guard Zach Filzen and sophomore forward Javon McCrea did their best to silence the Bonnies faithful, but St. Bonaventure (3-3) trampled Buffalo (4-2) in the second half and won a back-and-forth Big Four matchup 66-60.
Seemingly everybody in Western New York – or at least all those not at the Sabres game – came to Alumni Arena on Saturday night. The Buffalo student section was rocking and so was St. Bonaventure's as the Bonnies brought along approximately 500 fans.
St. Bona went on a 15-0 run in the second half to create some separation and overcome a 31-29 halftime deficit.
Filzen was absolutely unconscious, knocking down shots from all over the court and finishing with 26 points. Unfortunately for the sharpshooter and McCrea (15 points), the rest of their team (specifically the point guards) didn't show up.
Filzen, McCrea, and senior forward Mitchell Watt – who struggled to consistently knock down jump shots and shot just 4-for-12 –combined for 51 of their team's 60 points.
Sophomore guard Jarod Oldham and junior guard Tony Watson – who have split time at the point– have both looked good at different points this year. Oldham looked sharp at the season's start and Watson performed well in the Bulls' past two games. However, neither player brought his A game on Saturday. Oldham finished with three points and seven turnovers; Watson had two points and two turnovers on 0-of-5 shooting from the floor.
The Bulls' biggest challenge was stopping Bonnies star Andrew Nicholson. All the publicity entering the weekend matchup surrounded the St. Bonaventure forward, who is expected to compete for a spot on the All-America team and was named to the Naismith Award Watch List.
He lived up to the hype.
The superstar has struggled with a cold and he was contained in the early going, but the 6-foot-9 standout emerged as the game progressed and finished with 23 points (on 8-for-9 shooting) and eight rebounds. He iced the game with two clutch free throws.
"It was a must-win," Nicholson said. "It was a game on the road against a good team in their arena…my teammates found me at the right time."
McCrea held his own in the post, fronting Nicholson and denying him the ball. Buffalo's buff forward won the matchup in the first half – he even looked unstoppable at times – but the Bulls couldn't get him the ball with frequency in the second half. The sophomore wasn't overwhelmed in-game, but he silently fumed afterward.
"I have no impressions [of Nicholson]," McCrea said. "They won. We lost."
St. Bonaventure had shot 33 percent from three-point range entering the matchup. The Bonnies went cold in the first half in Buffalo, shooting 0-for-4 from downtown, but they warmed up from long range in the second half and the rest of their game followed suit, outscoring Buffalo 37-29 in the final period.
The Bulls struggled in the game's waning moments, as Filzen was smothered by the Bonnies' D – it seemed he was the only player capable of knocking down a jumper.
The veteran has been hot of late, putting up 24 against Dayton (5-2) and 19 against Canisius (1-4), and shooting a combined 10-of-21 from long range in those games. He surpassed those totals with a jaw-dropping performance that left fans asking: "Does this guy miss?"
The Bulls entered on cloud nine; the Bonnies entered with a chip on their shoulder. Buffalo had won consecutive games by an average of 32 points. St. Bonaventure had lost two straight games, including a devastating 58-52 loss to Arkansas State (3-4) on Thursday night.
Nerves were high early in the game. The Bulls missed two thunderous dunks and it was evident that both teams were jittery in front of a noisy crowd of 3,882. Buffalo played from behind for the majority of the first half, but strong late-half play resulted in the Bulls' lead at the break.
The Bulls – who beat Canisius earlier this season – will look to finish with a winning record in Big Four play when they take on Niagara (3-4) on Dec. 7 at the "Taps" Gallagher Center.
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