St. Bonaventure sophomore Kyle Lofton has earned a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District First Team, as selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division I…
Planutis came to Bona billed as a sharpshooter after making 33 three-pointers in 67 three-point attempts in his freshman year at Mount St. Mary’s. He played 116 minutes before making his first official three in a Bona uniform, missing his first 11.
SBU’s newcomers adapted quickly to college ball. Alejandro Vasquez had two double-figure scoring nights in his first four games, while Justin Winston had four in the first five and started each game from the Rutgers win through the regular season finale. Jaren English missed the first five games with a broken hand but was a daily starter when healthy.
Dayton has won just one A-10 Tournament game in the last four years. The Flyers were the No. 1 seed in 2016, but fell in the semis. They were the No. 1 seed again in 2017, but lost to No. 9 seed Davidson. A Thursday eight-nine game loss to VCU followed in 2018 before a quarterfinal loss to No. 6 Saint Louis in their only game last season.
Bona point guard Kyle Lofton and center Osun Osunniyi were named to the Atlantic 10 First and Third team, respectively, the league announced on Tuesday. Osunniyi also earned All-Defensive Team honors for the second straight season. Guard Jaren English, also a sophomore, placed on the All-Academic Team.
Dayton’s win over George Washington this weekend completed the first 18-0 season in Atlantic 10 history and the league’s first perfect conference record since George Washington in 2005-06. It was also the culmination of a fruitful awards season on the A-10 and national level for the No. 3 team in the nation.
The Bonnies (19-12, 11-7 A-10) dropped to the fifth seed with the loss and will open A-10 Tournament play at Barclays Center on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday’s George Mason v.s. St. Joseph’s contest. If the Bonnies get past the Patriots or Hawks, they will get another shot at Saint Louis on Friday in the quarterfinal round, just six days removed from Saturday’s rout.
The Bonnies, like last year, are in position to earn the fourth seed in next week’s A-10 Tournament- and a double-bye to the quarterfinals- if they beat the Billikens.
The Bonnies responded as well as they could have from their first losing streak of the season with a healthy Osun Osunniyi, leading wire-to-wire in a decisive 89-73 win to improve to 19-11, 11-6 in the A-10. Five Bonnies scored in double figures, while Dominick Welch and Justin Winston scored 20 apiece to share the team scoring high.
The Bonnies, visiting Philadelphia on La Salle’s Senior Day, trailed by as much as 19 and saw a furious comeback attempt in the last eight minutes prove unsatisfactory in a 73-65 defeat.