No. 23 St. Bonaventure rallies late to beat Canisius 69-60

Updated Nov. 14, 2021 7:16 p.m. ET

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OLEAN, N.Y. (AP) — Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes scored 17 points apiece, and No. 23 St. Bonaventure rallied for a 69-60 win against Canisius on Sunday night.

Malek Green had 14 points and eight rebounds to lead Canisius (0-3) in the 169th meeting since 1920 between western New York’s “Little 3” rivals.

Jalen Adaway added 16 points for St. Bonaventure in his season debut after he was suspended for the season opener for an NCAA rule violation.

St. Bonaventure (2-0) came back in the second half without center Osun Osunniyi, who aggravated a back injury while falling to the floor on defense. Osunniyi entered the day leading all active players in blocks, averaging 2.72.

The Bonnies used a 15-3 run to dig out of an 11-point deficit and were up 61-58 inside of four minutes.

Canisius led for much of the early part of the game and went on a 14-3 run take a 31-26 advantage into halftime. Jacco Fritz dunked for a double-digit lead, 41-30, in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Canisius: Beat a less-experienced Bonnies team that was battling injuries in 2019, but couldn't hold on to upset a ranked opponent for first time in 21 opportunities since 1994. The team is searching for its first nonconference win in two seasons after opening with losses at Miami and East Carolina.

St. Bonaventure: Rallied in the second half for a second home win against an in-state rival from the lower-rated Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — but it wasn’t expected to be such a hard-fought victory. The competition level will rise for program that is ranked in Top 25 for the first time in 50 years as it travels away from home.

UP NEXT

Canisius: At Cleveland State on Saturday in the last of road games to open the season.

St. Bonaventure: Plays Boise State on Thursday at the Charleston Classic in South Carolina — a multiteam event that includes West Virginia, Clemson and Marquette.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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Kyle Lofton

Osun Osunniyi

Jalen Adaway

Canisius Golden Griffins

St. Bonaventure Bonnies