Matt Mobley’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer gives the Bonnies an 81-79 win over Vermont. Jeff DiVeronica
Two years ago Marcus Posley put on a scoring show like never before seen in Rochester, lighting up St. Joseph’s for 47 points in a St. Bonaventure win.
The Bonnies topped that Saturday with another instant classic.
They pulled out a heart-pounding, 81-79, win against Vermont in front of 5,828 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial in improbable fashion, which sounds crazy when you consider that Matt Mobley, the player who made the game-winning 3-pointer as the horn sounded, is Bonaventure’s top scorer at 19 points per game.
But Mobley hadn’t scored in the first 39 minutes and 59 seconds of a back-and-forth game in which no team led by more than eight points, was tied eight times and saw the lead change hands 12 times. Mobley took just two shots all night before his winner, which he swished from the right wing and in the face of Anthony Lamb, the Vermont forward from Greece Athena who was running out with his hand up.
“Everybody was in the paint really and I was just wide open, so I was just calling for the ball,” said Mobley, a senior guard who transferred from Central Connecticut before last season.
The win by Bonaventure, which at 8-2 is off to its best start in Mark Schmidt’s 11 seasons as coach, spoiled the homecoming and a great game by Lamb. The 6-foot-6 sophomore forward scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and added eight rebounds. He was 6-for-11 from the floor and 13-for-14 from the free-throw line.
Vermont had its chance to win and cashed in. Down 78-77 with 20 seconds left, the reigning America East champions let senior point guard Trae Bell-Haynes (13 points) drive for the win. He missed but forward Payton Henson tipped it in.
Just 5.2 seconds remained.
Schmidt tried to call timeout out. Lucky for him, no official saw it and here came his point guard, Jaylen Adams, racing up the court. He finished with a game-high 17 points.
“Jay had the understanding and the basketball IQ to make a great pass and Matt made a great shot,” Schmidt said. “We found a way. … There wasn’t much coaching in the last five seconds of that game. That was two players really making a really good play.”
Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt and guards Matt Mobley and Jaylen Adams break down buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Jeff DiVeronica
Mobley said in the locker room after the game, a fifth straight win this season for the Bonnies and fifth straight in Rochester, that Adams joked that no matter how many points he scores or shots he misses, he’ll make a pass to his backcourt mate if he’s open.
“I have a couple buzzer-beaters but I’ll take this one for sure,” Mobley said.
Vermont (7-5) has lost a few close games this season and was an NCAA Tournament team last year, but a setback to the Catamounts wouldn’t have looked good on Bonaventure’s Big Dance resume.
For Lamb, it was another bitter loss in a building where his standout high school career came to an end two years ago in the Section V Class A1 championship to Pittsford Sutherland. But his coach, John Becker, and Schmidt both said Lamb played terrific.
“I really wanted this game for my team because we’re trying to get everything together and I know this would have been big win against a really good team,” Lamb said “I know looking forward we’re going to learn from this.”
He said it was surreal having dinner with his team on Friday night at the same Olive Garden where he has eaten a lot of meals as a teen. The two-time All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year just hoped for a different ending on the court this time.
“It was a cool experience ... I’m really appreciative of Vermont and or our coaching staff for allowing me to get this opportunity. … We had a lot of good stops at the end but we didn’t get the one that counted.”
JDIVERON@Gannett.com