By Tyler Diedrich
Editor-in-chief
This month, the nation learned what St. Bonaventure knew for the last four basketball seasons – Andrew Nicholson is one of the best players in the country.
More notably for long-suffering Bonnies fans, Andrew Nicholson can carry a team to success.
Make no mistake, Nicholson didn’t do all the work himself, but this team never would have stepped foot in Atlantic City or Nashville without him.
No. 44 lifted St. Bonaventure to the Atlantic 10 title March 11 against Xavier with 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks in a 67-56 win. Last Friday in an NCAA Tournament loss to Florida State, Nicholson scored 20 points, including 4-for-5 from outside, before the Bonnies fell, 66-63.
National audiences on CBS the last two weekends finally understood the buzz that’s surrounded Western New York and all of the A-10 the last four seasons.
It’s not easy to pick out the big man’s five best performances in brown and white, but here are the five that NBA scouts should watch in preparation for this summer’s draft and Bonaventure fans will have etched in their memories.
5.) Far from Normal – St. Bonaventure 98, Norfolk State 71 (Nov. 29, 2009) Nicholson scored 23 of his then-career-high 29 points in the first half of a Basketball Travelers Classic matchup in Normal, Ill. He finished the game 11-of-13 from the field and added 14 rebounds as the Bonnies cruised past the Spartans.
4.) Clawing at the Big Cat’s mark – St. Bonaventure 69, Duquesne 48 (Feb. 11, 2012) Nicholson’s 21 points and 23 rebounds marked the school’s first 20-20 double-double since Bob Lanier’s 34-point, 27-rebound performance Dec. 22, 1967. The Bonnies dominated defensively, holding the visiting Dukes to 18 second-half points and out-rebounding them 49-25.
3.) RC finale frenzy – St. Bonaventure 98, Saint Joseph’s 93 (2OT,
Feb. 29, 2012) With an A-10 Championship first-round bye – which proved to be critical – on the line, Nicholson torched the Hawks for 32 points and 14 rebounds in his final home game, all but locking up A-10 Player of the Year honors. After scoring just six points in the first half, Nicholson saved his best for late. Trailing 67-61, his jumper with 1:53 remaining pulled the Bonnies within three before cutting the deficit to one with a three-pointer the following possession. Nicholson passed up a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds, instead passing to a wide-open Matthew Wright for a go-ahead three with 1.9 seconds remaining.
The Hawks tied the game and sent it to overtime, building an 82-76 lead with 40 seconds remaining. A Da’Quan Cook layup and another Wright three cut the gap to two with 13 seconds to play. St. Joe’s Chris Wilson made one of two free throws on the ensuing possession, giving the Bonnies a chance to tie. Demitrius Conger laid the ball off of Nicholson for a deep three with 2.3 seconds remaining, sending the game to a second overtime.
Leading 92-89 in the second overtime, Nicholson hit a contested three over C.J. Aiken – the nation’s No. 4 shot-blocker – that proved to be the game-winner.
2.) 44 for 44 – St. Bonaventure 112, Ohio 107 (4OT, Dec. 18, 2010) Nicholson’s career-high 44 points on 14-of-19 shooting in 60 minutes lifted the Bonnies over the visiting Bobcats. His five points in the fourth extra session marked the difference in the longest game in program history.
“My main goal was just to win it no matter how long it took,” Nicholson said after the game. “It was fun.”
1.) Atlantic dream – St. Bonaventure 67, Xavier 56 (Atlantic 10
championship game, March 11, 2012) Nicholson defined his legacy two weeks ago in Atlantic City, carrying the fourth-seeded Bonnies to their first-ever conference championship and their first win against the Musketeers in 10 years.
The big man started early, hitting back-to-back threes as the Bonnies took a 13-point halftime lead. No. 44 opened the second half blocking four shots in a 65-second span. Xavier climbed back to within four, but Nicholson connected on all 10 of his free throws and the Bonnies shot 22-of-25 (.880) from the line en route to the victory.
Nicholson (26 points, 14 rebounds, eight blocks) nearly reached a triple-double, earning tournament Most Outstanding Performer honors and sending the Bonnies to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.
No Bonaventure fan will soon forget the image of an ecstatic Nicholson cutting down the net at Boardwalk Hall in the pinnacle snapshot of his collegiate career.
