On March 16, 1995, the top pop song in the US was Madonna’s Take a Bow.
That’s exactly what the Bonnies did that evening in the Reilly Center, and it was Francis Tommasino’s most memorable Bona game behind the microphone in his Bona tenure. Tommasino, the “voice of the Bonnies” from 1988-1995, called 180 games over that span. The dream had been realized fairly early in life: Tommasino said that getting the radio job for St. Bonaventure was his dream since second grade. “Not a lot of people knew what they wanted to be at that age, but I did. To me, it was the best job in the world,” he said.
He took over mid-season for Don McLean, whose career covered 33 seasons, and found himself at Rutgers announcing his first game at the age of 24. “I remember it vividly,” he remembered. “I survived…I got through it. More than anything else, I was petrified that I wouldn’t get on the air or something would go wrong. I think people realized, ‘Well, he’s not Don, but he’s going to do all right.’”
Fast forward 178 games to his first post-season call.
It was the next-to-last game of his radio tenure that was recalled with fondness. He also knew that the end of the Bona season would mark the end of the announcing role, as he would be moving to Virginia for family reasons. Game #179 would be fresh in his mind years later: Coach Jim Baron’s squad beat the University of Southern Mississippi for a first-round NIT victory, 75-70.
What made the victory more memorable was that it marked the Bonnies’ first return to post-season action since the 1983 NIT (a 90-76 loss to Iona). However, the idea of the Bonnies even being picked for the NIT that season was uncertain. They lost their last two regular season games before falling in double overtime to St. Joe’s in the Atlantic 10 tournament and finding themselves with a record of 17-12.
“When the team went belly up in the A-10 tournment, it was like our hopes were dashed,” he said. “The way that [St. Joe’s game] ended, I thought, ‘That’s it…we won’t even get to the NIT.”
Yet, to the surprise of many, they did get an NIT invite.
While the Bonnies won the NIT in 1977, Southern Mississippi took that same crown in 1987 in defeating LaSalle in the championship game. The 1994-1995 team brought impressive victories to the Reilly Center that included wins over SEC foes Mississippi State and Mississippi as well as over Louisville, Virginia Tech, and VCU.
Three Bonnies averaged in double figures that same season: David Vanterpool, Nii Nelson-Richards, and Jeff Quackenbush. St. Bonaventure started 0-3 before win streaks of four and five games boosted them in the home stretch of the season.
The Reilly Center fans were energized for the post-season matchup with Southern Mississippi. Tommasino described the crowd as “incredible” with an energy level “absolutely through the roof.”
The Bonnies responded in kind, surging to a 25-8 lead and ahead, 34-27, at half. Nelson-Richards scored nearly half (16) of the Bona points in that half and eventually led all scorers with 24 points. Southern Mississippi took the lead in the second half, in part due to the Bonnies’ poor foul shooting (20-38), but the team prevailed behind Nelson-Richards. “He really had a terrific game,” said Tommasino, “and pulled the team through it.”
Looking back, Tommasino saw the season as a pivotal one, describing it as “an uplifting year overall.” After all, he noted, “By those standards of the time, it [an 18-13 record] was a great turnaround for Bona basketball.”
And the NIT game with Southern Mississippi was significant on a number of levels, according to Tommasino. “Not only because it was a return to the tournament, but it was also a win, and it was a game that the Reilly Center hadn’t seen in a long time…getting to play a post-season game and come away with a win,” he said.
It was the Bonnies’ only victory in the final five games of the season, as they lost at Marquette in the ensuing round of the NIT despite Vanterpool’s 27-point performance. “A game that St. Bonaventure should have won,” remarked Tommasino.
After the final buzzer in the Bradley Center, Tommasino signed off for the final time, taking along the fond memories of many Bona games courtside and a most inspiring NIT win over Southern Mississippi.