Photo Credits: St. Bonaventure Athletics
By Nathan Donnelly, Sports Staffer
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — On Wednesday, Sep. 24, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies came up short against the Niagara Purple Eagles and the Canisius Golden Griffins in the 71st annual Little Three Championship at Niagara Frontier Country Club.
For the first time since Sep. 30, 2015, the Bonnies failed to win the Little Three Championship. The win was Niagara’s first since 2003 and snapped Bonaventure’s record-long eight-year winning streak in the event.
Playing on their home course, the Purple Eagles posted a 36-hole total of 586 strokes, one shot better than Canisius’ 587 and two clear of Bonaventure’s 588.
Niagara built an early lead in the with an opening-round 297 strokes, three shots ahead of the Bonnies’ 300. Freshman Colin Barber paced Bonaventure in the morning with a 73, while senior Michael Bucko followed with a 74 and fellow senior Gabe Williams added a 75.
The Bonnies responded in the afternoon, turning in a team score of 288, highlighted by Bucko’s 70 and Barber’s career-best 71.
Canisius, however, made its own charge with the low round of the day at 286 shots. Despite the pressure, Niagara held steady, shooting a 289 to close out the victory as all three teams finished within two shots of one another.
Individually, Niagara’s Ben Hebert captured medalist honors with a first round of 70 and second round of 69 for 139 total strokes. His teammate Mikey Takacs finished one shot back at 140. Bonaventure’s Bucko and Barber tied for third overall at 144.
Next for the Bonnies is the 36-hole Matthews Auto Intercollegiate in Apalachin, NY on Oct. 5 and 6 starting at 8 a.m.
Leave a Reply