Julius Coles scored 21 points and Gaby Belardo added a career-high 19 as Canisius rallied to defeat St. Bonaventure 80-70 on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
The Bonnies jumped out to a 13-6 lead, but a Greg Logins layup gave the Golden Griffins a 22-21 lead with 7:17 to go and Canisius never trailed again.
The Golden Griffins, who shot 53.3 percent in the first half (16 of 30) pulled ahead 37-33 at halftime and led by as many as 13 with 2:01 to go.
Andrew Nicholson scored 23 points for St. Bonaventure of 8-of-12 shooting and Michael Davenport added 19.
Canisius shot 50 percent from the floor for the game (25 of 50) while the Bonnies shot 49.1 percent (26 of 53).
Alshwan Hymes had a career-high 13 points for the Golden Griffins on 5-of-6 shooting.
Canisius finished with a 33-27 advantage on the boards.
