St. Bonaventure fell to defending national champion Wheeling, 19-5, in the Premier Cup bracket of the Collegiate Rugby Championship National 7s Saturday evening.

The loss ended an inspired two-day tourney run in which they outscored four teams, 88-29, on the way to the title game.

“Really proud of the boys, but gutted at the same time,” said Danny Neighbour, Bonnies’ coach. “We almost beat them at their own tournament earlier this year so we knew we could play with them. If we’d have connected with a couple of missed passes, it’s a different story. 7s is so tough like that. You can’t miss opportunities when they come.”

The CRC 7s national title game appearance was the first in school history for St. Bonaventure, which has reached the CRC 15s national title game twice (2021, 2023), winning the championship in 2021.

In the title game, the Bonnies controlled much of the first-half play, but lost a scrum near midfield that led to Wheeling’s first score with just over a minute to play in the half.

Wheeling took a 19-0 lead in the second half before Troy Heroldt scored on a long run to avert the shutout. The Bonnies almost cut it to a one-score game, but were stopped just short of the try zone with under a minute to play.

Bonnies reached the title game with a 19-12 semifinal win over Belmont Abbey Saturday afternoon, rallying from an early 5-0 deficit.

Harry Healy, the Bonnies’ leading scorer in the tournament (6 tries), scored off a brilliant kick-ahead pass from Scott Wilson late in the first half to put SBU up 7-5 at halftime. Healy and Heroldt scored in the second half to put the Bonnies up 19-5 before Belmont added a last-second try.

To reach Saturday’s final four, the Bonnies on Friday defeated Delaware, 26-10, Clemson, 31-0, and Iowa Central, 12-7, making a late defensive stand to thwart the Tritons.

Heroldt, Kye Terry and Manu Taula each scored a pair of tries for the Bonnies in the tournament; Heroldt added nine conversions.

All four teams in the semifinals are members of the new Atlantic Coast Rugby Conference, which begins play this fall. SBU, Queens and Belmont Abbey were members of Rugby East until this spring.

Queens, which lost to Wheeling, 38-12, in the semifinals, defeated Belmont Abbey in overtime, 17-12, in the third-place game.

______________

About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).