St. Bonaventure most likely needed to win Tuesday night at home against Davidson in order to stay on the better side of the bubble and keep its NCAA Tournament hopes optimistic. 

Well, the Bonnies got it done. They won. But it took three overtimes and what ultimately transpired was arguably the best game in college basketball this season. The ending to Miami-North Carolina was amazing, but from tip to finish, Davidson-Bona was the better game. 

The Bonnies took it 117-113 in a game that featured five players scoring 31 points or more. Having five guys go for 30-plus almost never happens in college basketball. It definitely hasn't happened this century. Bonaventure having three players go for 30 or more was the first instance of that in at least 20 years. Triple overtime will do that for you. Leading the way were Davidson and St. Bonaventure's best players: Peyton Aldridge had a game-high 45 points; Bona's Jaylen Adams scored 34. Both fouled out by the third OT, both fifth-foul calls controversial. 

This game had 75 3-point attempts and 30 makes from deep. Fifty-nine fouls were called. The Wildcats and Bonnies made 64 of the 79 freebies attempted. A great tuneup for March.

Bonaventure avoided a rough loss because LaDarien Griffin made a layup in the closing seconds to knot the affair at 78 in regulation. Kelan Grady's foul shots with three seconds left in OT got the game to 91; he was fouled after going one-on-three and drawing contact. Grady had 39 points and was 16 for 16 from the foul line.  

Bonaventure's Matt Mobley was clutch in the third overtime (11 points!), hitting many free throws in the final minute to ice the game. He finished with 33 points. Courtney Stockard had 31 for the Bonnies. The game took more than three hours to complete. Bonaventure is still firmly on the 11 line in our Bracketology. With league champ Rhode Island easily in the field, Bonaventure needs to avoid a bad loss to ensure it dances. Next up is a tricky road game at Saint Louis, then the Atlantic 10 tournament. 

And as I told you on Tuesday, if St. Bonaventure winds up in the Big Dance, Jaylen Adams is one of the players capable of becoming a March Madness hero. Despite fouling out, he proved why on Tuesday night. That game was terrific for the league and keeps the bubble picture competitive and stronger than it has been in recent seasons.

And as good as this game was, you know March will provide something even better.