FORT MYERS, Fla. – Daniel Egbuniwe scored a season-best 17 points and Frank Mitchell posted his fourth double-double of the 2025-26 campaign as the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team defeated East Carolina, 67-58, on Thursday (Nov. 27) in the Fort Myers Tip-Off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
 
Egbuniwe shot 6-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from three while recording three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Mitchell posted 17 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in his Atlantic-10-leading fourth double-double of the season. Dasonte Bowen reached double figures for the first time in 2025-26, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line to ice the game in the final minutes.
 
FIRST HALF:
The Bonnies (6-1) made each of their first six shots to jump out to a 13-9 lead in the opening minutes. After the hot start, St. Bonaventure cooled off from the field, going just 5-for-22 the rest of the first half. 
 
Despite the dry spell, the Bonnies led for most of the first half by locking down the Pirates (2-5) on defense. St. Bonaventure forced 10 first half turnovers and held ECU to just 28.6 percent (8-for-28) shooting before the break.
 
St. Bona's struggles from the field caught up to the team just before the halftime buzzer, as East Carolina closed the first half on an 11-2 run to take a one-point lead (29-28) into the locker room. 
 
SECOND HALF:
East Carolina's Jordan Riley sank a jumper to open the second half, but the Bonnies responded with a 6-0 run over the next 2:25 to reclaim the lead.
 
St. Bonaventure missed five of its next six shots from the field as ECU climbed back in front over the next three-and-a-half minutes.
 
However, the Bonnies answered again, this time with an 8-2 spurt capped off by an incredible sequence by Mitchell involving two-handed jam and a jaw-dropping assist on back-to-back possessions. 
 
Just as it looked like SBU would use the momentum from Mitchell's play to pull away from the Pirates, the Bonnies went cold from the field, scoring just four points over the next 5:30 to allow East Carolina to take a 49-48 lead. 
 
Egbuniwe took over in the waning minutes of the second half, drilling three triples in the final 5:51 to help St. Bonaventure pull away. Bowen was perfect from the line down the stretch to allow St. Bonaventure to seal the 67-58.
 
UP NEXT:
St. Bonaventure will remain in the sunshine state to face Florida Atlantic in its first true road game of the season on Sunday (Nov. 30) at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Fla. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised live on ESPN2.
 
NOTES:

• Egbuniwe's five three-pointers ties a season-best by any Bonnie this season. Buddy Simmons II had five triples in SBU's season-opener against Bradley (Nov. 3).
• Four of Egbuniwe's five three-pointers (and 14 of his 17 points) came in the second half.
• Through seven games, Frank Mitchell is averaging a double-double with 16.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
• The Bonnies forced a season-high 17 turnovers.