BOCA RATON, Fla. – Frank Mitchell earned his fifth double-double of the season while Cayden Charles and Achille Lonati each shined with 16 and 13 points, respectively, as the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team defeated Florida Atlantic, 70-65, on Sunday (Nov. 30) at Eleanor G. Baldwin Arena. The Bonnies will close the month of November at 7-1 for the second year in a row. 
 
Mitchell finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Charles added five rebounds to his 16 points while going 7-for-7 from the free throw line, including a pair in the final 10 seconds to ice the game for the Bonnies. Lonati shot 4-of-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc while coming up with a career-best three steals on the defensive end.
 
Point guard Dasonte Bowen reached double figures for the second straight game. He tallied 10 points, a team-best four assists and three rebounds while shooting 4-for-5 from the field.
 
As a team, the Bonnies shot 53.2 percent (25-for-47) from the floor. It is the third time this season that St. Bonaventure has shot over 50 percent in a game.
 
FIRST HALF
St. Bonaventure made three of its first four shots from the field to jump out a 9-4 lead over the Owls (5-3) in the first three minutes. 
 
After several minutes of the two teams trading baskets, the Bonnies went on a 6-0 run thanks to a pair of layups by Bowen, taking a 17-9 lead with 10:35 to play before the break. The eight-point advantage was St. Bonaventure largest lead of the first half.
 
A layup by Amar'e Marshall gave SBU a 21-15 lead with 8:07 before halftime. However, Florida Atlantic went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:19, capitalizing on five St. Bonaventure turnovers to flip the first half on its head.
 
With the Bonnies now trailing by four, Charles immediately ended the run with a pair of layups to tie the game at 25. Three-pointers by Daniel Egbuniwe and Lonati allowed St. Bonaventure to edge FAU, 9-7, in the final minutes of the half and take a 34-32 lead into the locker room.
 
SECOND HALF
The Bonnies started the second half on fire, using a 7-0 run over the opening 1:51 to take a nine-point lead over FAU, their largest lead of the game. Joe Grahovac had five of SBU's seven points, including a contested three-pointer that forced a Florida Atlantic timeout. 
 
The Owls clawed back over the next several minutes, eventually using a 7-0 run of their own to pull within one with 13:31 on the clock. Lonati answered the run with a three-pointer and fastbreak layup. Then, after the under-12 media timeout, Lonati buried a free throw. The personal 6-0 run returned St. Bonaventure's lead to seven points with 11:04 to play. 
 
The Bonnies kept FAU at arm's length down the stretch, maintaining a lead between four and seven points for all but 19 seconds of the next eight-and-a-half minutes.
 
Lonati's third three-pointer of the game gave the Bonnies a 63-56 advantage, just enough of a margin for St. Bonaventure to survive making just one shot from the field over the remaining 5:05. 
 
The Owls pulled within three points in the final minute and had a chance to tie the game with 23 seconds remaining. However, a steal by Bowen foiled Florida Atlantic's comeback attempt. After Charles' game-sealing set of free throws, the Bonnies picked up a key win on the road, 70-65.
 
UP NEXT
The Bonnies will return home from a three-game road swing to face Bloomsburg on Wednesday (Dec. 3) at the Reilly Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
NOTES:

• Mitchell has posted back-to-back double-doubles. It's the second time this season he's had two double-doubles in a row.
• Mitchell is averaging 16.8 points and 11.3 rebounds over his last four games. 
• After going 7-for-7 from the free throw line, Cayden Charles has now gone four straight games without missing a free throw. He is 13-for-13 from the line in that span.
• Dasonte Bowen has at least three assists in seven of the Bonnies' eight games this season.
• After scoring just five points over St. Bonaventure's first five games (missing three due to injury), Daniel Egbuniwe has averaged 11.3 points over the Bonnies' last three games.
• FAU's Devin Vanterpool – son of Bonnies Hall-of-Famer David Vanterpool – posted a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double against his father's alma mater.