By: Ben Metcalf
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y – The St. Bonaventure men's basketball program will conclude its non-conference schedule with a home matchup against Le Moyne on Saturday (Dec. 20) at the Reilly Center. The game will be televised live on the YES Network and will also be streamed on ESPN+. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Quite Frankly
St. Bonaventure forward
Frank Mitchell has been one of the most impactful players in the country this season. Mitchell posted a career-best 27 points and 15 rebounds on Saturday (Dec. 13) vs. Ohio. He made a career-best 12 field goals, the most in a single game by any player in the Atlantic 10 this season.
On Dec. 10, the Toronto native recorded 19 points and 18 rebounds in a win over Colgate, becoming the first St. Bonaventure player to have at least 18 points and 18 rebounds in a game since fellow Canadian Andrew Nicholson did so in 2012.
For his efforts, Mitchell was recognized as the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday (Dec. 15), becoming the first St. Bonaventure player to earn a weekly conference award this season.
Saturday's double-double was Mitchell's sixth straight. During the streak, Mitchell is averaging 16.2 points, 13.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
With nine double-doubles, the senior has the second most in the country as of Wednesday (Dec. 17).
Most Double-Doubles in NCAA Division I
Rank Name School #
1 Delrecco Gillespie Kent State 10
2 Frank Mitchell St. Bonaventure 9
3 Michael Ajayi Butler 8
t4 Demetrius Lilley Binghamton 7
t4 Caleb Wilson North Carolina 7
Mitchell is averaging 11.6 rebounds per game, which leads all players in the Atlantic 10 conference and ranks third nationally. He leads the nation with 139 total rebounds.
Most Rebounds in NCAA Division I
Rank Name School #
1 Frank Mitchell St. Bonaventure 139
2 Delrecco Gillespie Kent State 131
3 Thomas Dowd Troy 125
4 Carson Towt Notre Dame 122
5 Justin Neely UNC Greensboro 121
Mitchell's rebounding average puts him on pace to record 359 rebounds on the season, which would be the fifth-most in a season by a St. Bonaventure player.
A remarkable number of Mitchell's rebounds have come on the offensive end. His 64 total offensive rebounds lead the nation, and his average of 5.33 per game rank second in all of Division I.
Mitchell has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds in consecutive games, with a season-best 11 against Colgate and 10 vs. Ohio.
Mitchell's total rebounding percentage of 21.2 and offensive rebounding percentage of 19.6 would both be school records if the season ended today, with the latter being the highest in school history by 6.6 percentage points.
Mitchell is no stranger to the top of the national rebounding leaderboards. In 2023-24 with Canisius, he averaged 11.6 rebounds per game, the fourth-most in Division I.
Dasonte Delivers
Redshirt junior point guard
Dasonte Bowen has been one of the Bonnies' top scoring options of late. The team's lone captain has reached double figures in five of his last six games.
He recorded a career-best-tying 17 points against Ohio, adding seven assists and four rebounds. In the prior game against Colgate, Bowen posted 15 points and a career-best nine assists.
The Boston native has dramatically improved his offensive efficiency after a shaky start to the season. Over his last five games, Bowen is averaging 11.2 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51.2 percent (22-for-43) from the field. He shot just 37.2 percent in St. Bonaventure's first six games.
Bowen is currently leading the Atlantic 10 by a wide margin with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.06, while ranking 53rd in Division I.
Highest Assist-Turnover Ratio in the Atlantic 10
Rank Name School #
1 Dasonte Bowen St. Bonaventure 3.21
2 Ashton Walker La Salle 2.47
3 Christian Henry Fordham 2.46
Bowen is averaging 4.3 assists per game on the season, fourth-most in the conference.
Most Assists per Game in the Atlantic 10
Rank Name School #
1 Christian Henry Fordham 5.75
2 Tarence Guinyard Duquesne 5.09
3 Justin Moore Loyola Chicago 4.82
4 Dasonte Bowen St. Bonaventure 4.33
t5 Kory Mincy George Mason 3.91
t5 DeJour Reeves Fordham 3.91
The Egbuni-Way
Ever since returning from injury against Robert Morris (Nov. 20), forward
Daniel Egbuniwe has been a key contributor off the bench for the Bonnies.
The senior is averaging 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals over eight games since his return. He is shooting 52.7 percent from the field and a career-best 42.9 percent (12-for-28) from beyond the arc during that span.
On Saturday vs. Ohio, Egbuniwe tallied 12 points, joining Mitchell and Bowen as the three Bonnies in double figures. He also tallied four rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Egbuniwe has led St. Bonaventure in scoring off the bench twice this season. He scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting (5-for-6 from three-point range) in a win over East Carolina (Nov. 27), and scored 15 points with three rebounds, three assists and three steals off the bench at Buffalo (Dec. 6).
The Nerd Corner
In the latest NET rankings published by the NCAA on Wednesday (Dec. 17), the Bonnies ranked 96th. In TeamRankings.com's RPI rankings, St. Bonaventure was ranked 18th in the country.
The Bonnies ranked 27th in FaktorSports' KPI rating, a metric used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
Le Moyne Notes
- Le Moyne enters Saturday's game at 5-6 after a loss at Texas on Tuesday (Dec. 16).
- The Dolphins are led by Trent Mosquera, a senior averaging 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
- St. Bonaventure is an unblemished 15-0 since 1949 against Le Moyne.
- The Bonnies played Le Moyne as a Division I opponent for the first time last season, claiming a 71-52 victory.
Saturday's game will be St. Bonaventure's Teacher Appreciation Day.
