ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team returns home after a three-game road trip to face Division-II Bloomsburg on Wednesday (Dec. 3) at the Reilly Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
QUITE FRANKLY
St. Bonaventure forward Frank Mitchell has been a star through eight games, averaging a career- and team-best 16.0 points as well as 10.4 rebounds per game. 
 
As of Monday (Dec. 1) only two players in Division I are averaging at least 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game: preseason All-American JT Toppin (Texas Tech, 22.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists per game) and Mitchell. 
 
Mitchell leads the Atlantic 10 conference in rebounding, is tied for fourth in blocks (1.4 per game) and ranks eighth in scoring. He also leads the league in field goal percentage among players who have 100-or-more shot attempts on the season at 54.2 percent (58-for-107).
 
The Toronto native has five double-doubles on the season, which leads the Atlantic 10 and is tied for third-most nationally. Heading into Wednesday's game, Mitchell has posted a double-double in two straight games, recording 17 points and 12 rebounds against East Carolina (Nov. 27) before posting 13 points and 11 rebounds at Floriday Atlantic (Nov. 30).
 
Mitchell is no stranger to the top of the national leaderboards. In 2023-24 with Canisius, he ranked fourth in the country with 11.6 rebounds per game. 
 
The senior's rebound percentage of 18.4 and offensive rebound percentage of 14.2 are both on pace to be the highest in a season in St. Bonaventure history.
 
COUNT ON CAYDEN
Cayden Charles gave the Bonnies a huge boost in their win at Florida Atlantic on Sunday (Nov. 30), scoring a team-best 16 points and grabbing five rebounds. It was the second time this season that he has led the Bonnies in scoring. 
 
Charles has reached double figures in six of St. Bonaventure's eight games, all six of which have been wins. He has scored 15-or-more points in four games, trailing just Buddy Simmons II and Mitchell (each with five) for the third-most games over 15 points on St. Bonaventure.
 
The North Georgia (Div. II) transfer went 7-for-7 from the free throw line on Sunday. He has not missed a free throw in four straight games, going 13-for-13 during that stretch. 
 
Charles has made a team-best 35 free throws on the season, more than double the nearest St. Bonaventure player (Simmons II, 15). He has accounted for 36.4 percent of the Bonnies' 96 made free throws through eight games.
 
Defensively, Charles has also been extremely reliable, leading the Bonnies with 15 steals to this point. He is recording a steal on 3.5 percent of defensive possessions this season, which would be tied with Melvin Council Jr.'s 2024-25 steal percentage as the highest in St. Bonaventure history.
 
BONNIES OFF THE BENCH
Several Bonnies have stepped up off the bench in several of St. Bonaventure's wins. In five of SBU's seven victories, a player has reached double figures off the bench.
 
In Sunday's win at Florida Atlantic, Achille Lonati shined with 13 points while shooting 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. On Thursday against East Carolina, Daniel Egbuniwe had a season-high 17 points, shooting 5-for-6 from three-point range. 
 
THE NERD CORNER
In the first NET rankings published by the NCAA on Monday (Dec. 1), the Bonnies ranked 91st. St. Bonaventure was one of eight Atlantic 10 teams ranked in the top 100.
 
Last Sunday's win at Florida Atlantic was considered a Quad 2 win, the Bonnies' highest rated win of the season so far.