PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Guards Buddy Simmons II and Dasonte Bowen combined for 50 points to lead the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team to an 87-79 win over Duquesne on Wednesday night (Jan. 28) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. 
 
Both guards played all 40 minutes as Simmons II scored a season- and team-best 31, while Bowen had a career-best 19 points. The two shot a combined 68 percent (15-for-22) from the field and 15-of-16 at the free throw line.
 
Off the bench, Joe Grahovac posted nine points, five rebounds and three blocks. Freshman Andrew Osasuyi had seven points, a career-best eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal. 
 
FIRST HALF
Early in the first half, the Dukes (11-10, 3-5 A-10) made five consecutive shots from the field – three of which were from three-point range – to take a quick 14-5 lead. The spurt forced a St. Bonaventure (13-8, 2-6 A-10) timeout with 15:14 remaining before halftime. 
 
Duquesne would extend its lead as high as 13 midway through the first half. With 3:50 before the break and the Bonnies trailing by eight, SBU clamped down on the defensive end and held Duquesne to just five points the rest of the half. St. Bonaventure was able to close the gap, heading into the locker room down by just four, 39-35. 
 
SECOND HALF
With the Bonnies down four and 14:25 remaining, a Grahovac triple sparked a 7-0 run, giving St. Bonaventure its first lead of the game. Duquesne made each of its next three attempts from long range to briefly take a one-point lead, but Bowen and Simmons II answered with back-to-back three-pointers to give SBU a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
 
The Dukes cut their deficit to 62-61 with eight minutes to play, but the Bonnies answered with an 8-0 run highlighted by back-to-back triples from Simmons II. An alley-oop dunk by Frank Mitchell from Bowen would put the exclamation point on the Bonnies' win. Although SBU did not make a field goal for the last 3:33, the Bonnies went 11-of-12 from the free throw line in the closing minutes to seal the 87-79 victory.
 
UP NEXT 
St. Bonaventure will welcome George Mason to the Reilly Center on Saturday (Jan. 31). Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on USA Network.
 
NOTES:

• Buddy Simmons II becomes just the third Bona's player to post 30-plus points on the road while shooting 70 percent-or-better from the field in the Mark Schmidt era.
• Simmons II has 26 made three-pointers in A-10 play, tied for the most in the league.
• Simmons II is averaging 23 points per game in his last three games.
• Frank Mitchell posted a career-best seven assists in the win. Mitchell tied his previous career high of five assists in the first half.
• With 17 points last Friday (Jan. 23) against Saint Louis, Dasonte Bowen has tied or exceeded his career high scoring total in two straight games.
• Bowen is shooting 64 percent (14-of-22) and has not missed a three-pointer (2-for-2) or a free throw (6-for-6) in his last two games.
• The Bonnies shot 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the field, 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range and 92.9 percent (13-of-14) from the free throw line in the second half.