ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -- Frank Mitchell and
Cayden Charles each recorded 20-point double-doubles as the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team defeated Rhode Island, 94-76, Thursday night (Feb. 26) at the Reilly Center. Mitchell and Charles posted 23 and 21 points, respectively, and each finished with 10 rebounds in the win.
Charles added a career-best-tying four steals and two assists to his stat line. Buddy Simmons II finished with 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting (3-for-7 3FG) and four assists.
Dasonte Bowen tallied 14 points on 3-for-6 shooting and a team-best seven assists.
FIRST HALF
Bowen got St. Bonaventure (15-13, 4-11 Atlantic 10) on the board first, nailing a three-pointer on the first possession of the game. Charles followed up with another triple to give the Bonnies an early 6-2 lead.
The Rams (15-13, 6-9 A-10) later tied the contest at 6. The Bonnies retook the lead, pushing it to 14-10 through a Mitchell layup, but Rhode Island tied the score again at 18 with 10:12 remaining.
Rhode Island took its first lead of the game, 21-20, off a three-pointer. St. Bonaventure responded with a 10-0 run, capped by an
Achille Lonati triple and
Joe Grahovac throwdown, to take a 30-21 advantage. The Bonnies grew the margin to double digits, 37-26, following a Simmons II three-pointer with 1:40 to go.
SBU held a 39-30 edge at the break, shooting 48.5 percent from the field in the first frame. Charles and Mitchell led the Bonnies with 10 points each.
SECOND HALF
A pair of free throws from Charles extended the Bonnies lead back to double-digits, 46-35, less than three minutes in. St. Bonaventure later crafted a 10-0 surge, finished off by an
Andrew Osasuyi putback slam, to break open the game, 60-43, with 12:22 left.
The Bonnies eclipsed a 20-point advantage, 65-45, behind a Grahovac three and another Osasuyi dunk. Grahovac jammed down a lob from Bowen to keep the margin at 20, 79-59, with 5:00 remaining.
A 9-4 spurt cut the Rams' deficit to 83-67 with 3:41 to go, but they would not threaten any closer. Two emphatic slam dunks from Mitchell and a three from Daniel Edgbuniwe in the final three minutes put an exclamation point on the Bonnies' 94-76 victory.
UP NEXT
The Bonnies face George Mason at EagleBank Arena on Saturday, Feb. 28. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
NOTES:
- Mitchell's double-double was his fourth straight and 16th of the season. He is now tied for the fifth most double-doubles in the country this season.
- Charles posted his fifth double-double of the season, tied for fifth most in the Atlantic 10. Mitchell has also had a double-double in four of Charles' five games with a double dip this season.
- With three triples, Simmons II has made multiple three-pointers in 10 straight games. He has reached double figures in every game during that span.
- The Bonnies have scored a season-best 94 points in back-to-back games.
- St. Bonaventure has made nine-or-more three-pointers in three straight games for the first time this season.
