Box Score BRONX, N.Y. – Buddy Simmons II and Cayden Charles scored 23 and 21 points, respectively, as the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team defeated Fordham, 70-67, on Saturday (Feb. 7) at Rose Hill Gymnasium. Freshman Andrew Osasuyi chipped in a career-best 12 points, five blocks and four steals.
 
The Bonnies (14-10, 3-8 A-10) shot 58 percent (29-for-50) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from three-point range. Simmons II, Charles and Osasuyi went a combined 68.6 percent (24-for-35) to lead the way for SBU.
 
FIRST HALF
After Charles opened the scoring for St. Bonaventure with back-to-back three-pointers, Fordham (12-12, 3-8 A-10) answered with a 9-0 run, taking an 11-6 lead and forcing an SBU timeout with 15:54 remaining in the half. Simmons II buried a triple out of the timeout to end the run.
 
With 12:09 before the break and St. Bonaventure trailing by six, the Bonnies went on a 14-0 run highlighted by a pair of fastbreak dunks by Osasuyi to claim a 27-19 lead, their largest of the game.
 
Fordham made three triples over the next three minutes while holding SBU without a field goal, narrowing the Rams' deficit to one with 4:04 before halftime.
 
The teams traded the lead five times over the last four minutes of the first half. Fordham took the advantage into the break, 34-33.
 
SECOND HALF
The second half saw the lead change hands 15 times, matching St. Bonaventure's season-high total for any full game this season. 
 
Fordham jumped out to a four-point lead with a three-pointer; however, Charles answered immediately with a triple of his own, bringing the SBU deficit back to one.
 
Over the next 13 minutes, neither team would lead by more than three points as the Bonnies and Rams went back-and-forth. With 4:51 to play, the Atlantic 10's leading scorer Dejour Reaves buried a triple to give Fordham a four-point advantage, the first two-possession lead for either team since the Rams' first basket of the half.
 
The Bonnies would hold Fordham scoreless in the closing minutes, ending the game on a 7-0 run. Simmons II drained a three before assisting Osasuyi on a gravity-defying alley-oop jam that gave St. Bonaventure the lead. 
 
Simmons II added a midrange jumper in the final minute to bring SBU's advantage to three. Fordham's final shot – a three-pointer from Akira Jacobs – went off the iron at the buzzer, sealing the 70-67 win for St. Bonaventure.
 
UP NEXT
The Bonnies will have a full week of rest before they return for a Valentine's Day bout with Duquesne on Saturday (Feb. 14) at the Reilly Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
NOTES:

• Buddy Simmons II surpassed 1,000 career points in the first half. He became the second St. Bonaventure player to do so this season, with Cayden Charles reaching the milestone against Siena (Nov. 12).
• Simmons II is averaging 26.7 points in Atlantic 10 games where St. Bonaventure scores 20-or-more fast break points.
• Andrew Osasuyi became the fourth player in the last 30 years to have at least 10 points, five blocks and four steals in an Atlantic 10 game. He joins Tony Gaffney (UMass; Feb. 18, 2009), David West (Xavier; Jan. 9, 2002) and James Posey (Xavier; Feb. 14, 1999).
• The two teams traded the lead a total of 23 times, eclipsing the Bonnies' season-high total of 15 lead changes set on Tuesday (Feb. 3) at Dayton.