PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Dasonte Bowen posted a career- and team-best 20 points as the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team overcame a double-digit second-half deficit to defeat George Mason, 63-57, in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Thursday (March 12) at PPG Paints Arena. Trailing 44-33 with 15:20 to go, the Bonnies outscored the Patriots 30-13 the rest of the way to steal the victory.  
 
Bowen shot 5-for-12 from the field and 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Frank Mitchell posted 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting and seven rebounds. Cayden Charles contributed 12 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the charity stripe, adding seven rebounds.  
 
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure (17-16) will advance to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament against No.4-seeded Dayton on Friday (March 13) at PPG Paints Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised live on USA Network.  
 
Tickets for Friday's game are available here.  
 
FIRST HALF
After trailing 9-4 early, SBU tied the contest at 11 off a Bowen triple at the 11:58 mark. George Mason (23-9) responded with a 9-4 spurt, before a Mitchell hook shot cut SBU's deficit back to one possession, 20-17, with 8:56 remaining.  
 
The Patriots answered with a pair of threes to push their edge to 26-17, but the Bonnies countered with six straight points, capped by a Daniel Egbuniwe free throw, to go down four. 
 
George Mason closed the half on an 8-2 run to extend their lead to double digits, 34-24, heading into the locker room. Mitchell led the Bonnies with eight points at the break. 
 
SECOND HALF
Egbuniwe pulled Bonaventure within six twice — first off a put-back layup, then a three pointer — in the first three minutes of the frame.  
 
GMU then scored five unanswered points to build their largest lead of the game, 44-33, with 15:20 left.  
 
Over the next 4:30, the Bonnies crafted a 12-2 surge, punctuated by an alley-oop throwdown from Andrew Osasuyi, to get within a score, 46-35. During that span, Daryll Simmons II canned a triple, and Bowen tallied five points.  
 
George Mason would hold on to their advantage until the 3:40 mark, when Charles hit a pair of free throws to give Bonaventure its first lead of the day, 56-55.  
 
The Bonnies would not look back. Bowen drained two more free throws to extend the lead to three with 2:48 left. George Mason hit a jumper to go down a point, but Mitchell muscled in two second-chance baskets and Charles landed a free throw in the final two minutes to seal the win.
 
NOTES:

• Bowen is averaging 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in two Atlantic 10 tournament games.
• Bowen has scored nine-or-more points in 12 of his last 13 games.
• After going 9-for-9 from the free throw line, Bowen is 24-for-26 (92.3 percent) from the stripe in his last six games.
• Bowen and Charles combined for 17 of St. Bonaventure's points during its 30-13 run to close the game.