Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: WILL NUNN; CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SPORTS EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team defeated Bradley University 69-63 Monday in its season opener at the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon in Rock Hill, S.C.
Led by a second half surge by junior guard Darryl Simmons II, the Bonnies survived a late Braves run to hold on for a six-point win.
Simmons led the Bonnies with 24 points and four assists, knocking down five three-pointers in a team-high 38 minutes of action.
Bonaventure Head Coach Mark Schmidt made one change to the starting lineup from the exhibition win over Alfred on Wednesday. Freshman forward Andrew Osasuyi was inserted into the starting five in his first collegiate contest, pushing senior forward Frank Mitchell to the bench. Despite not starting, Mitchell tallied 12 points and led the Bonnies with nine rebounds.
The Bonnies led by as much as 13 in the first half, and carried an eight point advantage into the halftime break, led by 14 first-half points from senior guard Cayden Charles. Charles was all over the floor for the Bonnies, finishing the game with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three steals.
With just over nine minutes remaining in the second half, Bradley jumped out to their biggest lead of the game. A jumper by sophomore guard Jaquan Johnson gave the Braves a 55-49 lead. After an Osasuyi free-throw, Simmons connected on three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Bonnies the lead back. Johnson was joined by junior guard Demarion Burch and graduate guard Alex Huibregtse in leading the Braves with 13 points apiece.
With the game tied at 62 with just over one minute remaining, Simmons connected from beyond the arc again to give Bonaventure the lead for good.
The win marks the sixth consecutive win in season opening games for the Bonnies, with their last loss in a season opener coming on Nov. 5, 2019 against Ohio University.
The Bonnies return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. against Canisius University in the Reilly Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast live on the Bonnies Online Network.
