Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: WILL NUNN; CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SPORTS EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team used a second-half comeback to defeat Le Moyne College 92-81 Saturday, avoiding the Dolphins’ upset bid.
Senior forward Frank Mitchell, off the heels of being named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, led the Bonnies with 21 points and nine rebounds. In their highest scoring output of the season, six Bonnies scored in double figures, with redshirt junior guard Dasonte Bowen and senior forward Daniel Egbuniwe scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Graduate forward Shilo Jackson paced the Dolphins (5-7) with 25 points and three blocks. Redshirt sophomore guard Deng Garang added 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Sophomore guard Jakai Sanders tied a program record with 15 assists and added 10 points.
The Bonnies (11-2) put together their best shooting performance of the season from beyond the arc, draining a season-high 13 threes at a season-best 50% clip.
Bonaventure led by as many as 10 in the first half, but Le Moyne clawed back, using a 10-1 run to jump out to a 40-31 lead, their largest of the half, with four minutes to play.
A combination of hot shooting and poor Bonaventure defense propelled the Dolphins to a 47-42 halftime lead. Le Moyne shot 46.9% from the field and 46.7% from three in the half.
Garang came out of the gates hot with 15 points and six rebounds in the first half, shooting 3-of-4 from three. Jackson added 10 first-half points for Le Moyne.
Grahovac led the Bonnies with 11 points and two blocks in the first half. Charles added eight points and four rebounds.
Le Moyne extended their lead to 55-44 early in the second half before the Bonnies caught fire. Back-to-back threes from Egbuniwe and free throws from Mitchell gave the Bonnies a 58-57 lead five minutes into the half. The Bonnies were able to climb back into the game thanks to the sloppy play of the Le Moyne offense. The Dolphins turned the ball over 11 times in the second half after not recording a turnover in the first half.
The Dolphins tied the game at 72 thanks to a pair of free throws from Jackson with six minutes remaining before the Bonnies pulled away one final time. A 12-0 Bonaventure run over the next four minutes put the game on ice.
The Bonnies will travel to Richmond, Va. for a matchup with Virginia Commonwealth University to open Atlantic 10 play Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast live on the Bonnies Online Network.
