Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: WILL NUNN; CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SPORTS EDITOR
Saturday was a bittersweet day of farewells in the Reilly Center. The St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team fell to Davidson University 68-63 on a day in which they honored six players in a pregame Senior Day ceremony.
Additionally, reports indicated that Head Coach Mark Schmidt will be stepping down at season’s end, making Saturday his final game in the Reilly Center after a 19-year tenure. Schmidt was introduced to a standing ovation prior to tip off.
The seniors led the charge for the Bonnies (15-16, 4-14 A-10) on Senior Day. Guard Cayden Charles and forward Frank Mitchell each recorded double-doubles. Charles led all scorers with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Mitchell added 16 points and 13 boards. Senior forward Daniel Egbuniwe added 10 points.
Senior guard Broek Ostrom, a four-year walk-on member of the program, made his first career start on Senior Day. He was held scoreless in four minutes of game action.
Leading the way for the victorious Wildcats (19-12, 10-8 A-10) was junior guard Sam Brown, whose 15 points led the team. Freshman guard Nick Coval recorded 11 points off the bench and junior guards Hunter Adam and Parker Friedrichsen each tallied 10 points.
The first half exemplified the idea that basketball is a game of runs. The Bonnies used an early 7-0 run to jump out to their largest lead of the half, 11-6. Davidson immediately bounced back with a 7-0 run of their own to retake the lead.
The Wildcats took a 35-26 lead, their largest lead of the first half, off the back of an 11-2 run during which they hit five consecutive field goals. Bonaventure fought back with a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to 36-33 at the half.
Mitchell led all scorers with 12 points in the first half, with Egbuniwe adding eight points. Coval led the Wildcats with eight points before the break.
Bonaventure grabbed the lead within the first three minutes of the second half before Davidson used another 7-0 run to take a 45-40 lead seven minutes into the half. The Wildcats ballooned the lead to 59-45 inside of eight minutes to play behind five straight points from Brown.
Bonaventure rallied late, cutting the lead to two inside of two minutes to play before going cold, and Davidson closed the game at the line.
The Bonnies will head to Pittsburgh, Pa. for a battle in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship against La Salle University on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 11:30 a.m. and will be broadcast live on USA Network and the Bonnies Online Network
