St Bonaventure Basketball Bonies VS Billikens

January 23, 2026 // Reilly Center

TEAM ROSTERS

ST. BONAVENTURE BONNIES

00 Frank Mitchell F, Sr., 6-8/270, Toronto, ONT

1 Ilia Ermakov G, Fr., 6-6, Kursk, RUS

2 Amar'e Marshall G, R-Sr., 6-4/210, Montclair, NJ

3 Daniel Egbuniwe F, Sr., 6-7/210, Memphis, TN

4 John Ikpotokin F, Fr., 6-7, Dublin, IRE

5 Dasonte Bowen G, R-Jr., 6-2/190, Boston, MA

7 Brayden Jackson G, So., 6-8/200, Milton, ONT

8 Darryl Simmons II G, Jr., 5-11/175, Detroit, MI

15 Jack DeRose G, Jr., 6-0/175, Olean, NY

20 Achille Lonati G, Fr., 6-5, Pavia, ITA

21 Xander Wedlow PF/C, So., 6-10/245, Detroit, MI

24 Cayden Charles G, Sr., 6-3/185, Kennesaw, GA

30 Broek Ostrom G, Sr., 6-2/180, Holley, NY

32 Joe Grahovac F, So., 6-10/215, Santa Ana, CA

33 Andrew Osasuyi C, Fr., 6-9, Magenta, ITA

SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS

0 Kellen Thames G, R-Jr., 6-6/210, St. Louis, MO

1 Quentin Jones G, Jr., 6-5/180, Chicago, IL

2 Badara Diakite F, Fr., 6-9/180, Bamako, MLI

3 Trey Green G, R-So., 6-0/160, Charlotte, NC

4 Amari McCottry G, So., 6-6/205, Milwaukee, WI

5 Jaden Schertz G, Jr., 5-11/165, Harrogate, TN

6 Kalu Anya F, Sr., 6-8/225, Worcester, MA

9 Ishan Sharma F, So., 6-5/190, Milton, ONT

11 Brady Dunlap F, R-So., 6-7/200, Studio City, CA

12 Isaac Holmes G, Jr., 6-4/215, Apex, NC

13 Dion Brown G, Sr., 6-3/180, Great Barrington, MA

2025-26 St. Bonaventure bonnies

TEAM STATISTICS

2025-26 saint louis billikens

TEAM STATISTICS

GAME NOTES

TO BE FRANK

St. Bonaventure forward Frank Mitchell has been one of the most productive players in the country this season.

Mitchell tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds on Tuesday (Jan. 20), contributing to his 11th double-double of the season. He became one of just eight players in the country with 11 or more double-doubles on the season.

Mitchell is averaging 10.4 rebounds per game, which leads all players in the Atlantic 10 conference. As of Wednesday (Jan. 21), he ranks seventh in the nation in total rebounds with 198.

A remarkable number of Mitchell’s rebounds have come on the offensive end.

His 89 total offensive rebounds (4.68 per game) lead all of Division I.

MOST OFFENSIVE

REBOUNDS IN NCAA DIVISION I (WED., JAN. 21)

Rank Name School #

1 Frank Mitchell St. Bonaventure 89

2 Brandon Benjamin Fairfield 81

3 JT Toppin Texas Tech 80

4 Duke Brennan Villanova 78

t5 Giovanni Emejuru East Carolina 77

t5 Rikus Schulte Fordham 77

Mitchell has tallied double-digit offensive rebounds two games this season, with a season-best 11 against Colgate (Dec. 10) and 10 vs. Ohio (Dec. 13).

Mitchell’s total rebounding percentage of 18.7 and offensive rebounding percentage of 16.3 would both be school records if the season ended today, with the latter being the highest in school history by 3.3 percentage points.

Mitchell is no stranger to the top of the national rebounding leaderboards. In 2023-24 with Canisius, he averaged 11.6 rebounds per game, the fourth-most in Division I.

In the scoring column, Mitchell has scored in double figures in 18 of 19 games this season. He has scored 20-or-more points in six games this season, and in five of his last eight.

DASONTE DELIVERS

Dasonte Bowen has been an extremely effective playmaker this season, averaging 4.8 assists per game over the course of the season, and an Atlantic10-leading 5.8 assists per game in conference play. He has recorded three-ormore assists in 17-of-19 games this season.

Over St. Bonaventure’s last three games, Bowen has combined for 26 assists and just three turnovers.

Bowen’s playmaking prowess was on full display in last Wednesday (Jan. 14) night’s game against Saint Joseph’s. The redshirt junior posted eight assists and just one turnover in the loss.

Then, on Saturday (Jan. 17) at La Salle, Bowen recorded 10 assists and no turnovers. He was the first Bonnie to have double-digit assists with no turnovers since Kyle Lofton in 2021 (Feb. 26 vs. GW, 10 assists-0 turnovers) and just the third SBU player to do so since 2015.

Continued on page 9

2025-26 St. bonaventure

GAME SCHEDULE

decEMBER

OCTOBER

29 vs. Alfred (Exhibition) W, 101-40

NOVEMBER

3 at Bradley ........................ W, 69-63

8 vs. Canisius ............... W, 89-70

12 vs. Siena ................... W, 75-66

15 vs. Youngstown State . W, 84-80

20 vs. Robert Morris ....... W, 75-61

ESPN NIT SEASON TIP-OFF

25 vs. North Carolina L, 85-70

27 vs. East Carolina W, 67-58

30 at Florida Atlantic W, 70-65

All game start times are listed in Eastern Time and are subject to change.

Home games in bold # = Legends Classic

% = Basketball Hall of Fame Classic

3 vs. Bloomsburg ......... W, 83-43

6 at Buffalo ......................... W, 77-69

10 vs. Colgate ................ W, 85-77

Cleveland Hoops Showdown

13 vs. Ohio L, 88-83

20 vs. Le Moyne ............. W, 92-81

31 at VCU .................................L, 89-82

january

7 vs. Richmond ...............L, 89-80

10 vs. Fordham .................L, 81-77

14 at Saint Joseph's .................L, 68-64

17 at La Salle L, 78-74

20 vs. Loyola Chicago ..... W, 84-70

23 vs. Saint Louis ........... 5:30 pm

28 at Duquesne 7:00 pm 31 vs. George Mason ...... 6:30 pm

february 3 at Dayton 7:00 pm 7 at Fordham 2:00 pm

14 vs. Duquesne ............ 4:00 pm

18 vs. Saint Joseph's ...... 7:00 pm 21 at Richmond ....................... 6:00 pm

25 vs. Rhode Island ........ 7:00 pm

28 at George Mason 2:00 pm

march

4 at George Washington ............... TBA

7 vs. Davidson ............12:00 pm

11 Atlantic 10 Tournament............. TBD

GAME NOTES

Continued from page 6

With 12 points, he became the first SBU player to record a points-assist doubledouble since Kyrell Luc did so against George Mason in 2023 (Jan. 4).

On Tuesday (Jan. 20) against Loyola Chicago, Bowen tallied eight assists and no turnovers, bringing his assist-to-turnover ratio to 8.67 over his last three games.

Bowen’s season assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.37 leads the Atlantic 10 among players averaging 3.0 assists or more.

COUNT ON CAYDEN

Cayden Charles has been pivotal to the Bonnies’ offense in conference play. The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in St. Bonaventure’s six Atlantic 10 games.

Last Wednesday at Saint Joseph’s, Charles scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He made a career-best-tying three triples. All 17 of Charles’ points came in the second half, leading an 18-point swing for the Bonnies that gave the team its first lead of the game.

Inversely, Charles scored a team-best tying 11 points in the first half of Saturday’s game at La Salle, but went scoreless in the second half.

Charles posted his fourth double-double of the season in Tuesday’s win over Loyola Chicago (Jan. 20), finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The senior has reached double figures in seven consecutive games, tallying at least six rebounds in all-but-one game during that span.

BUDDY BUCKETS

Buddy Simmons II has lit up the scoreboard in Atlantic 10 play. The junior is averaging 18.0 points in conference games, while shooting 47.1 percent (40for-85) from the field and 47.6 percent (20-for-42) from beyond the arc.

Simmons II has scored at least 14 points in five-of-six A-10 matchups, with 20-or-more points in three of those games.

Against Loyola Chicago, the Detroit native dropped a season-best 26 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He made a season-high-tying six three-pointers to lead St. Bonaventure’s second half comeback.

Simmons II became the first SBU player and just the fourth A-10 player to reach 50 made three-pointers on the season.

IN THE RANKINGS

In the latest NET rankings published by the NCAA on Wednesday (Jan. 21), the Bonnies ranked 147th. In TeamRankings.com’s RPI rankings, St. Bonaventure was ranked 113th in the country.

The Bonnies ranked 112th in FaktorSports’ KPI rating, a metric used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Barr-Buday averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 70.0 percent from the floor across two games last week, helping the Bonnies to a win over Saint Joseph’s last Wednesday night.

In Wednesday’s win over the Hawks, Barr-Buday tallied six points and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

Sunday at Fordham, she chipped in nine points, three rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.

For the year, Barr-Buday is averaging 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in just 9.7 minutes per game while shooting over 57 percent from the floor.

Mitchell averaged 24.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in a pair of games last week.

At La Salle on Saturday, he posted 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor, pulling down seven rebounds with four assists and two steals. Earlier in the week at Saint Joseph’s, he tallied 22 points with eight boards and three steals.

For the year, he leads the team at 17.2 ppg and 10.4 rpg.

BONNIES BASELINE

Mitchell Becomes Bona’s Maestro of the Boards

By Scott Eddy, Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communications

Frank Mitchell is a man of many talents. Among them, a knack for music.

He will tell you how he plays a mean harmonica, along with the drums and even a little piano. This past summer, he picked up the saxophone as well.

“I love music,” he says. “I feel like music represents basketball. Basketball has its own pace, its own rhythm. Music is like that too. You feel the beat, the rhythm.”

Statistically speaking anyway, Mitchell is playing some of the finest music of any Bonnie in recent memory.

Entering this week, the Bona big man ranked eighth nationally in double-doubles while standing second among all Atlantic 10 players in scoring (17.2 ppg) and first on the boards at 10.4 rpg. On the offensive glass, he hauls in nearly five offensive rebounds per game to lead the country. He adds nearly three assists per night for good measure.

Included in those off-the-court talents, he describes himself as a “fish whisperer” with great success in fishing and he knows his way around the grill, adding chef and fisherman skills to his resume.

“God made me with a pinch of everything,” he quipped. “That’s what keeps me so obsessed with the game of basketball, because I have other things I enjoy.”

Indeed, the sport he first found a love for came on the ice, not the hardwood.

Being a native of Toronto, it shouldn’t come as a shock that he developed a passion for hockey from an early age.

“My first love in sports was definitely hockey. Growing up in Canada, hockey surrounded me,” he said. “All my best friends played hockey, so it was just something we did. Hockey was definitely my first love and still is a big part of my life. Hockey has shaped the individual I am today, just how you can be so aggressive.”

In fact, one of his best friends is Ty Nelson who plays for the Seattle Kraken.

Today, Mitchell has professional dreams of his own in basketball, but just over five years ago that possibility seemed far from reach.

He didn’t switch focus to basketball until he turned 18 and was cut from his high school team.

Mitchell started working construction and was doing carpentry and cement flooring, seeing a labor skillset as a path toward a career.

Then, the pandemic hit.

“The union shut down and basketball was really the only thing going on,” he said. “I picked it up and one thing led to another. If Covid didn’t happen, I don’t think I’d be playing basketball.”

Continued on page 16

2025-26 St. Bonaventure athletic

CORPORATE SPONSORS

Adam's Services • Alens Wine & Liquor • Anderson Shortell • Angees • Aramark • Ashley Homestore •

B&T Contractors • Batavia Downs • Bartlett CC • BWB • Clark Patterson Lee • Closes Lumber • Colton RV •

Community Bank • Conroy Insurance Agency • Cuba Cheese Shoppe • Cutco • Databranch • Duggan & Duggan

• Eatery • EnergyMark • Five Star Bank • Focus Physical Therapy • Follett Higher Education • Great Lakes

Cheese • Greenlight • Grandslam • H&R Block • High Point FCU • Highmark • Homecare & Hospice | Total

Senior Care • Hometown • Howard Hanna • Intandem • Jones Memorial | UR Med • Lawley Insurance • Mazza

• MJ Mechanical • Niagara Scenic • Olean General Hospital • Olean Medical Group • Olean Union Sales • Park

n Shop • Paul Brown Motors • Pepsi • Randy's Up the River • Rohrbach Brewing • Seneca Resorts • Shults/ Nissan • Siemens • Sissons Chainsaw • Southern Tier Agency • Sports Locker • Stark Tech Group • Studio 4

East • Three Sixty Graphics • Tim Hortons • Toshina • Universal Primary Care • Valley View Dental • Vivenu • Worth W Smith • Wright Beverage

BONNIES BASELINE

Continued from page 13

Mitchell got spotted by a coach at a pickup game and offered a spot at Oakville Prep. He then came to the United States for a semester at a junior college in Indiana, but he left before the season began.

He found a fit at Humber College in Ontario where basketball started to really click – his Humber team reached the 2022 national championships as Mitchell dominated in the post with 14.5 points and 18 rebounds per contest.

“I didn’t really know what a Division I player looked like; I was new on the basketball scene,” he said. “I just had a motor; I was a rebounder.”

True enough, Mitchell has always been a beast on the boards.

After a sit year following a transfer to Canisius, he was the only Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player to average a double-double and his 11.6 rebounds per game stood fourth nationally in 2023-24.

“Rebounding is something you have to love. When I first started, they told me, ‘Board man gets paid.’ It’s what got me here and you don’t want to forget about that. Rebounding is the only skillset that translates at every level,” he said. “My approach is just get every ball. Play angry and be a blue-collar individual. It’s going to be a fight for 40 minutes.”

His performance at Canisius earned him a promotion via the transfer portal to Minnesota as he jumped to the Big Ten last season.

He saw 29 games of action as a Gopher with three double-doubles over 15.6 minutes per contest off the bench in an up-and-down campaign. His double-double efforts all came against power conference foes – 15 and 12 at USC; 11 and 11 vs. Wisconsin and 12 and 11 at Rutgers.

Looking for more consistency in his next stop, he kept St. Bonaventure in mind for multiple reasons.

For one, he had vivid memories of playing in the Reilly Center as an opponent.

“I remember being at Canisius and playing here. It was crazy loud; you couldn’t hear yourself think,” he recalled. “You could just feel that they (the fans) want the Bonnies to be great.”

Closer to home, he already had a connection to a Bonaventure great through fellow Canadian Andrew Nicholson.

“Andrew is one of my mentors. He’s a legend in Canadian basketball,” Mitchell said. “He taught me how to approach my game better, how to play with less emotions. Play with emotions, but not emotional. Be less results driven. When you talk to him, you understand what Bonaventure did for him and what he wanted to do for Bonaventure. He’s so down-to-earth and really cares about you as an individual. I’m lucky to have a guy like Andrew in my corner.”

Mitchell wasted little time making his own mark in a Bonnies uniform. After a 12-point, nine-rebound effort to begin the season in a win over Bradley, he went on to record double-double performances in 10 of the next 12 games including a streak of seven straight at one point.

His dominating run saw an exclamation mark driven home by backto-back December head-turners of 19 points and 18 boards in a win over Colgate before registering 27 points and 15 rebounds in an overtime heartbreaker vs. Ohio on his 24th birthday.

Opposing defenses have struggled finding an answer for Mitchell all season long: he’s totaled double-figure scoring in all but one game while logging nearly 19 points per night in Atlantic 10 play thus far. Most recently, a what has become routine showing of 18 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday’s win vs. Loyola Chicago.

Entering the 80th game of his Division I career vs. Saint Louis this week, he’s approaching personal milestones with 845 total points and 695 rebounds.

And while his list of interesting hobbies might be long, fans shouldn’t worry about his focus.

“I want to lead by example, come in every day and go hard,” he said. “I want my teammates to be able to approach me, and I want to approach them in the same way, holding each other to a high standard and with respect.”