St Bonaventure Basketball Bonnies VS Patriots

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

GEORGE MASON PATRIOTS

0 Masai Troutman G, Sr., 6-5, Frederick, MD

1 Brayden O'Connor G, Sr., 6-5, Ottawa, ONT

2 Jahari Long G, Gr., 6-5, Houston, TX

3 Kory Mincy G, Jr., 6-2, East Point, GA

4 Dola Adebayo F, Gr., 6-8, Fort Myers, FL

5 Fatt Hill G, Sr., 6-5, Bessemer, AL

7 Isaiah Skinn G, Fr., 6-0, Alexandria, VA

9 Stas Sivka F, So., 6-10, Celje, SVN

10 Emmanuel Kanga F, Fr., 6-9, Libreville, GAB

Devin Booker

13 Malik Presley G/F, Jr., 6-6, San Marcos, TX

2025-26 St. Bonaventure bonnies

TEAM STATISTICS

2025-26 George mason patriots

TEAM STATISTICS

GAME NOTES

BUDDY BUCKETS

Buddy Simmons II has lit up the scoreboard in Atlantic 10 play. The junior is averaging 18.9 points in conference games, while shooting 48.6 percent (53for-109) from the field and 48.1 percent (26-for-54) from beyond the arc.

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

On Wednesday (Jan. 28) at Duquesne, Simmons II took over the game, posting a season-high 31 points. He shot 8-of-11 from the field and made 11-of-12 free throws. Simmons II’s scoring total tied a season-best for any Atlantic 10 player this season.

Just over a week prior against Loyola Chicago (Jan. 20), the Detroit native dropped a season-best 26 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He made a season-hightying six three-pointers to lead St. Bonaventure’s second half comeback.

Simmons II is the only St. Bonaventure player and one of just six Atlantic 10 players to reach 50 made three-pointers on the season. He has made multiple three-pointers in 16 of the Bonnies’ 21 games.

In conference play, Simmons II has made 26 triples, tied for the most in the A-10. His 37.48 minutes per game also lead the league. He has played a full 40 minutes in five of SBU’s eight conference game so far.

QUITE FRANKLY

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

Mitchell is averaging 9.9 rebounds per game, which leads all players in the Atlantic 10 conference. As of Thursday (Jan. 29), he is tied for 11th in the nation in total rebounds with 208. He is one of just two St. Bonaventure players in the last four years to surpass 200 rebounds in a season (Chance Moore, 207; 2024-25).

A remarkable number of Mitchell’s rebounds have come on the offensive end. His 92 total offensive rebounds (4.38 per game) lead all of Division I.

MOST OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS IN NCAA DIVISION I

(THU., JAN. 29)

Rank Name School #

1 Frank Mitchell St. Bonaventure 92

t2 Brandon Benjamin Fairfield 90 t2 Giovanni Emejuru East Carolina 90

4 Duke Brennan Villanova 88

5 Rueben Chinyelu Florida 87

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 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.

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 ..............L, 97-62

28 at Duquesne W, 87-79

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

In the scoring column, Mitchell has scored in double figures in 18 of 21 games this season. He has scored 20-or-more points in six games this season.

Although Mitchell had a quiet night offensively against Duquesne (Jan. 28), he posted a career-best seven assists as he battled through early foul trouble. Mitchell was credited with an assist on each of St. Bonaventure’s first five field goals in the win.

DASONTE DELIVERS

Dasonte Bowen has picked up his offensive production of late, having tied or exceeded his career high scoring total in two straight games. The Boston native posted a career-best 19 points at Duquesne (Jan. 28) with six assists.

On Friday (Jan. 23), Bowen was the lone bright spot for the Bonnies against No. 24-ranked Saint Louis. The redshirt junior scored 17 points in the loss to lead SBU in scoring. He shot 7-for-11 from the field while making his only three-point attempt on the night.

Bowen is shooting 64 percent (14-of-22) and has not missed a three-pointer (2-for-2) or a free throw (6-for-6) in his last two games.

Bowen has been an extremely effective playmaker this season, averaging 4.7 assists per game over the course of the season. He has recorded three-or-more assists in 18-of-21 games this season.

Over St. Bonaventure’s last five games, Bowen has combined for 34 assists and just eight turnovers.

Bowen’s season assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.09 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 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds in St. Bonaventure’s eight Atlantic 10 games.

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 Kennesaw, Georgia, native has been held to just nine points in each his last two games. However, Charles’ production on the boards has not slowed down, grabbing seven and nine rebounds in those two games, respectively.

The senior has scored at least nine points in 12 straight games, grabbing at least five rebounds in all-but-one game during that span.

BLOCK PARTY

Freshman Andrew Osasuyi has made a significant impact with his shot-blocking ability off the bench for the Bonnies. Osasuyi is averaging 1.4 blocks despite playing just 10.5 minutes per game.

Osasuyi’s defensive skill was on full display as the freshman posted a careerbest five blocks against No. 24 Saint Louis last Friday. It was the most blocks in a single game by a St. Bonaventure player since Chad Venning posted six blocks in January of 2024 (Jan. 17 vs. Rhode Island).

Osasuyi had another stellar performance on Wednesday at Duquesne, recording seven points, a career-best eight rebounds and two blocks. The freshman played a career-best 22 minutes in the win.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Zingaro posted two new pool records on Saturday in the Bonnies' Senior Day meet against Colgate at the Reilly Center Pool. The Varese, Italy native paced the field in the 50-free (20.18) and the 100-free (45.29) to improve upon all-time RC Pool bests.

The freshman also contributed to pool records in both relay events, swimming legs of the 200-medley relay (1:30.03) and the 200-free relay (1:21.79) to put a bow on a successful outing.

March helped put together two new school records in the first meet of the semester for Bonnies track Saturday at Bucknell.

She first notched a new program-best time in the 1000 meters with a run of 3:05.51, easily clearing the previous program-best of 3:19.44 which stood since 2023.

The North Tonawanda, N.Y. native then partnered with teammates Mary Trost, Gianna Bille and Alex Jensen to set a Bonnies-best mark in the 4x800 relay (10:27.49).

BONNIES BASELINE

Ermakov Waiting For Time To Shine After Midseason Injury

By Owen Albright, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

A freshman on the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team and native of Russia, he is in the minority of Bonnies basketball recruits who need no adjustment to the harsh winters of Western New York.

“In Russia it’s mostly colder than here. In the winter, it could be minus 30,” Ermakov said.

And while that’s in Celsius, it’s still pretty frosty by any measure.

A 6-foot-6 guard who first picked up the sport as a second grader in his hometown of Kursk, Ermakov moved to the Russian capital of Moscow in 2018 alongside his mother, Olga, to pursue his basketball dreams.

At first, Ermakov joined the CSKA Moscow Junior Program, then advancing to the CSKA Youth Team by 2022 to sign his first

professional contract at just 14 years old. He won six combined titles across his appearances in youth and junior championships, winning MVP following three of those tournaments.

Despite displaying consistent championship-winning ability, Ermakov stays humble regarding his Russian career.

“For some people I was a star there, and for some people I wasn’t. For me, it was nothing. I was just playing,” the Russian U-20 National Team standout said.

Though Ermakov’s experience in the cold prepared him well for his time in the Northeast, there were many other areas in which he struggled during his transition to the United States. One major shock came when first he arrived in the country, touching down in Los Angeles where he stayed for a few weeks to train and enter pickup games with NBA-level talent such as San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyana.

“First is of course language. After I started learning English in December of the last year, it was kind of a shock for me. When I came to Los Angeles, I couldn’t speak. I was in shock and I was shy because I had an accent,” Ermakov said.

The freshman also highlighted food as a significant change he has had to deal with, mentioning that “there is a culture of fast food in the USA, but at home I didn’t eat their fast foods and restaurants. My mom cooked every time.”

Aside from cultural differences, Ermakov has had to adjust to new style and pace of basketball.

“Here, it is more physical basketball,” he said. “Of course, it’s so different between the tactics in Russia and the USA. In Russia, we play more organizational basketball than here. Here, we are running and reading situations.”

Continued on page 16

2025-26 St. Bonaventure athletic

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BONNIES BASELINE

Continued from page 13

Ermakov also cited contrasts between Russia and the United States regarding the community and structure around basketball.

“At home, there are no fans. Here, there is a big culture of fans. There are good facilities wherever you’re playing,” he said. “There is so much appreciation for experience, but in Russia it doesn’t matter for us. My former team was building to grow players for the highest level in Russia.”

Throughout navigating his move to a new country and lifestyle, Ermakov has been able to lean on the help and companionship of his fellow European newcomers and teammates, Achille Lonati and Andrew Osasuyi of Italy as well as John Ikpotokin of Ireland. “When I came to Bonaventure, I still was shy. I had an accent and I was not fluent in English. They helped me to grow and speak,” he said. “I was just talking with them and through a lot of mistakes I grew my English.”

the USA for my dreams and my reasons, so I need to be focused on basketball and not my feelings and emotions.”

The Russian’s breakout game for the Bonnies came earlier this season on Dec. 6 at Buffalo. In 21 minutes of action, he posted 12 points and two assists on five-for-eight shooting, earning the Bonnies’ postgame MVP honor for the first time. Being mobbed by his teammates in the locker room after that performance was one of many firsts for him in the past year.

After a difficult first few months, Ermakov has now found his stride amidst a massive lifestyle change.

“The first two or three months it was kind of bad. I was missing my home,” he said. “These feelings are not gone, but I just embrace that I am away from my home. My family told me that I came to

“It was kind of new for me because we don’t have these celebrations at home. I didn’t know what I had to do,” Ermakov said.

He also saw 15 minutes of action against North Carolina before suffering an ankle injury at the end of December. Sidelined with a boot for the past couple of weeks, Ermakov is looking forward to returning to the court later this season.

“I want to get back on the court but I’m not trying to push that. I want to be healthy,” he said.

When he does make his return, Ermakov will keep the same grounded approach that helped him pursue his Division I basketball dreams and find success earlier in the season with more moments like that Buffalo game still to come.

“Every time I come off the bench, I just do my best and it was my night. That’s all I can say. It was my night.”