St. Bonaventure Facts & Funny by Matt Carty

11/30/2025

I am still feeling pretty good about what I have seen so far this year from the Bonnies. And - I have actually been able to SEE them! Living outside Phoenix, Arizona it is somewhat of a rare occurrence to have a St. Bonaventure game available to watch, but that has been the case for three of the last four games. I am highly recommending Fubo these days.

The Fort Myers Tip Off tournament put the Bonnies up against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Both teams were undefeated going into the November 25th matchup, which I watched from my phone while working the last half of my shift handling escalations for a company that is too well-known for me to mention by name here.  UNC was well-prepared to beat a scrappy but unproven St. Bonaventure team. After the Tar Heels jumped out to an early 15-5 lead, my expectations were reset and I went back to actually working. 

Imagine my surprise when I looked down at my phone with about two minutes left in the first half to see St. Bonaventure within two points. The half ended 35 - 32, and I was happy to see the Bonnies were there to play the role of the underdog to their fullest capability. Alas, the shots stopped dropping in the second half and St. Bonaventure lost by 15, but I certainly felt a modicum of pride as David went toe-to-toe with Goliath for at least part of that game.

The nine-point victory margin against East Carolina in Friday afternoon’s contest seemed a little easier than it really was. The Pirates took a one point advantage with about 6:30 left in the second half, and the Bonnies had some heavy lifting to do to seal the deal for the win. A three-pointer from Forward Daniel Egbuniwe was as clutch a shot as a Bonnie fan could ask for, putting them up by five with under two minutes remaining. St. Bonaventure took a 6-1 record into Sunday’s game against Florida Atlantic, entering the matchup a 4.5 pt underdog to the 5-2 Owls. It was a pleasant surprise that St. Bonaventure led virtually the entire game, fighting off several runs by FAU to hang on for the win.

Frank Mitchell has been the standout so far, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds per game.  Darryl Simmons II has been a potent scorer also, but was quiet against the Owls in Sunday’s win. The Bonnies have benefitted from timely contributions from the rest of the team. Guard Cayden Charles had a great comeback game with 16 points against the Owls, after he failed to break double-digits in either Carolina contest.

St. Bonaventure now sits at 7-1 and has six more non-conference games on their schedule before their Atlantic 10 season starts on December 31. As strong a start as we’ve seen from the Bonnies, they are still behind undefeated George Mason, and share second place with three other one-loss programs. We can be optimistic about the season so far but it is clear that there are plenty of other teams getting ready to battle their A-10 rivals. 

The competition should be fierce - and fun to watch.

11/16.2025

Early returns on the 2025-26 Bonnies Men’s Basketball team may be somewhat misleading. No one is going to be complaining when St. Bonaventure opens up 4-0 to start the season, but it is too hard to project success with much harder challenges still to come. The Bonnies essentially “tuned up” with a win against Bradley in the home opener, and earned wins in games against perennial matchups Canisius and Siena. Most recently, St. Bonaventure came out with a four-point win in a nail-biter against Youngstown State.

There are reasons to be satisfied with this start. The Bonnies have several scoring threats on the roster, a big question mark considering all the turnover from last year’s team. Guard Darryl Simmons II is leading the way with 19.3 PPG. Forward Frank Mitchell has averaged 15.3 PPG, while Guard Cayden Charles is also averaging 15 points. Defensively, Forward Joe Grahovac is turning heads with his rim protection, and the team’s overall focus on rebounding has been an advantage.

Bench depth looks like it could be a thorn in the Bonnies’ side this year, however. Guard Amar’e Marshall’s 17 points against Youngstown State were a big reason St. Bonaventure came out on top, but none of the reserves have established themselves as consistently reliable contributors. Following the Siena game coach Mark Schmidt sad “guys are still learning the defense and the system… Having 11 new guys and trying to get them involved in what we’re trying to do is just difficult.”

It isn’t going to get much easier this week, as the Bonnies host 3-1 Robert Morris before heading to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to take on the #18 Tar Heels. North Carolina has throttled two of its first four opponents by more than 40 points. UNC’s closest match was a 13-point victory over #19 Kansas. Expectations on the Bonnies should be pretty low for this one, which  would be a monumental task for any Division 1 program this early in the season.

11/2/2025

The 2025 St. Bonaventure men's basketball campaign begins November 3rd, featuring a new look with a decidedly international flavor. Bona's boasts six international imports, including guard Achille Lonati and center Andrew Osasuyi from Italy. A total of 11 new faces join the Bonnies in 2025.

Reason to be excited for the start of the Bonnies' season: Sophomore forward Joe Grahovac went 30-4 with Fullerton College last year, earning conference Player of the Year honors. Reason to be less excited? I have to work and can't watch the game! - Matt Carty