By: Ben Metcalf
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RICHMOND, Va. – The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team will face Richmond for the second time this season on Saturday (Feb. 21) at the Robins Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
SWAT TEAM
Freshman Andrew Osasuyi leads the nation with an incredibly efficient 5.9 blocks per 40 minutes. His 2.25 blocks per game in conference play are tied for second in the Atlantic 10.
Osasuyi has 22 blocks in his last seven games, which comes out to an average of 3.14 blocks per game.
The Magenta, Italy native had a remarkable defensive performance on Wednesday night against Saint Joseph’s (Feb. 18), recording eight points, four rebounds and a career-best eight blocks.
His block total was the highest for any player in the Atlantic 10 this season, and the most by any St. Bonaventure player since 2012. His performance tied the second-highest block total in school history, and he became just the third Bonnie ever to tally at least eight blocks in a game.
In addition, Osasuyi became just the sixth Division I player in the last 25 years to have at least eight points and eight blocks in under 20 minutes of playing time.
Eleven days prior, Osasuyi had a career day against Fordham (Feb. 7). He posted career-bests in minutes (29), points (12) and steals (4) while tallying five blocks.
He became the first Atlantic 10 player in nearly 17 years to record at least 10 points, five blocks and four steals in a conference game. He was just the fourth player to do so in the last 30 years, joining UMass’ Tony Gaffney (Feb. 18, 2009) as well as David West (Jan. 9, 2002) and James Posey (Feb. 14, 1999) of Xavier. Coach Mark Schmidt was on staff at Xavier as an assistant coach during both Posey and West’s careers.
Osasuyi (42 blocks) and Joe Grahovac (43 blocks) are the only pair of St. Bonaventure teammates to post 30-or-more blocks in the same season during Mark Schmidt’s tenure (2007-present).
BUDDY BUCKETS
Buddy Simmons II has emerged as an elite scoring option in Atlantic 10 play, averaging 17.7 points through 13 conference games while shooting 47.0 percent (85-for-181) from the floor and 46.0 percent (40-for-87) from beyond the arc.
Simmons II has scored at least 14 points in 9-of-13 of his A-10 matchups, with 20-or-more points in five of those games.
The Detroit native ranks second in the conference with 70 three-pointers made on the season. He has made multiple three-pointers in each of his last eight games, and in 21 of the Bonnies’ 26 total games.
In conference play, Simmons II has made 40 triples, second most in the A-10. His 37.9 minutes per game lead the league, and he has played a full 40 minutes in seven of SBU’s 13 conference game so far.
Simmons II surpassed 1,000 career points in the Bonnies’ win at Fordham (Feb. 7). He reached the millennium mark with five points in the first half before surging for 18 in the second half to lead the Bonnies to the win.
Simmons II scored 628 points over two years at Gardner-Webb before posting 390 through 24 games this season. He tallied 539 of his 628 points with the Runnin’ Bulldogs during his sophomore season (2024-25).
TO BE FRANK
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 (Feb. 19), he ranks in the top 15 in Division I with 257 total rebounds. He is one of just two St. Bonaventure players in the last four years to surpass 200 total rebounds in a season (Chance Moore, 207; 2024-25).
A remarkable number of Mitchell’s rebounds have come on the offensive end. His 112 total offensive rebounds (4.31 per game) ranks third in the nation.
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.
In the scoring column, Mitchell has scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games this season. He has scored 20-or-more points in eight of those games.
Mitchell has posted back-to-back double-doubles entering Saturday’s game. He posted 20 points and 13 rebounds against Duquesne (Feb. 14) before tallying 12 points and 12 rebounds vs. Saint Joseph’s (Feb. 18).
The Toronto native now has twice as many double-doubles as the next leading players in the Atlantic 10 (Rafael Castro, GW & Rikus Schulte, Fordham; 7).
COUNT ON CAYDEN
Cayden Charles has been pivotal to the Bonnies’ offense in conference play. The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 13.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in St. Bonaventure’s 13 Atlantic 10 games.
The senior has scored at least nine points in 17 straight games, grabbing at least five rebounds in 15 games during that span.
BOWEN IS BACK
After missing the one game against Fordham (Feb. 7) due to injury, redshirt junior point guard Dasonte Bowen returned to action against Duquesne with 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting. He went 8-for-8 from the free throw line, the most free throws in a game without a miss by any SBU player this season.
On Wednesday against Saint Joseph’s, Bowen tallied 13 points and four assists, making a career-best three triples.
Bowen has now reached double figures in each of his last six games, averaging 15.8 points per game during that span. He has been efficient from the floor, shooting 54.7 percent (35-for-64).
NOTES:
The Spiders are 14-13 on the season and 4-10 in conference play.
Richmond is led by A.J. Lopez, who averages 12.9 points per game.
The Spiders have lost eight of their last nine entering Saturday’s game.
The Bonnies are 15-21 against Richmond.
Richmond won the last matchup between the two schools on Jan. 7, 89-80. All five starting Bonnies reached double figures in the loss.
Wednesday’s game will feature the two longest-tenured coaches in the Atlantic 10. Bonnies’ coach Mark Schmidt (19th season) will face off with Richmond coach Chris Mooney (21st season) for the 25th time at their respective schools.
The two have each logged at least 10 more seasons of A-10 experience at their respective destinations than the next closest coach in the conference (Dayton’s Anthony Grant, 9th season).
While Mooney holds a slight edge in A-10 wins (Mooney 180, Schmidt 167) and overall wins at their current school (Mooney 369, Schmidt 335), Schmidt has more overall wins (Schmidt 417, Mooney 387).