St. Bonaventure men’s hoops 2025-26 non-conference schedule breakdown

By SPENCER BATES

batesoleanstar@gmail.com

ST. BONAVENTURE — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team has officially unveiled its non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Fixtures against Youngstown State (Nov. 15), Florida Atlantic (Nov. 30) and Buffalo (Dec. 6) and mid-season tournament games against North Carolina (Nov. 25) and East Carolina (Nov. 27) have been announced for some time. But now, we now have a near-full glimpse of who the Bonnies will square off against for the first half of the season. So, let’s break it all down:

Oct. 29 — vs. Alfred University (Exhibition)

Nov. 3 — TBA

Nov. 8 — vs. Canisius

• This will be the 173rd meeting all-time between the Bonnies and Golden Griffins. Bona defeated Canisius 87-78 on the road in last season’s meeting and will look to claim consecutive victories over their Little Three rival for the first time since 2018.
• Canisius defeated Bona last time the sides met in the Reilly Center by a narrow 70-67 margin. In that game, current St. Bonaventure center Frank Mitchell was a member of the Golden Griffins program and dropped an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double and dished out a game-high four assists.
• The Golden Griffins lost each of their top five scorers from last season, with Paul McMillan IV, who accounted for 20 points per game, highlighting the list.
• The most notable returner for Canisius is Anthony Benard, who led the team with 3.8 assists per game last season. He also averaged 5.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
• The most notable addition to the Golden Griffins’ roster is Marcus Niblack. The former Jacksonville Dolphin averaged 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting over 45% from the field last year.

Nov. 12 — vs. Siena

• The Bonnies will look to make it three consecutive wins over Siena for the first time since 2018 after claiming the Franciscan Cup in each of the last two seasons.
• Bona dominated a Saints team that finished with a 14-18 record last season by a score of 65-48. 
• Siena is set to have an extremely experienced roster this upcoming season as it returns four of its top five scorers from last season in Justice Shoats (16.1 ppg), Brendan Coyle (12.8 ppg), Gavin Doty (11.3 ppg) and Marcus Jackson (6.2 ppg).
• The Saints have also added some impressive pieces from the NCAA Division II level in the form of double-double machines Antonio Chandler and Tasman Goodrick. Chandler averaged 17.5 points and 11.5 rebounds on an incredible 64% from the field for Southern Connecticut State University. Goodrick averaged 15.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game while shooting just over 55% from the field.

Nov. 15 — vs. Youngstown State

• On the back of a 21-13 season, head coach Ethan Faulkner — fresh off a contract extension through the 2029-30 season — will lead Youngstown State into the Reilly Center.
• The Penguins have recorded three consecutive 20-win seasons, but lost all three of their top scorers from this past season. Four players returned to the program, with Cris Carroll posting the highest ppg average of all four with 9.2. He also roped in 5.0 rebounds per game as well. 
• Perhaps the most intriguing of Youngstown’s offseason acquisitions is Cam Polak (Pennsylvania Western University, California – DII). He averaged 18.1 ppg and 5.1 rebs while shooting over 40% from the field and over 35% from deep in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) last season.
• Other notable transfers are Rich Rolf (Charlotte), Tyler Robinett (College of Idaho), Vladimer Salaridze (UT Martin) and Bryson Dawkins (Houston Christian).

Nov. 20 — vs. Robert Morris

• Robert Morris is the first of two teams St. Bonaventure will face in the non-conference portion of the campaign that received a bid to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament last season.
• The Colonials finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 26-9 overall record, capping off their schedule on a 16-2 streak.
• In the three all-time meetings between the sides, all of which have occurred at the Reilly Center, the Bonnies are unbeaten. That being said, the last affair between the two came back on Nov. 14, 2008.
• Robert Morris lost each of their top five scorers from last season, including Alvaro Folgueiras, the reigning Horizon League Player of the Year, and Amarion Dickerson, the Horizon League’s Defensive Player of the Year.
• The most notable returner to the squad is Ryan Prather Jr., who averaged 8.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting over 44% from the field and just shy of 40% from deep.
• Head coach Andrew Toole brought in key replacements this offseason such as former North Carolina A&T forward Nikolaos Chitikoudis (10.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 54 FG%), former Southern Connecticut State University (DII) guard Albert Vargas (17.5 ppg, 5.7 apg, 42.0 FG%, 40.8 3PT%) and former Clarion University (DII) guard Cam Wilds (17.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 45.2 FG%, 37.3 3PT%).

Nov. 25 — University of North Carolina (Fort Myers Tip-Off Tournament)

• The game against the Tar Heels is easily THE most important of the entire non-conference schedule for the Bonnies.
• St. Bonaventure will have a chance to push the record it has in its last 20 games against the Power 4 and Big East beyond the 12-8 mark it currently sits at. That record, according to men’s basketball general manager Adrian Wojnarowski, is a big reason as to why teams in power conferences turn down the chance to play the Bonnies. Will UNC be the next titan to fall at Bona’s hands?
• Seth Trimble, is set to highlight UNC’s roster this season as the only returning starter from last year’s squad. He averaged a career-high 11.6 points per game last season while shooting just shy of a 43% tick from the floor. This will be his fourth year with the Tar Heels.
• Of course, UNC got some high-profile acquisitions this offseason including former Arizona forward Henri Veesaar, who averaged 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds on 59.2% shooting last year. 
• Head coach Hubert Davis also received commitments from Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans (10.6 ppg, 3.1 apg, 47.1 FG%), Luka Bogavac, who averaged 14 points per game on just shy of 40% shooting from deep, and from first-year player Caleb Wilson who racked up 21.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in his final high school campaign.

Nov. 27 — East Carolina University (Fort Myers Tip-Off Tournament)

• This will be the first-ever meeting between St. Bonaventure and East Carolina.
• The Pirates finished last season 19-14 and finished fifth in the American Conference.
• The most notable returner for East Carolina is Jordan Riley (14.5 ppg). After losing their two top-scorers RJ Felton (18.8 ppg), who signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Indiana Pacers this offseason, and C.J. Walker (16.7 ppg), Riley will be a big piece for the Pirates this season.
• It will be a very youthful side for East Carolina this year with a combined nine freshmen and sophomores rostered. The most significant addition through the transfer portal is that of Giovanni Emejuru, who averaged 6.2 points and 4.0 rebounds for George Mason last season. He scored 11 points on the Bonnies in their lone matchup with the Patriots in Atlantic 10 play last year.

Nov. 30 — at Florida Atlantic University

• Bona will extend their mid-season business trip to the Sunshine State after their two-game tourney in Fort Myers with a game at Florida Atlantic University. 
• The Bonnies are 1-1 all-time against the Owls with the most recent meeting between the sides, which occurred on Dec. 16, 2023, going down as a 64-54 loss for Bona.
• On the most recent FAU team Bona played, which was then ranked 15th in the nation, was Vladislav Goldin (currently on a two-way contract with the Miami Heat), Johnell Davis (played for the Orlando Magic in the 2K26 NBA Summer League) and Alijah Martin (selected by the Toronto Raptors as the 39th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft).
• This year, the Owls will be heavily reliant on newcomers after seeing each of their top five scorers leave via the transfer portal. Kaleb Glenn (12.6 ppg, 53.1 FG%) left for Michigan State, Tre Carroll (12.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 52.3 FG%) made a move to Xavier, Baba Miller (11.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 487.6 FG%) was picked up by Cincinnati, Matas Vokietaitis (10.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 67.7 FG%) moved on to Texas and Leland Walker (9.2 ppg) transferred to Wyoming.
• FAU picked up a significant amount of youth in the portal this offseason, adding former UCLA forward Devin Williams (1.4 ppg, 62.5 FG%, sophomore), former Indiana guard Kanaan Carlyle (4.0 ppg, sophomore), former USC guard Isaiah Elohim (2.1 ppg, 59.1 FG%, freshman) and former Oregon State forward Maxim Logue (2.9 ppg, 64.9 FG%, freshman). The latter of the four dropped an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double against UCF in the first round of the College Basketball Crown tournament last season.

Dec. 3 — vs. Bloomsburg (Div. II)

• The Huskies finished the 2024-25 season with a 6-22 overall record and finished eighth in the East Division of the PSAC.

Dec. 6 — at University at Buffalo

• St. Bonaventure will look to make it three wins in a row against Buffalo and push their lead in the overall series between the sides to 14-5.
• The Bulls struggled last season, finishing with a 9-22 overall record (4-14 in the MAC)
• Buffalo may have lost some big pieces from their lineup last year — including Brayden Jackson who was picked up by the Bonnies in the portal — but they do return two key individuals in Ryan Sabol (14.4 ppg, 40.6 FG%, 35.0 3PT%) and Noah Batchelor (6.8 ppg, 6.1 ppg). Sabol led Buffalo in scoring last season with 445 points to his name, while Batchelor led the team in rebounds with 182.
• However, it won’t just be up to Sabol and Batchelor to get the job done for the Bulls. In the offseason, they added some big pieces including Mikhail Pocknett who joined the program from DII King University where he averaged 22.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season. 
• Buffalo also added a pair of NAIA talents that are poised to take up important roles. The first of which being Derrick Talton Jr., who is coming off a season in which he averaged 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game while shooting over 46% from the field. The second pivotal NAIA talent joining the Bulls is Ezra McKenna, who spent the last four years at the University of Mobile where he averaged 15.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in his career there. Last season alone, he recorded an average of 14.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

Dec. 10 — vs. Colgate

• St. Bonaventure will look to win their fourth consecutive contest against Colgate. The latter currently holds an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series between the sides.
• Colgate finished last season with an overall record of 14-19, going 10-8 in the Patriot League.
• The Raiders lost their leading scorer to graduation after last season, but returns three of their top five basket-getters to the roster for this upcoming year. Jalen Cox (11.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg. 50.4 FG%), Parker Jones (8.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 41.2 FG%) and Brady Cummins (8.2 ppg, 43.6 FG%) will make for an experienced scoring trio.

Dec. 13 — TBA

Dec. 20 — vs. Le Moyne

• The final non-conference game for St. Bonaventure will be against a Le Moyne team entering its third year in NCAA Div. I.
• The Bonnies have never lost to the Dolphins in the 15 games the sides have played. Bona defeated Le Moyne 71-52 last season.
• The Dolphins lost each of their top four scorers from last season. Their most notable returner on the offensive end is Nate Fouts, who averaged 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting at just shy of a 46% clip from the field.
• The most notable additions to Le Moyne’s roster for this upcoming season are former Lake Land College guard Samuel Hincapie (8.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 51.4 FG%), former North Florida guard Ametri Moss (5.3 ppg, 2.3 apg, 44.9 FG%) and former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi center Shilo Jackson (4.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 60.0 FG%)