By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — After picking up a big win on the road at Buffalo over the weekend, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team returns home for mid-week action against Colgate.
The Bonnies handed the Bulls their first loss of the campaign with a 77-69 win and swiped the vote they had received in the AP Top-25 Poll.
It was a staunch wire-to-wire effort from head coach Mark Schmidt’s crew and one that moved them to 9-1 in a year that has been prosperous thus far.
One positive trend that has emerged over the course of the season for the Bonnies has been the improvement of their ball movement. Over the course of their last four wins alone, they have recorded assists on 65% of all of their made field goals.
It is not just the same five or six players developing and feeding off this chemistry either. Through just shy of a third of the regular season, Bona has 10 players averaging over nine minutes per game and each of them are scoring an average of at least 3.8 points per game. In fact, nine of the 10 players are averaging over 10 minutes per game.
This is a facet of the team that has made them all the more dangerous and one that does not waver against tougher opposition. In their most recent game at Buffalo, Bona had assists on 20 of 28 field goals. They had assists on over 50% of field goals against both Florida Atlantic and East Carolina and were just shy of 45% in their lone loss of the year to then-No. 16 North Carolina.
Still, Schmidt believes there is more to be seen from his side and its fluidity on the offensive end of the floor.
“We don’t have selfish guys,” Schmidt said. “We’re sharing it, we’re just not moving it well enough. We always talk about execution with pace and the pace isn’t what we need it to be. Sometimes it is, but we got to be more consistent with the player-ball movement, getting the ball swung from side to side. We’re doing a good job once we get into the offense of sharing the ball and getting into the paint and trying to go from a good shot to a great shot. … We just got to move it a little bit better early in our offense.”
On an individual level, Frank Mitchell made some history last time out against the Bulls. His seventh double-double of the non-conference portion of the season tied him with Andrew Nicholson for the most double-doubles before conference play began in Schmidt’s tenure as head coach.
Mitchell has been nothing short of pivotal for Bona through 10 games. His physicality and tenacity under the basket has made him just about unsolvable for opposing defenses. Even when teams try to commit more bodies to stopping him, his ability to find the pass makes him all the more dynamic. Prior to the game against Bloomsburg, Mitchell was one of just two players in the entirety of Div. I men’s basketball averaging at least 16 points, 10 rebounds and two assists per game — the other being Texas Tech’s Preseason All-American JT Toppin.
“He’s got a talent to go get the ball,” Schmidt said. “Without Frank and his double-doubles, we wouldn’t be out-rebounding teams the way we have. He’s the anchor inside. He can do some stuff with his back to the basket, does a decent job on ball screens, but it’s rebounding (that he’s best at) and that’s that’s a huge part of the game, both offensively and defensively. … We’re pleased with him, and I think he can get better. Not necessarily in rebounding the ball, but he can get better at offense. He can get better at finishing, understanding what we’re trying to do, on ball screens. He’s got room for improvement, but in terms of just sheer rebounding, he’s very good.”
The Bonnies will need Mitchell’s defensive ferocity to come through especially on Dec. 10 as they are set to play host to Colgate.
The Raiders are currently ranked 31st nationally in field goal percentage. Shooting over 50% on the season, they rarely waste trips up the floor.
“(Jalen) Cox is a really good point guard, he gets them in things and plays downhill,” Schmidt said. “The two big guys, they’re big enough to post up and play with their back to the basket, but they can go off the bounce, they can shoot 3s. They got really good skill sets. When fours and fives can shoot 3s and take you off the bounce, that creates a lot of problems. And then they have their role guys that can hit open shots. … They’re a really good team.”
Colgate’s defense isn’t to be underestimated either, considering it has a win over another Atlantic 10 team this season in Fordham. The Raiders topped the Rams by 10 points in the Northern Classic MTE in Laval, Quebec and held them to just 17 points in the first half of action.
“They run pack line, they force contested jump shots and if you’re not making shots, you’re going to score 17 points,” Schmidt said. “They got a shot blocker coming off the bench that helps, but they do a good job of keeping the ball in front of them. They’re in passing lanes, they get deflections, they’re just well coached. They’ve won five, six, seven Patriot League titles. They have a culture there and they just got good players that understand team defense and make it difficult for you.”
Conducting the operation for the Raiders is point guard Jalen Cox. A member of last season’s All-Patriot League Third Team and Patriot League Defensive Team, Cox was named to the 2025-26 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Patriot League Team and through 10 games he is proving he deserved the nod.
The Los Angeles native is averaging 15 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season all while shooting an efficient 55.7% from the field, which includes 45% from deep.
“He’s the quarterback,” Schmidt said. “He has the ball in his hands all the time. He can score the ball. He can shoot the ball, … he just has a good feel for the game. He plays downhill and he’s got good size so he can rebound the ball. He passes it really well. He’s a really good all-around player.”
Andrew Alekseyenko, Sam Wright and Kyle Carlesimo will be the players behind Cox who can do damage for the Raiders. Alekseyenko currently averages 13.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Wright is the only other Colgate player to average double-figure points with 12.9 per game to go along with 3.7 rebounds. And although Carlesimo doesn’t average double figures, he provides the 3-point threat as he shoots 44.7% from range.
Keeping an uber-efficient team the likes of which the Raiders sport will require immense defensive cohesiveness from the Bonnies. Luckily, they have shown the ability to do so as of late.
St. Bonaventure will tip-off against Colgate in the Reilly Center at 7 p.m. on Dec. 10.
