By SPENCER BATES
BOCA RATON, FL — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team is continuing its Florida road trip after the Fort Myers Tip-off Tournament, traveling across the state to face Florida Atlantic University.
The matchup with the Owls will not be a part of any mid-season tournament, but a straight non-conference affair — the first of a home-and-home series between the two, with the Bonnies hosting the reverse fixture next season.
The last time Bona and FAU squared off was in the 2023-24 season in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The Owls, at the time, were coached by current Michigan bench boss Duty May, ranked No. 15 in the nation, and featured prominent names on the roster such as Johnell Davis, Alijah Martin and Vladislav Goldin.
While they boast no such national ranking this season, FAU still holds a 5-2 record and have won three of its last five games. However, it will enter the game against the Bonnies on the back of a 74-65 loss to fellow Atlantic 10 member George Mason. So, in a sense, Schmidt and his crew will get to see how they possibly stack up against conference opposition in a roundabout sort of way.
Leading the Owls these days is the guard duo of Kanaan Carlyle and Devin Vanterpool. Carlyle currently leads the team with an average of 16.6 points and three assists per game. Vanterpool fills out his stats with a bit more emphasis on the glass. He averages 16 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game — the latter two marks being team-highs.
The duo take on a hefty amount of the offensive workload for FAU, both averaging double-figure attempts from the field over their first seven games.
Xander Pintelon and Devin Williams are set to be the big threats on the boards with the forwards averaging 5.0 and 4.9 rebounds, respectively.
As for the Bonnies, they will be entering the affair on the back of a 1-1 MTE performance, the latter of the games being a nailbiter of a win over East Carolina.
In that game Daniel Egbuniwe stole the show with a stellar 17-point performance. He added three rebounds, two steals and two blocks to his final stat line as well. He highlighted yet another great display from the Bona bench, with Ilia Ermakov, Amar’e Marshall and Achille Lonati now making consistent impacts as well, even if not necessarily on the scoring front. The bench will be key once again against the Owls.
In terms of the team’s starters, Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II will be looking for a big bounce-back performance after struggling last time out. He shot 1-for-10 from the field against the Pirates and finished with just three points — his first game without double-figure points for the Bonnies this season. Cayden Charles will also look to get back to the way he was playing before the Fort Myers Tip-Off, as he was held to six points by both No. 16 North Carolina and East Carolina in the last two games.
St. Bonaventure and Florida Atlantic are set to tip-off at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 30.
