By SPENCER BATES
FAIRFAX, VA — Despite its record, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team has been one of the most efficient offensive teams in all of the Atlantic 10 this season.
For an example, look no further than the back-to-back 94-point outings the team had in each of its previous two games. But going on the road to face George Mason in its final reverse fixture of the season, Bona ran out of steam.
The Bonnies suffered a 71-58 loss at the hands of the Patriots, recording their lowest-scoring tally in a game this season.
“We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket,” St. Bonaventure assistant coach Chris Lowe said. “It was a tough night for us, that’s going to happen. You’re going to have nights when the ball just doesn’t drop for you. But if the ball is not dropping, you have to be able to rely on your defense. And as you can see, it didn’t come together today.”
George Mason entered the game on the back of a four-game losing skid and head coach Tony Skinn was looking to avoid the first ever five-game losing streak of his coaching career. Fortunately for him, but much to the dismay of the Bonnies, the Patriots jumped out to an early double-figure advantage at 14-2. There would rarely come a time throughout the rest of the affair in which the deficit Bona faced dropped below double digits.
One such time was behind consecutive 3-pointers from Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II just under 14 minutes in, but in those remaining minutes, Bona was pegged back once again, getting out-scored 14-9 heading into the intermission.
Bona looked to make a statement coming out of the half, as it put together a quick 7-0 burst powered by Simmons and Daniel Egbuniwe. But as the story of the game went, as soon as the Bonnies showed signs of life, the Patriots would bury them yet again.
George Mason erased the burst with an 8-0 run, reconstructing its double-figure lead as its scoring remained contagious throughout the remainder of the game.
“When you hit a few, your confidence gets going,” Lowe said. “Some of them (came from) our defensive lapses, so we gave up some. Anybody at this level, if you get an open shot, you should be able to knock it down, if you’re playing on an Atlantic 10 team.”
Dasonte Bowen led all Bona scorers on the night, racking up 16 points on 50% shooting. Behind him, Frank Mitchell recorded his 17th double-double of the season with 15 points and 16 rebounds, while Simmons netted 14 points and five assists.
George Mason got two 21-point, six-rebound outings on the night. One from Masai Troutman and the other from Riley Allenspach. Jahari Long was the only other member of the Patriots to hit double digits in the score column, netting 11 points to go along with six assists and four boards.
“All we got to do is take it one game at a time,” Lowe said. “Next game up is versus George Washington and they’re a very good team coming off a tough loss versus Dayton last night. We just got to go back home, get some rest and prepare the next two days for George Washington to try and come out there and get a W.”
St. Bonaventure will play its penultimate game of the regular season at George Washington on March 4 at 7 p.m.
