By SPENCER BATES
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Late-game execution has not been the forte of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team this season.
But, facing an uphill battle following a poor end to the first and start to the second half against George Washington, the Bonnies progressively chipped away at the deficit they faced and forced an overtime period.
Bona threatened to play the spoiler on GW’s senior night, but in the extra period those late-game struggles reared their ugly head. Panicked, empty possessions led to just two made field goals in the entirety of overtime, one of which came while down nine points with just under 30 seconds to go. The Bonnies were out-scored 18-9 in OT and ultimately fell 91-82 in their penultimate game of the regular season.
Pivotal in Bona even having a chance in the first place was the trio of Frank Mitchell, Cayden Charles and Darryl ‘Buddy’ Simmons II. Of the team’s 82 points, those three combined for 61 points.
Mitchell was the most impactful, recording a 22-point, 18-rebound double-double and surpassing the 1,000-point benchmark for his career. He also had a game-high five assists. Charles bounced back in a major way from the one-point performance he had last time out against George Mason, netting 20 points and grabbing five boards. Simmons was quiet for a good portion of the fixture, but he came alive when it mattered most as he finished with 19 points to his name, including two critical free throws that wound up forcing the extra five minutes of action.
But for as much as those three could do for Bona, they were unable to keep pace with the scoring from the Revs as they had six players hit double figures on the night. None more than Jean Aranguren, who had a team-high 20 points. Tyrone Marshall and Trey Autry had the next highest point tallies on the team with 16 and 15 apiece.
GW’s Rafael Castro was the figure St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt was keyed in on ahead of the game and for a good portion of time, all he had to show were a handful of free throws. However, his production eventually ramped up and he wound up with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double and also surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Foul trouble also played a role in Bona’s downfall. The Revolutionaries shot 32 free throws on the night as four players for the Bonnies had at least four fouls. Andrew Osasuyi, who started for the first time since the team’s season-opener, fouled out.
St. Bonaventure will return home for its final game of the season, set for March 7 at 12 p.m. against Davidson. That game will be senior night for the Bonnies.
