Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY – Behind 54 second-half points and a season-high 26 points from Buddy Simmons II, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat Loyola Chicago, 84-70, and earn its first Atlantic 10 victory on Tuesday night (Jan. 20) at the Reilly Center.
Down 54-44 with 12:04 left in the second half, the Bonnies (12-7, 1-5 Atlantic 10) overpowered Loyola (5-15, 1-6 A10) with 19 unanswered points, 15 of those coming from Simmons II, to flip the game in their favor and take a 67-57 advantage.
Simmons II finished with 7-for-17 shooting (6-for-13 3PT). Frank Mitchell (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Cayden Charles (16 points, 10 rebounds) both posted double-doubles. Joe Grahovac notched 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting (2-for-3 3PT) off the bench.
FIRST HALF
The Bonnies jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind a Mitchell lay-in and Simmons II jumper. The Ramblers answered with a 12-2 surge to push ahead, 12-6, at the 14:54 mark.
Bonaventure countered with a 7-2 spurt off five points from Grahovac and an alley-oop flush from Andrew Osasuyi to pull within 14-13. Loyola converted a layup to go up three, but Charles sank a pair of free throws to keep Bonaventure’s deficit at one with 11:32 remaining.
The Ramblers outscored the Bonnies 26-14 over the remainder of the half to hold a 42-30 lead heading into the locker room. Mitchell led SBU with 10 points at the break.
SECOND HALF
A trio of triples off the hands of Charles, Simmons II and Daniel Egbuniwe cut Bonaventure’s deficit to 46-39, forcing a Loyola timeout less than four minutes into the frame. Out of the stoppage, Egbuniwe forced a steal and drew a foul, draining two free throws to cut the deficit 46-41.
Loyola once again pushed its edge over 10, until a quick 7-2 burst capped off by a three-pointer from Grahovac left the Bonnies trailing 54-48. The Ramblers answered with a three of their own the next play, before the Bonnies scored nine straight points — behind two three-pointers and a pair of free throws from Simmons — to tie the contest at 57-57 with 9:52 remaining.
Two more Simmons II free throws gave the Bonnies their first lead since 4-2 less than 30 seconds later. Charles and Simmons both buried triples over the next three SBU possessions to extend its advantage to 65-57 with 7:38 to go. Simmons then got to the line once again and converted two more free throws, ultimately rounding off a 19-0 run.
The Ramblers broke their scoring drought, but the Bonnies kept their foot on the gas. Mitchell put in a layup, Grahovac hit a jumper and Simmons II nailed a three-point to grow Bonaventure’s edge to double-digits, 74-63, with 4:47 left.
St. Bonaventure protected its lead the rest of the way, never letting Loyola get closer than six, to take the 84-70 victory.
UP NEXT
The Bonnies will welcome No. 24-ranked Saint Louis to the Reilly Center on Friday (Jan. 23). The game will be televised live on ESPN2, with tipoff slated for 5:30 p.m.
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