St. Bonaventure was one of the lowest-scoring men’s basketball teams in the Atlantic 10 during the regular season. That changed once March Madness began Wednesday.
Sparked by a starting five that all scored in double-figures, the No. 13-seeded Bonnies rolled to a 99-80 victory over No. 12 La Salle in the opening game of the A-10 Tournament at PPG Paints Arena.
The Bonnies (16-16) advanced to play No. 5 George Mason (23-8) in the second round at 2 p.m. Thursday.
St. Bonaventure was led by 21 points from guard Darryl Simmons II, 18 from forward Frank Mitchell, 16 each from guards Cayden Charles and Dasonte Bowen, and 13 by forward Daniel Egbuniwe.
The Bonnies shot 57% from the field (38 of 67) and 54% from behind the arc (13 of 24). They also converted 22 second-chance points and 46 points in the paint. They led for all but 2:27 of the game.
St. Bonaventure averaged 66.8 points per game this season, good for 14th in the 15-team league. But the Bonnies found their scoring touch early and didn’t slow down.
La Salle (9-23) was led by guard Rob Dockery, who had 33 points, including 19 in the first half when he battled to keep the Explorers within 48-33 at halftime.
St. Bonaventure avenged an earlier 78-74 loss to the Exporers in January.
This story will be updated.