Trailing by 11 points in the second half, a clear underdog against 5th seeded George Mason, the 13th seeded Bonnies pulled off a remarkable 64-57 comeback victory on Thursday.

After going 1-9 in conference games decided by six points or less in the regular season and losing against the Patriots in both of their matchups, St. Bonaventure gave credence to the idea that this postseason, playing for coach Mark Schmidt, it really is a different Bonnies team.

Schmidt advocated for the idea that the best way to learn how to win is by winning.

“When you put yourself in winning situations, and  you finally come through, it gives you confidence,” Schmidt said. “We’ve struggled. This season could have been totally different in terms of our record. But I wouldn’t take those wins now — because of how we played today. We had adversity and we overcame it.”

The Bonnies struggled offensively throughout the first half, running into some of the same issues that they had in the first two matchups.

They forced just two turnovers, and almost exclusively ran their offense in the half-court through Mitchell early. Patriots’ 6’11, 250 pound big man junior Riley Allenspach guarded him in single coverage.

While Mitchell had success individually, the rest of the team was unable to get going. To start the game, Mitchell shot 3-3 from the field, while the rest of the team was just 1-9. Senior Jahari Long got hot from outside for the Patriots, scoring 14 points before the break, and the Bonnies were trailing 34-24 at halftime.

But in the second half, St. Bonaventure showed a different dimension. They countered George Mason’s offensive strategy of attacking the Bonnies’ smaller guards.

“In the first half they were trying to get different switches, and attack who they were trying to attack,” Bonnies’ junior Dasonte Bowen said. “In the second half, with us switching a little more and being a little more versatile on defense with certain lineups, they stopped the approach they were trying to kill us on in the first half.”

They forced eight turnovers, leading to scores on the other end. Down 44-33 five minutes into the second half, the Bonnies’ defense took over, leading to offense. The Bonnies played fast, beating the Patriots down the court en route to a 12-2 run.

Mitchell came up with a steal, finding Bowen for an and-one. The Bonnies forced another turnover, leading to a three from junior Darryl Simmons II, reducing the lead to 46-41. Later, Simmons II got out in transition again, finding freshman Andrew Osasuyi for an alley-oop dunk, decreasing the lead to 46-45.

Second half runs from a trailing position weren’t new for the Bonnies in conference play, but closing out those close games was.

“I think all those regular-season games prepared us greatly,” Bowen said. “We knew what we could do since October. We just finally put the pieces together at the right time.”

With six minutes left, the Bonnies trailed 55-50, an all too familiar position. But they didn’t quit.

Senior Cayden Charles, who had a series of hard falls getting to the foul line in the second half, took another, and made both free throws, making it 52-55. Osasuyi came up with a key block, and Bowen attacked in transition, finishing at the rim to make it a one point game.

Charles attacked again, falling just as hard as before. He still made them both, making it 56-55.

“There’s no time to be hurt,” Charles said. “It’s March. Just get up and keep going. I owe it to my teammates. I owe it to Coach. I owe it to my family to just keep going. And you know, I can ice later. I got plenty of time to recover. So just making the winning plays, being tough — and that’s really what wins in the postseason.”

The Bonnies were in the double bonus, and Bowen hit both, completing an 8-0 run, and giving the Bonnies a 58-55 lead with 2:48 remaining.

Junior Kory Mincy’s contested pull-up with 2:28 remaining, making the score 58-57, was the Patriots’ last field goal of the game. From there, Mitchell and the Bonnies’ defense sealed it late.

With 1:17 left, and just three seconds on the shot clock, Frank Mitchell bullied his way inside for a short hook shot, increasing the lead to 60-57.

Simmons II got a great contest on Mincy’s three point shot on the next possession, forcing an airball. With 25 seconds left, Bowen had a layup blocked by Allenspach, but Mitchell was right there for the offensive rebound, giving the Bonnies a five point lead and effectively sealing the game.

The Bonnies forced another stop, and Charles got the rebound. He was immediately intentionally fouled. The former Division II guard, exhausted, hurt and jubilant, pumped his fist in the air, mirroring the response of all of Olean.

“There were some times this year where it was difficult,” Schmidt said. “Those guys hear the noise, but they didn’t listen to it. They kept working. And having a win today and having a win yesterday — that’s a credit to them.”

Bowen led the Bonnies with 20 points, Mitchell had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Charles added 12, on 10 well-earned free throw attempts. Long led the Patriots with 17 points, hitting four threes.