Game Notes: St. Bonaventure | Virginia Tech
SBU Last Time Out
Andrew Nicholson scored 44 points and Ohio's D.J. Cooper 43 as the two stars carried their teams through four overtimes – the longest game in St. Bonaventure history – in a 112-107 marathon Bonnies win over Ohio Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center. Nicholson's points were the eighth-most scored in a single contest in school history and helped him to a new career-high on 14-for-19 shooting from the floor, backed by a career-best 16 free throws. Adding a career- and team-high five assists to his stats, Nicholson drained five points in the fourth overtime to help St. Bonaventure (6-3) to its third win in four contests.
Next Game
St. Bonaventure will play host to Siena Dec. 28 at the Reilly Center. The series is dominated by the Brown and White 25-6, highlighted by the Bonnies winning 14 of the previous 15 matchups. The Saints will be coming off a four game home stand in which they lost to cross town rival University of Albany and, like the Bonnies, played an ACC school leading up to the game (Georgia Tech).
The Matchup
The St. Bonaventure Bonnies host the Virginia Tech Hokies in a neutral site pairing at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. The Hokies come off a season in which they were invited to the National Invitational Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Atlantic 10 member Rhode Island.
About the Hokies
Virginia Tech, picked for second in the ACC preseason poll, will enter the game at 6-4, a record that includes a slide when the Hokies lost three straight games. Since the losing streak however, VT has defeated Penn State 79-69 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and Mississippi State 88-57 in the Battle at Atlantis in the Bahamas. The Hokies are led by Malcolm Delaney, who knocked down three triples against the Bulldogs and tallied 19 points. Delaney is averaging 20 points per game and is shooting .460 from behind the arc. Dorenzo Hudson has also been a surprise for the Hokies coming off the bench. He is averaging over 10 points per game and posted 17 points against the Bulldogs in his last time out. Starting center Jeff Allen is leading the team with nine rebounds per game and is coming off a double-double against Mississippi State.
How They Got Here
The Hokies got off to a hot start at 4-1, before falling to three straight opponents, including Virginia in its ACC opener and an overtime loss to #22 Purdue. VT has since won two straight games (Penn State, Mississippi State) by at least 10 points.
Head Coach: Seth Greenberg
Greenberg has a career record of 345-264 in 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach and a 132-94 record in his seven seasons at Virginia Tech. His biggest victories as the head coach of the Hokies include a 70-69 win at No. 12 Georgia Tech and a 67-65 victory against No. 7 Duke in Cassell Coliseum in the 2004-05 season. In the 2006-07 season, the Hokies engineered a historic sweep over North Carolina, including a 94-88 win over the Tar Heels in Cassell Coliseum when UNC was the top-ranked team in the country. Greenberg earned his first major honor at Virginia Tech in 2005, being named the ACC Coach of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
Bonnies vs. the ACC
St. Bonaventure is 13-18 against current members of the ACC: Boston College (5-4), Duke (1-0), Georgia Tech (1-3), North Carolina (1-0), North Carolina State (1-0), Virginia Tech (5-9), Wake Forest (0-1). The last time the Bonnies played an ACC team was in the 2002-03 season in a 105-96 OT loss to Boston College.
Series Snapshot
The Bonnies trail Virginia Tech in the series 9-5. VT was a member of the Atlantic 10 for five years from 1995-2000. Since 1995, the series is tied 3-3.
Going the Distance
St. Bonaventure played the longest game in its 91-year history Dec. 18 versus Ohio, as the Bonnies and Bearcats went to four overtimes (a full 1.5 games). The Bonnies had four players log more than 53 minutes (Adegboye, Conger, Davenport, Nicholson) and redshirt F/C Jake Houseknecht booked 36 minutes for a new career-high. Nicholson played the full 60 minutes – the second game in a row he has not been subbed for – and Adegboye played all but one.
Tick Tick Tick
Through nine games Adegboye is leading the nation in minutes played (40.7) and ranks second in percentage of minutes played (96.3) according to statsheet.com. The senior London native played 40 minutes in the three games prior to Ohio, and played 59 of 60 minutes against the Bobcats. He has played at least 36 minutes in every game this year.
House and Home
Redshirt sophomore F/C Jake Houseknecht saw the most action of his career in the 4OT win against Ohio. The Olean native played 36 minutes (previous career high: 11), grabbed nine boards (previous high: 4) and blocked three shots (had 5 total in his career) to give SBU a lift off the bench. After not playing in three previous games earlier in the year, Houseknecht earned more minutes and was the first Bonnies' 'Big' off the bench against the Bobcats.
Return to Sender
Nicholson's rejection at the 6:31 mark of the second period against Ohio made him just the third player in school history to block 150 or more shots in a career. He owns the single-game record (9 vs. Bucknell) for the Bonnies and currently sits third on the SBU career blocks list (150).
#100 for Schmidt
Now in his fourth season at St. Bonaventure, head coach Mark Schmidt coached his 100th game at SBU against Ohio Dec. 18, 2010. Schmidt's .430 (43-56) win percentage entering the game was the highest by a Bonnies' mentor since Jim Baron's .502 (132-131) mark compiled from 1992-01. Schmidt and Baron are the only two coaches to post a win-loss percentage over .400 since the start of the 1987 season.
Seeing Double-Double
The Ohio game marked the fourth time this season that two players have recorded a double-double in the same contest (Cornell, Cleveland State, Niagara). In a counterintuitive twist, the Bonnies are 2-2 in those games. When just one player accomplishes the feat (Ark.-Little Rock, Binghamton, Buffalo, St. John's), the team is 4-0.
1,000 for #44
St. Bonaventure's Andrew Nicholson became the 38th player in school history to score 1,000 career points in the loss to Niagara. After missing his first attempt and being held scoreless over the first 11:56, the junior Mississauga native drained a foul-line jumper to move past the barrier in just his 66th game. Nicholson was a shoe size away from recording his 1,000th career point in comeback fashion in his previous outing against St. John's, as his stepback jumper was originally thought to be a 3-pointer.
Double Down
RS-Junior Da'Quan Cook – who wore #21 last season – posted his second double-double of the year last Saturday against the Purple Eagles. Cook hauled in 10 boards and scored 11 points in that game after a 21-point, 13-rebound effort helped the Bonnies cruise past Binghamton Nov. 21. So far this season, the Bonnies have 12 double doubles from four different players: Nicholson (6), Conger (3), Cook (2), Adegboye (1). Nicholson's streak of four straight double doubles is currently tied for second in the country.
Climbing the Charts
Nicholson is climbing the St. Bonaventure career records list in his third season. The Mississauga, Ont. native is the school's career leader in FG% (.581 – ahead of Bob Lanier), ranks third in blocks (150), and now sits in 36th on the all-time scoring list with 1,060 points. With 15 more rebounds, he will become the 22nd player in school annals to post 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.
Deja 'Drew
Nicholson hit game-winning jumpers from nearly the same spot on the floor in the Bonnies' wins against UB and St. John's. The Buffalo game winner came with 6.8 seconds left to lift SBU to a 76-74 win, while the jab-step, stepback shot against the Red Storm gave 67-66 edge with 5.2 left.
14 Straight For Nicholson
Andrew Nicholson has scored in double figures in 14 straight games dating back to Feb. 27, 2010 against Rhode Island. Over that span, he is averaging 20.3 points and 8.4 boards and has not scored fewer than 14 points. He also has five straight double-doubles and seven in his last eight games.
The Great Equalizer
Nicholson entered this season atop the career FG% list (.580), but fell into a first place tie with Bob Lanier (.576) before the Ohio game because his repertoire has expanded to include the 3-pointer. Nicholson shot .553 from the field for the season – the lowest of his three-year career. Taking into account his 2-for-11 clip from beyond the arc, Nicholson converted from inside the arc at a .602 percentage, which would tie for the highest of his career and also tie the single-season FG% record he set as a freshman.
Home Sweet Home
The loss to Niagara marked the Bonnies first home loss since Temple (Feb. 17) last season. St. Bonaventure plays three of its next four at home, and only one game (Arkansas-Little Rock) is a true road contest. Through 44 years as the home court, St. Bonaventure is 393-181 (.684) all-time in the venerable RC. In 15 games at Bob Lanier Court last year, St. Bonaventure earned a 10-5 record - the most since the 2002-03 season (9-3).
Canadian Money
A Mississauga, Ont. native, Nicholson has been "money" in the last five minutes of games this season, shooting 70.0 from the floor (14-20) in the waning minutes. Fellow countryman Wright is 4-6 from the floor with a 5:2 assist/turnover ratio.
Stepping Up
Entering the season, coach Mark Schmidt commented that players other than Nicholson would have to step up for the Bonnies to find success. True to form, each of the other four starters have netted career highs including: Michael Davenport (19 pts vs. Canisius, 22 pts vs. St. John's), Ogo Adegboye (17 vs. Ark.-Little Rock, 24 pts vs. Buffalo), Demitrius Conger (22 pts. 14 rebs. vs. Cornell) and Da'Quan Cook (21 pts. 13 rebs. vs. Binghamton).
Stealing Minutes
In the win over St. John's, Schmidt effectively deployed just two bench players to keep his lead cast in the game. In a combined 13 minutes the bench was 0-2 from the floor with two rebounds, three fouls and one turnover.
And Boom Goes the Dynamite
Adegboye made seven 3-pointers – one shy of the school record – in a Dec. 4 effort to hold off Buffalo, 76-74. He tied his previous career high 17 points and set personal high-water marks for 3-point makes and attempts in the first half alone in helping SBU to an 11-point lead at the break. Adegboye ended the game with new career-highs of 24 points and 10 assists for his first career double-double. The outburst also raised his then-season 3FG% from 31.6 to a blistering 46.4.
Peaks and Valleys
With a new career-high 22 points versus St. John's, 13 points on 5-of-9 from the floor opposite UB and 11 against Niagara most recently, Davenport was once again a noteworthy contributor on the offensive end. Davenport recorded a career outing in the opener against Canisius (19 points) before posting another strong performance (17) against Ark.-Little Rock in his next outing. Over the next three games however, Davenport shot 5-for-25 from the field and 0-for-6 from deep and failed to crack double digits (9-4-4).
Stat Stuffer
Conger had already posted the first two double-doubles of his career and was riding a three-game double-digit scoring streak prior to the Buffalo game before adding his third in the 4OT win against Ohio (22P, 12R). The sophomore Brooklyn native finished with nine points, eight boards and six assists to go with a block and a steal on 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in 38 minutes of work against the Bulls.
Count Your FOUR-tunes
Jim Baron, the last coach to lead the Bonnies to a postseason tournament (NIT, 2001), posted 48 wins in his first four campaigns. Beginning his fourth season on the Bona sidelines, Schmidt and his staff (all of whom worked under Schmidt at Robert Morris) have collected 43 wins…and counting. By number of victories in their first four seasons, here's how it breaks down:
75 Ed Melvin (1948-52)
72 Jim Satalin (1973-77)
67 Jim O'Brien (1982-86)
58 Larry Weise (1961-65)
53 Eddie Donovan (1953-57)
48 Jim Baron (1992-96)
Mike Reilly (1928-32)
44+ Mark Schmidt (2007-Pres.)
24 Anthony Solomon (2003-07)
Riding the Pine
The Bonnies are on the short side of the bench scoring matchup by a wide margin despite their favorable record. Through six games SBU has yet to post a deficit of better than three points in bench scoring.
Canisius 23-6
Ark. Little Rock 19-9
Cornell 10-0
Binghamton 22-5
Cleveland State 12-9
Buffalo 11-2
St. John's 31-0
Niagara 17-2
Ohio 24-6
Nostradamus on Nicholson
Should he record two more seasons similar to those already in the books, Nicholson will notch: 1,849 points (would rank sixth at SBU), 819 rebounds (fifth) and 272 blocks (second). It is also likely that he will become the 22nd player in school history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds (needs one point and 52 rebounds).
NLI Signees
SBU added a pair of guards in the early signing period. Schenectady native Derrick Millinghaus, who currently attends Queen City Prep in Marshville, N.C., is a 1-2 combo guard with an open-court style. Millinghaus will have four years of eligibility, while fellow signee Eric Mosely will have two years remaining. Mosely currently attends Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and spent his freshman season at Austin Peay in 2008-09.
APR Improvement
Mark Schmidt ranks 13th in the nation in NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) improvement, as calculated by Fox Sports. Schmidt is among the top coaches nationally in cumulative improvement of his team APR, a metric used by NCAA officials to track the academic achievement of Division I teams during each academic term. Each student-athlete earns one point for staying in school and one point for being academically eligible. A team's total points are divided by points possible and multiplied by 1,000 to equal the team's APR score.
Ahead of Schedule?
Now in his fourth season at the helm of the Bonnies, head coach Mark Schmidt is ahead of schedule with respect to his previous head coaching stint at Robert Morris. During his third and fourth season at RMU, Schmidt posted back-to-back seasons with the same number of wins (14) before guiding the team to a record over .500 (15-14). At St. Bonaventure, Schmidt has guided the team to 15 wins in each of the last two campaigns in his second and third seasons with the program. St. Bonaventure has not finished a season over .500 since 2001-02 (17-13).
A Look Back: 2009-10
The St. Bonaventure University men's basketball team ended the 2009-10 season with a 15-16 overall mark that included a 7-9 record in Atlantic 10 conference play. Third-year head coach Mark Schmidt guided the Bonnies to a No. 8 seed in the A-10 Championship. The Bonnies earned its first postseason win since 2002 by eliminating No. 9 Duquesne, 83-71, in an opening-round game on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center. The Bonnies have now won 15 games in consecutive seasons after an 8-22 (2-14) showing in Schmidt's first season.
Chasing .500
After recording a 15-15 mark in 2008-09, SBU fell one game short of .500 last season by booking a 15-16 record. St. Bonaventure enjoyed a streak of 28 consecutive seasons of .500-or-better basketball from 1956-57 to 1983-84, but has just eight such seasons in the last 25. SBU has 63 seasons at or above .500 in 89 years.
