The Matchup
The Bonnies (10-9, 2-4) and Rams (6-12, 0-6) meet at Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx for the first of two meetings this season. The teams will conclude the season series at the Reilly Center Feb. 23.
Last Time Out
Marquise Simmons scored eight of his career-high 14 from the line and grabbed eight rebounds, but Massachusetts' Anthony Gurley finished with 26 to lead the Minutemen (12-7, 4-2 A-10) past St. Bonaventure, 78-69, Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.
Coming Up
St. Bonaventure hits the road for two in a row – playing at Fordham and Dayton (Feb. 2) – before returning to the RC to host Duquesne (Feb. 5), La Salle (Feb. 12) and Saint Louis (Feb. 16) in succession.
Scouting the Rams
The Rams are looking to right the ship after a 91-72 loss to A-10 leader Duquesne Wednesday night – Fordham's eighth straight loss this season and 31st consecutive Atlantic 10 setback dating back to Jan. 28, 2009 against St. Bonaventure. Chris Gaston, who recorded eleven rebounds and 15 points for his eleventh double-double of the year and the 30th of his career, leads the Rams in both scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (11.2 rpg). Brenton Butler (14.7 ppg, 3.5 ast/g), Branden Frazier (12.0 ppg, 44 3's, 3.3 ast/g) and Alberto Estwick (10.3 ppg) each average in double figures for the Rams, while reserves Marvin Dominique (5.8 rpg) and Kervin Bristol (5.6 rpg) have also seen plenty of action.
Last Meeting
A gutsy all-around effort by senior Jonathan Hall that included a game-high 24 points helped St. Bonaventure pick up its second straight Atlantic 10 road win with a 73-68 victory over Fordham Feb. 24, 2010 at Rose Hill Gymnasium.
Head Coach: Tom Pecora
Pecora is in his first season at Fordham after spending the previous nine seasons at Hofstra. Over the last 13 years with Pecora on the staff (nine years as a head coach, four as an assistant), the Pride averaged 19 wins a season (246-161). As a head coach, Pecora has compiled a 155-126 mark in nine seasons. During his time in Hempstead, Hofstra was the winningest program in the Metropolitan New York area. Over the last six years, Hofstra won 121 games, including four 20-win seasons. In 2006 and 2009 he was named Coach of the Year by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) and he has also received regional Coach of the Year honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY).
Series Snapshot
The Bonnies – winners of three of the last four meetings against Fordham – trail the Rams 16-14 in the all-time series. SBU has also won each of the last two meetings at Rose Hill, pulling to 6-8 on the road in series history.
Bonnies Honor Stith
In memory of Tom Stith '61, the first All-American in St. Bonaventure basketball history, the Bonnies team will wear commemorative "TS #42" patches on their jerseys during the game. Stith, a New York City native, died last June at the age of 71 after a battle with cancer at a hospice near his home in Farmingville, N.Y. The athletic department and members of the Stith family will host a private ceremony in his honor prior to the game.
Simmons Sighting
Sophomore F Marquise Simmons – who missed the first 10 games of the season with a hand injury – led the Bonnies against UMass with 14 points, including 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He played just three minutes in his return against Va. Tech, but has been increasingly active on both ends of the floor with more playing time as he works his way back into the lineup.
Welcome to the League
Freshman G Matthew Wright – who was 1-for-21 from 3-point range in the non-conference season – has gotten hot since the start of A-10 play. The Toronto native is shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from beyond the arc in six conference games thus far, marking team highs in both categories. His AST:TO ratio of 2.4 is also tops on the squad in conference play.
Gurley Passes Nicholson
With 26 points against Nicholson's 11, UMass G Anthony Gurley supplanted Nicholson for second place on the A-10's leading scorer's list. Current leader Tu Holloway (Xavier, 20.5) is just ahead of Gurley (20.4). Nicholson now sits in third at 19.6 points per game.
Wright Way for the Rookie
St. Bonaventure's Matthew Wright and Duquesne's T.J. McConnell were honored as Co-Rookies of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday. Wright upped his career-high scoring total in back-to-back games, pouring in 10 and 18 against Xavier and George Washington, respectively. The freshman guard shot 75.0 percent (9-of-12) on the week, including 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from 3-point land. Wright is the first freshman to claim the weekly honor since Andrew Nicholson did it six times in his freshman year.
Hit the Road
St. Bonaventure boasts a 5-4 record on the road this season, just two victories shy of the program record, set by the 2001-02 team (7-8) and tied in 2008-09 (7-6). The Bonnies have five remaining road games on the slate.
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 (28 pts vs. Rhode Island), Ogo Adegboye (17 vs. Ark.-Little Rock, 24 vs. Buffalo), Demitrius Conger (22 pts. 14 rebs. vs. Cornell) and Da'Quan Cook (21 pts. 13 rebs. vs. Binghamton). Matthew Wright got into the act against GW, pouring in a career-high 18 on 6-of-7 from the field and Marquise Simmons upped his best to 14 points against UMass.
Climbing the Charts
Nicholson is climbing the St. Bonaventure career records list in his third season. The Mississauga, Ont. native is second on the school's career FG% ledger (.568), ranks third in blocks (161), and now sits in 25th on the all-time scoring list with 1,239 points. He is the 22nd player in school annals to post 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career. The junior also cracked the top 10 in single season free throw attempts against the URI and now ranks 6th (147).
Keep it Under 50
When the Bonnies defeated GW, 62-49, it marked the first time SBU held an A-10 opponent under 50 points in a win on the road since a 46-44 decision at Fordham Feb. 21, 1998. The Bonnies hadn't kept a league opponent under 50 points overall since Jan. 29, 2000 - an 84-44 drubbing of URI in the Reilly Center.
Hack Attack
After four FTs against Rhode Island, Nicholson moved into 10th place in the Bonnies' single-season FT attempts. He has attempted a free throw in all but 10 of 79 career games played, including a streak of 38 straight dating back to last season. He now ranks sixth with 147 free throws this season.
Wet Your Whistle
Foul trouble has limited Andrew Nicholson's play in recent games. Against Arkansas-Little Rock, the junior was whistled for three fouls in the first 8:55 of the game and finished with 11 points – his lowest output of the season at that point – in just 20 minutes of action. Nicholson had been forced to sit in three straight (22 mins vs. URI, 23 vs. Xavier, 19 vs. GW). His streak of 20 games with 10+ points came to an end against Rhode Island (nine points, season low) and he was called for his fifth foul with the Bonnies mounting a comeback at the 7:08 mark against Xavier (XU went on a game-clinching 11-4 run over the next four minutes).
Home Sweet Home
With a 5-3 mark in the venerable Reilly Center so far in 2010-11, SBU improves to 395-184 (.683) in 44 seasons with the RC as the home floor. With five remaining home games, the Bonnies have a chance to get their 400th win in the Reilly Center this season.
Windex Man
After averaging double-digit rebounds earlier this season, Andrew Nicholson's rebounding numbers have slipped in A-10 play. The junior recorded double-digit rebounds in seven of the first nine games of the year, including a string of five straight, but had not grabbed more than more than seven until hauling in eight against UMass (an eight-game span).
Bouncing Back
Junior G Michael Davenport notched his third career double-double with 28 points and 12 boards to carry the Bonnies against Rhode Island. After starting the season with a 1-for-11 3FG%, he has lifted his percentage from deep to 39.0 percent (23-59). Over his last five games, the Cincinnati native is converting at a team-best 43.8 percent (7-16) from 3-point range and shooting 48.3 percent from the field (29-60).
Coaching Staff Ties Baron
Jim Baron, the last coach to lead the Bonnies to a postseason tournament (NIT, 2001), posted 48 wins in his first four campaigns. Now in their fourth season on the Bona sidelines, Schmidt and his staff (all of whom eventually worked under Schmidt at Robert Morris) have also collected 48 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+ Mark Schmidt (2007-Pres.)
Jim Baron (1992-96)
Mike Reilly (1928-32)
24 Anthony Solomon (2003-07)
Aren't You Guys Tired?
Coach Schmidt has deployed the same starting five all season long, and those five players have had the opportunity to play…a lot. Through 18 games, four of the five starters average more than 32 minutes per game and Da'Quan Cook averages 27.4. Ogo Adegboye leads the nation in minutes per game (39.2) and has played at least 36 minutes in all but two contests, including complete-game efforts against Buffalo, St. John's, Niagara, Ark.-Little Rock and Charlotte (3OT). Demitrius Conger has played 90 percent of his team's minutes and is ranked 14th nationally (37.3/gm). Andrew Nicholson was in for the duration against Ohio (60 min, 4OT) and Charlotte (55 min, 3OT).
Oh So Close
The Bonnies' 56-55 loss to Rhode Island was the team's first loss this season in a game decided by five or fewer points (6-1). When allowing just one more point (games decided by 6-10) St. Bonaventure is a paltry 0-5.
And-1 (More)
The Bonnies have actually played the equivalent of one extra game this season when accounting for overtime periods. By point differential (+5 Ohio 4OT, -8 VT OT, +4 Charlotte 3OT), SBU would pull out a one-point victory in that extra game, led by 22 points and six rebounds from Andrew Nicholson and 14 points and six boards from Ogo Adegboye.
Scoring the Rock
As of Jan. 25, Andrew Nicholson ranks 23rd nationally in scoring at 20.1 points per game and recorded the NCAA's third-highest scoring output this season with 44 points (on 14-of-19 FGs and 16-19 FTs) in the 4OT win versus Ohio. He also has the top two scoring totals in the A-10 this season (34 vs. Charlotte) The junior has raised his scoring average every season in the Brown and White (12.5--16.4--20.1) and his current scoring clip would be the highest for a season since J.R. Bremer averaged 24.6 in 2001-02.
Demitrius Goes Double
Demitrius Conger booked his fourth career double-double with a 21-point 10-rebound effort against the Trojans of Arkansas-Little Rock. A rising sophomore who showed flashes of talent last season, Conger has been one of the more consistent performers this season, recording at least eight points and three boards in 17 straight games from Nov. 19 at Cornell - where he notched his first career double-double (22 pts, 14 reb) to Jan. 26 versus Massachusetts.
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 (161).
#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, the longest game in school history. 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.
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.
Double Doubles
So far this season, the Bonnies have 16 double doubles from four different players: Nicholson (7), Conger (4), Cook (2), Davenport (2) and Adegboye (1). Earlier this season, Nicholson's streak of five straight double doubles tied for the second-longest in the country.
Riding the Pine
The Bonnies are on the short side of the bench scoring matchup by a wide margin despite their favorable record. Through 19 games SBU has outscored the opposing bench just twice (Temple, 8-7; UMass 28-17). In other all other games: Canisius (-17); Ark.-Little Rock (-10); Cornell (-10); Binghamton (-17); Cleveland State (-3); Buffalo (-9); St. John's (-31); Niagara (-15); Ohio (-18); Va. Tech (-10); Siena (-11); Marshall (-24); Ark.-Little Rock (-15); Charlotte (-10); Temple (+1); Rhode Island (-14); Xavier (-6); GW (-6); UMass (+11).
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).
