Game Notes: St. Bona | A-10 | Saint Francis
Saint Francis: Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics
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In Brief
St. Bonaventure (5-5) returns to the Reilly Center to host Saint Francis (Pa.) (3-8, 2-0 NEC) in the Bonnies' final non-conference home game of the season. Bona will finish the non-league docket at Niagara Dec. 30 in a game carried live by Time Warner Cable Sports.
Leading From the Front
Senior All-America candidate Andrew Nicholson is in his final season with the Bonnies. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward from Mississauga, Ont. has racked up some impressive accolades thus far – A-10 Rookie of the Year, First and Second Team All-Conference selections, Wooden & Naismith Award nominations – and looks to continue that trend for one last run.
Last Time Out
CJ Leslie hauled in a full-court pass in traffic and scored a tough floater with 0.8 seconds left to give NC State (7-4) a 67-65 victory over St. Bonaventure (5-5) at the Blue Cross Arena. After Eric Mosley drove to the basket and was fouled with just 3.1 seconds left, the Louisville native sank both attempts from the line, tying the game for the ninth time, 65-65. On the ensuing inbounds, NC State's CJ Williams directed a long pass - barely missing the center-court video board - that found Leslie on the left baseline and behind the basket.
Cracking the Top 10
Andrew Nicholson moved into the top 10 on the career scoring and rebounding charts with his 16-point, six-rebound effort against NC State. He currently ranks 10th on the all-time scoring list with 1,658 and t10th on the rebounding ledger with 695. Check page 15 for the complete lists.
Conger Grabs A-10 Honors
Atlantic 10 Conference officials named Demitrius Conger Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week for games played from Dec. 12-18. Conger shot 6-of-8 from the field (75 percent) to score 20 points and lead St. Bonaventure to a win over Loyola (Md.), snapping the Greyhounds' eight-game winning streak. A Brooklyn, N.Y., product, Conger sunk a 3-pointer and seven free throws while dishing out five assists and pulling down four rebounds in the Bonnies' only game of the week.
Bonnies in Rochester
Bona fans in Rochester have enjoyed some great basketball games at the BCA that unfortunately have not gone the Bonnies' way. Since 2000, SBU is 1-6 in Rochester with all but one game being decided by fewer than six points or overtime. Four games (Charlotte, Saint Louis, St. John's, NC State) have been by two points or less. See the inset box below.
Ice in His Veins
With the Bonnies trailing 65-63 and the clock running low at the Blue Cross Arena, Eric Mosely worked free for a drive down the lane and drew a two-shot foul with just 3.1 seconds to play (he made his layup, but the ball glanced off the shotclock and was ruled out of play). Mosley - a career 82.4 percent (28-34) free throw shooter including his season at Austin Peay – calmly stepped to the line and connected on the front end before NC State used a timeout. After the break, the junior hit nothing but net again, tying the game for the ninth time and setting the stage for NC State's miracle game-winner.
Ndoye Patrols the Paint
6-foot-11 freshman C Youssou Ndoye boasts a team-best six blocks over the last five games, double the total of Andrew Nicholson (3). The Senegal native boasts a 7-2 (86") wingspan and has been a valuable reserve in the post in his first collegiate season, even earning a start opposite then-24/22 Illinois and 7-footer Meyers Leonard.
Stay Hot
Demitrius Conger leads the team in FG% this season at 56.0 (42-75), which sits just outside the school's top 10 list for shooting efficiency. The junior has increased is percentage dramatically in each of his three campaigns thus far (39.2-48.4-56.0) and ranks second on the squad in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
Released the 'Hounds
The Bonnies scored 14 of the game's first 16 points against Loyola to open it up and held a double-digit lead for much of the game over a Loyola (8-2) team that had won eight straight. Loyola held the Bonnies without a field goal from the 8:34 mark on and mounted a 14-4 run behind Justin Drummond's 13 second-half points to pull closer, but SBU kept it out of reach from the free throw line.
Fitting the Pieces Together
The Bona starting cast of Kloof-Wright-Conger-Cook-Nicholson is now 3-1 on the season. The Bonnies have used three different lineups to begin games this season: check page 18 for the start chart breakdown.
Johnson Steps Up
Junior guard Chris Johnson enjoyed a career day against Canisius (Dec. 10), totaling new high-water marks in nearly every statistical category: points (19), assists(2), field goals made (5) and attempted (9), free throws made (7) and attempted (8), 3-pointers (2) and attempts (4) and minutes played (25). His game-best 19 points matched the Bonnies margin of victory over their Little 3 rival.
Cleaning the Glass
The Bonnies leading rebounder in each of the last eight games has been the same player: Andrew Nicholson. The senior boasts a career-best 7.7 boards per game this season and has posted double-digit caroms twice.
Hitting the Century Mark
Andrew Nicholson played in his 100th career game and made his 95th start with the Brown and White against Loyola (Md.). David Messiah Capers is the Bonnies' all-time leader in games played (126).
Don't Judge a Book…
Digging deeper into the Bonnies' 5-5 record reveals that the combined record of opponents who have defeated SBU is 43-16 (as of Thursday): Cleveland State 10-2; VT 9-3; Arkansas State 6-6; Illinois 11-1; NC State 7-4. Two of those (rv/rv Cleveland State, 25/24 Illinois) are listed among the nation's top teams.
New York, New York
St. Bonaventure is in its fourth game of a six-game stretch that will keep the Bonnies in the Empire State. After defeating Canisius in the RC, SBU served as the host team in three games over a five-day stretch, including the trip to Rochester to face NC State at the Blue Cross Arena. SBU travels to Niagara Dec. 30 before concluding the travel-friendly span Jan. 4 against GW to open conference play.
Block Party
Andrew Nicholson rejected four shots in back-to-back games at Cleveland State and Siena, and already owns three of the school's highest single-season block totals (see page 15). He sits just two rejections away from becoming the second player in school history with 200 or more.
No. 300 for Schmidt
The win over Buffalo was Mark Schmidt's 300th game as a head coach. Schmidt first coached Robert Morris from 2001-02 to 2006-07, before joining St. Bonaventure in 2007-08.
Let Me Upgrade Ya
There's no debating that the Bonnies have significantly upgraded the schedule during Mark Schmidt 's tenure. Four of the five losses this season are to RPI top-56 teams (CSU 37, VT 48, UI 49, NC State 56) and the Bonnies' 82 rating in the RPI this season (as of Dec. 17) would be its lowest since an NIT campaign in 2001-02 (81).
It's Been How Long?
Andrew Nicholson grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and added six points versus Arkansas State. He battled bronchitis earlier this season and went nearly two calendar years since the last time he was held under double figures in back-to-back games (2pts vs. Illinois State 11/29/09; 4pts vs. Mississippi State 12/5/09). He has not been held under double digits in three straight since his freshman season.
The Kloof is on Fire
Charlon Kloof recorded a career-high 11 points on 3-of-7 from 3-point range in the Bonnies' loss to Arkansas State. Kloof hit all of his triples in the first 20 minutes to lead all scorers at the break.
It Runs in the Family
Redshirt senior Da'Quan Cook ranks second on the team at 5.9 boards per game. While at LSU, Da'Quan's uncle Greg Cook averaged 6.55 rebounds over his 119-game career, including a trip to the 1981 Final Four. The elder Cook passed away in 2005, and Da'Quan has a large tattoo of the Sesame Street character Cookie Monster on his side in his uncle's memory.
Easy E
Mosley, who joined SBU after spending seasons at Cincinnati State and Austin Peay, recorded a career-high 17 points and hit 3-of-6 from distance against Siena.
House of Toupane
St. Bonaventure announced the signing of Jean Yves Toupane (Jawn two-PAIN) to a National Letter of Intent Nov. 16. The 6-foot-7 small forward from Senegal joins his fellow Lee Academy (Maine) teammate, freshman Youssou Ndoye. With long arms and good size, Toupane has the ability to shoot long range and drive towards the basket.
He's All Wright
Matthew Wright was a key factor in the Bonnies' 79-58 win over Cornell. After the Big Red held him to two points in the first half, Wright went off in the second stanza, scoring 11 points to complement a career-best seven rebounds. The Toronto product also dished out five assists to just one turnover.
Moving Up in the World
St. Bonaventure is picked to finish fourth in the league preseason poll, the highest since SBU was slotted second in the East division prior to the 2002-03 campaign. Last year, the Bonnies were picked second-to-last among 14 A-10 schools, but far exceeded expectations by finishing seventh, the biggest disparity between preseason prediction and postseason finish in the league.
Simmons, Davenport Out
Marquise Simmons (achilles vs. Cornell) and Michael Davenport (shoulder vs. Canisius) each suffered season-ending injuries and will not play the rest of the year.
