Game Notes: St. Bona | A-10 | Niagara
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In Brief
St. Bonaventure (6-5) closes out the non-conference season at Niagara (5-8, 0-2 MAAC), looking to earn its first sweep of Big Four competition in program history.
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
Chris Johnson matched a career high with 19 points, Demitrius Conger poured in 17 and Matthew Wright 15 as St. Bonaventure (6-5) cruised to an 82-55 victory over Saint Francis (3-9, 2-0 NEC) at the Reilly Center. The Red Flash did not record a field goal over the first 7:08 of the game as the Bonnies – who played without Andrew Nicholson for all but nine minutes due to foul trouble – jumped out to a 10-point cushion, 12-2, by the first media timeout and never looked back.
Next Up
The Bonnies return to the Reilly Center to open Atlantic 10 Conference play against George Washington (4-8). SBU defeated the Colonials 62-49 at the Charles E. Smith Center last season.
Streaks Were Meant to End
St. Bonaventure owns an 82-69 edge in the all-time series between the two schools, but has fallen in each of the last eight meetings dating back to Nov. 24, 2001. SBU is also 0-4 in its last four games at Niagara, with its most recent win coming Dec. 4, 2000.
First Ever Sweep
St. Bonaventure has an opportunity to sweep its Big Four rivals for the first time in program history with a victory over Niagara. Bona has already posted victories over Buffalo (66-60) and Canisius (81-62) this season, but has not managed to beat all three teams in the same campaign in four opportunities: 1995-96 season, 96-97, 98-99, 2010-11. Note that SBU and UB have met just seven times overall, while the Bonnies have played Canisius (160) and Niagara (151) a combined 311 times.
Last Six Games
The Bonnies have won four of their last six games with both losses coming to foes from BCS conferences away from the Reilly Center. The streak began with a 66-60 victory at Buffalo, before the Bonnies lost to then-24/22 Illinois in Champaign. SBU then ran off back-to-back wins over Canisius and a Loyola team that had won eight straight. Following a heartbreaking loss to NC State at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, Bona got back on track with an 82-58 drubbing of Saint Francis (Pa.) in the RC.
A Dish to Pass
Charlon Kloof passed out six assists to record a career high in the win over Saint Francis. Kloof's passes led to 16 points for SBU, including a trio of 3-pointers from Matthew Wright and a layup each for Demitrius Conger and Chris Johnson. Kloof has seven games this season with three of more assists.
Johnson Steps Up ... Again
Junior guard Chris Johnson matched his career-best with 19 points in a win over Loyola (Md.) Dec. 23. He posted the same total against Canisius 13 days prior with a similar stat line: 5-9 FGs with a plethora of FTs (7-8 vs. Canisius; 9-10 vs. Saint Francis). His game-best 19 points matched the Bonnies margin of victory over Canisius.
Demitrius Dominates
Junior swingman Demitrius Conger led the Bonnies with 16.5 points and 4.5 boards per game in a two-game split for St. Bonaventure last week. He recorded 16 points in a 67-65, heartbreaking loss to NC State at Rochester's Blue Cross Arena, before a 17-point outing against Saint Francis (Pa.). He also owns a three-game double-digit scoring streak, the longest on the team.
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. His current standing on both charts can be found on page 15.
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 five blocks over the last five games. 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 56.5 (48-85), which sits 11th on the all-time list (see page 7)The junior has increased his percentage dramatically in each of his three campaigns thus far (39.2-48.4-56.5) and ranks second on the squad in scoring at 12.7 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.
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' 6-5 record reveals that the combined record of opponents who have defeated SBU is 48-18 (as of Dec.29): Cleveland State 12-2; VT 10-3; Arkansas State 6-7; Illinois 12-2; NC State 8-4. 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 fifth 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-60 teams (CSU 54, VT 57, UI 27, NC State 60) and the Bonnies' 97 rating in the RPI this season (as of Dec. 29) 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
Eric 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.
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.
