Game Notes: St. Bona | A-10 | Fordham
Fordham: Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics
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In Brief
St. Bonaventure (9-7, 2-2) returns to action after its first conference bye, hosting the Fordham Rams (8-9, 1-3) in a game syndicated by CBS Sports Network.
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
Andrew Nicholson notched 20 points and seven rebounds to lead the Bonnies in a 77-64 loss to Xavier (12-5, 3-1) as the Musketeers extended their conference home game win streak to 42 games. The Bonnies shot 7-of-28 from the field and Xavier used a 14-4 run that propelled XU to a 34-21 lead at halftime. Xavier All-American Tu Holloway knocked down a pair of free throws and a corner 3-pointer with 6:02 showing that had Xavier in front 66-47. Refusing to go away, SBU clawed back to within 12, 66-54, after the Bonnies rattled off a 7-0 charge. Nicholson's free throws capped the run and brought SBU closer before Mark Lyons and Jeff Robinson helped to seal the Bonnies' fate.
Next Up
The Bonnies head to Rhode Island (3-16, 0-4) the first of two meetings with the Rams. The Rams return to the Reilly Center for Senior Day on Feb. 18.
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.
Fordham's Last Outing
Alberto Estwick knocked down the winning 3-pointer with 28 seconds left and Fordham defeated Rhode Island 66-64 on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak. Estwick finished with 18 points, hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers, and Branden Frazier scored 19 for Fordham (8-9, 1-3). Rhode Island (3-16, 0-4), which has lost four straight, led for all but 27 seconds of the first half, with its greatest lead 11 points. Fordham pulled ahead 38-37 on Marvin Dominique's layup and led 40-38 at the break. Both teams struggled offensively in the second half. Rhode Island pulled ahead 42-41 with 17:06 left, as Fordham failed to make a field goal until Lamount Samuell's layup with 12:05 remaining. Fordham managed only three fleeting one-point leads, the last at 53-52 with 9:48 left, until Estwick's game-winner. Billy Baron led Rhode Island with 22 points and Jonathan Holton had 18 rebounds.
Last Meeting
Demitrius Conger tallied 18 points, tied his career-high with six assists, and made a personal-best five steals to pace St. Bonaventure (15-11, 7-6 Atlantic 10) to an 82-63 win over Fordham at the Reilly Center. Nicholson scored 16 points in just 18 foul-hampered minutes, Ogo Adegboye finished with 14 to go with six assists, and Brett Roseboro chipped in a career-high 12 on 4-of-6 from the field as the Bonnies won their fifth in seven games. Alberto Estwick (career-high 21 points) led the way for Fordham – which had lost 39 consecutive A-10 games. Chris Gaston notched 11 points and nine boards and Lamount Samuell added 12 points in the loss.
Flip the Switch
Through four A-10 games Nicholson is outperforming his non-conference output, most notably: scoring (19.0-14.3), rebounding (7.5-6.9) and FG% (54.0-50.8).
Atlantic 10 Honors
Nicholson led St. Bonaventure with 25.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks across a pair of Atlantic 10 games last week to earn Player of the Week plaudits. It marked the second time this season a Bona baller has earned a citation from the league (Demitrius Conger, Dec. 12-18).
YOU So Good
Freshman C Youssou Ndoye (YOU-sue EN-doy) used two dunks and went 3-of-3 from the line to record a career-high nine points (3-4 FGs) at Xavier last week. The Dakar, Senegal native has been a valuable reserve in the post this season, using his length and willingness to run the floor to affect the game at both ends.
Making Free Worth Something
St. Bonaventure ranks 21st nationally with a 75.0 percent clip from the charity stripe. This season, the Bonnies are 9-3 when shooting more FTs than the opposition, 0-4 when the converse is true.
Andrew's Explosion
Andrew Nicholson's 30-point, 13-rebound, six-block effort against Dayton was just the third 30+/10+/5+ game in the nation over the last two seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information Senior Researcher Jason McCallum. He's the first Atlantic 10 player to do it since Ahmad Nivins in 2008. The last "Power 6" conference player with a 30-10-5 game? Kevin Durant. It marked his sixth career 30-point game (first this season), seventh career game with five or more blocks (first since 5 @UMass 1/20/10), and 20th career double-double (third this season).
Cook, He's a Monster
Da'Quan Cook matched a season-high 14 points, including a pair of and-1 finishes, to help the Bonnies defeat Dayton.
Canadians Lead the U.S.
St. Bona boasts three Canadian players on its roster in Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga, Ontario), Matthew Wright (Toronto) and Chris Johnson (North Preston, Nova Scotia). The trio have combined for 43.6 percent of SBU's points (467-1071) – the largest percentage of a team's points by Canadian players in the nation.
Nicholson Moves Up
With a two-handed dunk to open the second-half scoring vs. Duquesne, Andrew Nicholson became the 10th player in St. Bonaventure basketball history to surpass the 1,700-point barrier. The senior also moved into the school's top 10 on the career rebounds list - his standing on both charts can be found on page 15.
One More Milestone
Nicholson's six blocks vs. Dayton made him just the second player in school annals with 200 or more (Caswell Cyrus, 289). He owns the Bona single-game record (9 vs. Bucknell as a freshman) and sits second all-time (205).
Flyers, Grounded
The Bonnies win over Dayton was SBU's first since Feb. 3, 2002, a span of nine unanswered wins for Dayton.
Back to Back vs. GW
The Bona triumph over GW marked SBU's second straight over the Colonials. The Bonnies had not defeated George Washington in consecutive contests since Jan. 3 and Feb. 11, 1989, at the very end of five game unbeaten streak against their DC foe.
(Almost) Among National Leaders
Demitrius Conger is now shooting 56.9 percent from the field this season (70-123), a mark that ranks as the 10th best in school history and among the top 30 nationally this season. Chris Johnson is 30-for-33 from the charity stripe, good for a 90.9 percent clip, which would be second in the nation and second all-time at SBU. The catch? Niether player meets the NCAA's minimum to qualify for the free throw (2.5 makes/gm – 32.5) or field goal percentage (5 makes/gm – 65) leaderboard.
Grounded vs. The Flyers
St. Bonaventure has played a total of 107 games in the last four years, with Andrew Nicholson seeing action in all but one. The only Bonnies' game without Nicholson since the start of the 2008-09 season? Jan. 30, 2010, a 75-58 loss to Dayton, when Nicholson missed the game with illness.
Since You've Been Gone
Michael Davenport suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Canisius and the Bonnies have benefitted from the production of Chris Johnson. Johnson boasts 8.2 points and 3.4 boards in his last five outings, including a 19-point outburst opposite Saint Francis. His game-by game stats can be found page 9.
Double-Double Demitrius
Demitrius Conger's 27-point, 11-rebound effort against Niagara marked his fifth career double-double and first this season. Conger leads the Bonnies in scoring at 15.4 points per game over over the Bonnies' last five for SBU and is just behind Andrew Nicholson for the team scoring lead overall. The junior Brooklyn native has four 11+ point games in five of the last six contests (see page 7).
Get Out Your Brooms
St. Bonaventure earned a sweep of Big Four rivals Buffalo, Canisius and Niagara for the first time in program history with its win at Niagara last week. Bona had not managed to beat all three teams in the same campaign in four prior 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.
A Dish to Pass
Bona's top three guards combined for five assists with no giveaways against Dayton. 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. Fellow backcourt mate Eric Mosley doled out a personal-best five dimes in the Bonnies' win over Niagara.
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 solid free throw shooter for his career – 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.
Fitting the Pieces Together
The Bona starting cast of Kloof-Wright-Conger-Cook-Nicholson is now 6-3 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 against Loyola (Md.); David Messiah Capers is the Bonnies' all-time leader in games played (126). The senior also made his 100th career start at Duquesne Jan. 7.
Let Me Upgrade Ya
There's no debating that the Bonnies (RPI: 90) have significantly upgraded the schedule - and the program - during Mark Schmidt 's tenure. The Bonnies rank among the top 100 nationally in strength of schedule (80) and have been beaten by opponents with an average RPI of 86. By comparison, SBU ended the 2006-07 season (prior to the Schmidt era) ranked 278th in the RPI.
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 Lee Academy (Maine) teammate, freshman Youssou Ndoye.
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.
