Game Notes: St. Bona | A-10 | URI
URI: Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics
Twitter updates: @Go_Bonnies | #Bonnies
In Brief
St. Bonaventure (10-7, 3-2) looks to keep momentum at Rhode Island (3-17, 0-5) on Wednesday, in another Atlantic 10 contest televised by CBS Sports Network. The game will be carried by Comcast, Comcast New England (tape delay), Cox Rhode Island, Verizon and Time Warner (Rochester & Buffalo).
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
St. Bonaventure (10-7, 3-2 Atlantic 10) cruised to its largest-ever win over a conference opponent Saturday, securing a 95-51 victory against Fordham (8-10, 1-4) at the Reilly Center. The 44-point win is the largest ever for the Bonnies over an Atlantic 10 opponent and marks just the second time SBU has won by 40+ in conference play. The margin of victory is the biggest for a Bona team since matching that difference in a 92-48 drubbing of Prairie View A&M Dec. 8, 1992.
Next Up
The Bonnies host Richmond (11-9, 2-3) at the Reilly Center on Saturday in a matchup of teams picked for fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll.
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.
URI: Last Time Out
Tyreek Duren scored 21 points and every La Salle starter reached double figures as the Explorers defeated Rhode Island 80-66 Saturday in an Atlantic 10 Conference game. Earl Pettis added 19 points, Jerrell Wright had 17 and Ramon Galloway and Sam Mills scored 10 apiece for the Explorers (14-6, 3-2), who made 56.6 percent of their shots (30 of 53) to 43.3 percent (29 of 67) for the Rams (3-17, 0-5). A 15-0 run gave La Salle a 29-13 first-half lead, but Rhode Island answered with a 16-3 run of its own, and the game was tied 35-35 at halftime. Duren opened the second half with a 3-pointer for the Explorers, who led the rest of the way. Jonathan Holton scored 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for Rhode Island, and Andre Malone had 15 points.
Last Meeting
Andrew Nicholson scored 20 of his 30 in the second half and Ogo Adegboye added 16 points as St. Bonaventure clinched the No. 7 seed in the 2011 Atlantic 10 Championship with a 74-68 win over Rhode Island at the Reilly Center.
Don't Look Now
Don't look now, but Andrew Nicholson is surging in the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year race. After seeing his production dip slightly (14.3ppg/6.9rpg) in the non-conference season, the senior now ranks among the league's best in scoring (19.3, 2nd) and rebounding (7.8, 7th) while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor and 87.1 percent from the line.
Blowing the Doors Off
The Bonnies' 44-point margin of victory vs. Fordham Saturday is the biggest ever in conference play for SBU and just the second time with a 40+ point victory within the A-10. The other two biggest margins of victory have both come against Rhode Island: 1/29/00 (40, 84-44); 1/21/01 (36, 91-55).
He's a Hunter, That Gathers
Freshman guard Jordan Gathers had a breakout performance against Fordham, posting 12 points on 5-of-7 FGs (2-4 from 3) while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists in 20 minutes. The Los Angeles, Calif. native booked career highs in each of those categories and stepped out of a 1-for-14 shooting funk to start his career.
Learning to Win
The Bonnies got off to a tough 3-4 start to the season, and let second-half leads slip away in three of those four games (Cleveland State, Arkansas State, Illinois). Following the Canisius game, however, St. Bonaventure has closed the door on the opposition - winning its last seven games when holding a lead with 4:00 minutes to play (10-3).
Fine From the Line
The Bonnies lead the Atlantic 10 and rank 10th nationally in free throw percentage at 76.2 percent (291-382) and have missed just nine shots from the line in the last three games. SBU is 10-3 when shooting more FTs than the opponent this season.
Balanced Attack
The Bonnies placed four in double figures in the rout of Fordham, the ninth time this season that three or more players have cracked double digits for SBU this year (9-0).
A Dish to Pass
The Bonnies' 22 assists on 31 field goals were both season highs, with the team's 1.69:1 A/TO ratio marking a season-best as well.
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. 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.
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, and booked another solid outing against Fordham with 18 point and eight rebounds.
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 (508-1166) – 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).
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
Chris Johnson is 34-for-37 from the charity stripe, good for a 91.9 percent clip, which would be fourth in the nation and second all-time at SBU. The catch? He fails to qualify for the NCAAs free throw (2.5 makes/gm – 32.5) minimum.
Grounded vs. The Flyers
St. Bonaventure has played a total of 108 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 7.8 points in his last five outings, and also has a pair of 19-point outbursts opposite Saint Francis and Canisius. His game-by game stats can be found page 9.
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.
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 7-3 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: 86) 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 (74) 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.
