St. Bonaventure (7-4) vs. Iona (6-6)
Monday, Dec. 31 | 1 PM | Reilly Center (5,480)
Game Notes: St. Bona | Iona | Atlantic 10
Twitter: @BonniesMBB | #Bonnies
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Opening Tip
St. Bonaventure looks to bounce back from a loss on the road against nationally ranked NC State last Saturday when it returns home to face Iona in a New Year's Eve matinee. The game will be the first for the Bonnies in eight days – which represents their longest stretch between games this year – and also the first against the Gaels since the 2004-05 season opener.

Last Time Out
Sophomore center Youssou Ndoye recorded his first career double-double against a talented NC State frontcourt, but the No. 25 Wolfpack shot 57 percent and never trailed as they defeated the Bonnies, 92-73, last Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena in Raleigh. Ndoye, who netted 14 points and has now scored in double figures for the last three games, grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to help aid in Bona's 38-35 rebounding edge and also rejected a game-high four shots. Guard Eric Mosley delivered a team-high 18 points – one off tying his career high – as the senior came off the bench to knock down 5-9 3-point attempts and three of his four free throws.

Tough Closing Stretch
The game against Iona marks the second of a difficult closing non-conference stretch for the Bonnies. SBU finishes is non-league docket with three teams which went to the NCAA Tournament last year, beginning with its loss to NC State (Sweet Sixteen). Next up, the Brown and White travels to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State, which lost in the Second Round of the tournament last year.

Depth Perspective
Bonaventure has received 40 or more points from its bench in each of the last three games. The Bona bench scored a season-high 46 points in SBU's win over Cleveland State, tallied 44 against The Citadel and matched that total against NC State. The 134 combined points over the last three games is nearly half of the total bench output for the season (46.2 percent – 134 of 290). In fact, over the last three games, the bench has scored more points than the starting unit (134-123), and has out-scored its opponents benches by 80 points (134-54).

Additionally, the Bonaventure depth has been on display more than just in terms of scoring the ball. Over the last three games, the SBU bench has more rebounds (60-53), assists (29-27), steals (17-11), blocks (8-5), field goals made (46-45), 3-pointers made (16-10), free throws made (26-23) and fewer turnovers (21-24) and fouls (31-34) than the starting lineup.

Conger Nearing Rarified Air
Demitrius Conger is closing in on 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists for his career. The senior enters the game against Iona with 940 points, 522 rebounds and 193 assists. Conger's career high for assists is eight, which he did against Massachusetts in the A-10 Semifinal last year. If he were to maintain his 13.5 points per game average, Conger would reach the 1,000-point milestone during SBU's nationally-televised contest against Xavier on Jan. 16.

The only other St. Bonaventure players to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists are Ahmad Smith, who registered 1,261 points, 536 rebounds and 245 assists from 2002-2006, and David Vanterpool, who posted 1,474 points, 630 rebounds and 401 assists from 1991-95. Additionally, Conger needs just 31 more steals to reach 100 thefts in his career. If the Brooklyn native were to get to that milestone, he would join Vanterpool as the only two players in St. Bonaventure history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals.

Bounce Back Bonnies
Bonaventure has proven the ability to bounce back from a non-conference loss very well over the last three years, and will be looking to continue that trend against Iona. SBU is 12-1 in its non-league slate since the start of the 2010-11 season in games following losses. The only two-game losing streak during that timeframe came against Virginia Tech (73-64) and Arkansas State (58-52) last year.

It's Becoming A Hostile Home Again
Throughout much of its history, the Reilly Center has been feared by many opponents as one of the most difficult places to play in the country, so much so that in 2003 it prompted ESPN's Jay Bilas to label it as one of his top-5 "Hostile Homes" in the nation. While that may not have been the case throughout much of the last decade, the RC is gradually becoming the feared venue it once was. SBU is 5-0 already this year on Bob Lanier Court, and has won 15 of its last 16 regular-season home games, and 21 of 23 dating back to the 2010-11 campaign.

Additionally, there is a stark contrast between Bonaventure at home and Bonaventure on the road this season. The Bonnies are 5-0 at home and just 1-4 on the road. Below is an in-depth look at the statistical differences between the Brown and White in the confines of the RC and on the road.

                                              Home               Road
Points Per Game:                   77.8                 69.6
Points Allowed Per Game:     57.4                  74.8
Scoring Differential:               +20.4                -5.2
Free Throw Percentage:        74% (91-123)   63.6% (77-121)
Turnovers Per Game:             11                    15.4
Turnover Margin:                    +7                    -2.2
Steals Per Game:                   9.4                    5.8
*Additionally, in the last 5 minutes of home games, Bona is 81 percent from the free-throw line (17-21). Over the final 5 minutes of road games, Bona is just 62.1 percent (18-29).

I See YOU
After taking some time to adjust at the beginning of the year, Youssou Ndoye has shown he's capable of being the go-to player in the low blocks for the Bonnies. Ndoye has reached double figures in scoring each of the last three games; before that stretch he had never scored in double figures. In fact, over that stretch only Eric Mosley (43) and Demitrius Conger (38) have more points than Ndoye (37).

Ndoye has pulled down 26 rebounds – the most of any Bona player of that three-game stretch, and has played more minutes (66) than anyone else save for Conger (84). But perhaps the most astounding number is from the free-throw line, where the 7-footer has made more free throws (11-13) than anyone else on the Bona roster over the last three games (no one else has more than 8 makes).

E For 3
Senior Eric Mosley is unquestionably the Bonnies best shooter from long range as he's knocked down 49 percent of his 3-point attempts this year (28-57). No one else on the Bona roster has more than 15 makes (Chris Johnson), and Mosley has done his work from deep in just 192 minutes of action (7th most minutes on the team). His 28 3-pointers account for more than a third (36 percent) of Bonaventure's 77 3-pointers on the season. Additionally, he's the only player who has knocked down four or more 3's in a game this year (4 at Canisius, 6 at Ohio, 5 at NC State).

Best December In A Decade?
With a win against Iona, St. Bonaventure would pick up its fifth win in the month of December for the first time since the 2001-02 team claimed six victories.

Scouting Iona
^ Iona went to the NCAA Tournament last year and lost in the First Round to BYU
^ The Gaels led the nation in scoring offense last year, averaging 83.3 points per game, and are nearly equaling that this season as they come in averaging 81.9 per outing which ranks 11th in the nation
^ Many of those points come from long range as Iona ranks 5th in the country at 9.4 3-pointers made per game; twice this year already Iona has hit 18 3's in a game (Albany, Liberty)
^ The Gaels also rank among the nation's elite from the free-throw line where they connect at a 78.5-percent clip – the 3rd-best rate in the nation
^ This will be Iona's second straight game – and third in four contests – against an Atlantic 10 opponent; Iona lost at La Salle, 88-74, on Dec. 20 and 96-91 against Saint Joseph's on Friday
^ Niagara is the only team that SBU and Iona have in common; the Gaels defeated the Purple Eagles at home, 83-72, while the Bonnies also were victorious against them, 80-75, in Rochester
^ Senior guard Lamont Jones ranks 5th in the nation in scoring at 22.4 per game, while junior guard Sean Armand is 9th in the country in 3-pointers made per game at 3.5; together, the duo combines to average 41 points per game – the third-highest total in the NCAA
^ Iona is wearing patches with "MH" on them as it has dedicated its 2012-13 season to the memory of Mike Hayes, a recruit who was murdered in his native Chicago in July
^ Iona owns two BCS wins in its non-conference slate this year; the first came by a 94-68 margin against Wake Forest in the Paradise Jam and the other was in overtime, 81-78, at Georgia
^ David Laury, a sophomore who sat a year-in-residency last year due to NCAA Initial Eligibility Rules, became eligible following the fall semester and has made an immediate impact in his first three games; he scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against La Salle, followed that performance up with a 20-point, 7-rebound showing opposite Norfolk State and delivered 21 points and 14 rebounds again, this time versus Saint Joe's Friday night

Season Highs Allowed
NC State entered the game last weekend leading the nation in field-goal percentage and displayed that against the Bonnies as its 57.1-percent shooting from the floor was 10 percent higher than any other opponent Bonaventure has played this year. The 92 points was nearly 30 more than SBU came in holding opponents to (64.4), and represents the highest point total against a Bona team since Saint Joseph's scored 93 in a double-overtime contest last year on Feb. 29.

Next Up
St. Bonaventure concludes its non-conference schedule with a trip to Fort Collins, Colo., to face the Colorado State Rams on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Eastern (2:30 p.m. Mountain).