In Brief
St. Bonaventure (13-10, 6-5) welcomes back its alumni and hosts Rhode Island (5-22, 2-10) at the conclusion of a three-game homestand on Senior Day.
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
Ramone Moore scored 19 points as Temple survived a late rally to defeat St. Bonaventure 76-70 on Wednesday night for its 20th win of the season and ninth straight. Khalif Wyatt added 17 points and Juan Fernandez 16 for the Owls (20-5, 9-2 Atlantic 10 Conference), who maintained sole possession of first place in the league. Micheal Eric chipped in 11 boards. Temple led 64-50 with 4:50 to go, but the Bonnies (13-10, 6-5) trimmed the deficit to three, at 72-69, with 22 seconds left. Moore made two free throws 2 seconds later and the Owls' Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson blocked a Charlon Kloof layup with 12 seconds to go. Moore had two more free throws, followed by a steal with 6 seconds to go to preserve the win. Andrew Nicholson scored 19 points and Eric Mosley 18 for the St. Bonaventure (13-10, 6-5), which has lost three of its last four.
Next Up
SBU hits the road for the first time in three games, as the Bonnies travel to Fordham (2/22) and Charlotte (2/25) next week.
Player of the Year?
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 (17.4, 3rd) and rebounding (8.5, 4th) - one of just three players on both lists - while shooting 60.7 percent from the floor and nearly 80 percent from the line in conference play.
Rhody: Last Time Out
Carl Jones scored 28 points and Saint Joseph's shot 60.9 percent in the second half to rally for an 80-69 victory over Rhode Island Wednesday night. After trailing 38-36 at halftime, the Hawks made 14 of 23 shots in the second half, which they began with a 21-5 run. The Rams shot just 34.3 percent (12 of 35) in the second half as they lost their fourth consecutive game. Orion Outerbridge scored 19 points for Rhode Island, and Jonathan Holton had 11 points and nine rebounds..
When Last They Met
St. Bonaventure erased a 10-point halftime deficit and held on for a hard-fought 72-66 overtime victory over Rhode Island Jan. 25 at the Ryan Center. The Bonnies started the second half on an 11-0 run, holding the Rams scoreless over a 6:23 span, as Andrew Nicholson came roaring back after sitting all but six minutes in the first half. Da'Quan Cook poured in a season-high 18 points for the second straight game, while Nicholson shot 7-of-10 from the field for 16 points in 24 minutes. Demitrius Conger rounded out the trio of double figure scorers with 11.
Where We Stand
SBU is in a four-way tie for sixth, just one game back of fourth place (and a bye) in the A-10 race.
A-10 Co-Player of the Week
Nicholson averaged 22.5 points, 16.0 rebounds and shot 19-of-30 (63.3 percent) in a 1-1 week to capture Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week honors with Temple's Ramone Moore. After a 24-point, nine-rebound outing in a loss as UMass, the senior posted St. Bonaventure's first 20-20 game on record since Bob Lanier in 1967 with 21 points and a career-high 23 rebounds in a win over Duquesne at the Reilly Center. It marked the Atlantic 10's best effort on the glass since Dayton's Ryan Perryman in 1998, ranks as the second-best rebounding total in the NCAA this season (Cameron Moore – UAB, 24), and ties for the third-best rebounding game in St. Bonaventure history behind 27-, 24-, and 23-rebound games from Lanier.
Senior Spotlight
The Bona senior class - headlined by Andrew Nicholson and Da'Quan Cook - owns a 59-56 record that ranks as the best for a senior class since the 2001-02 squad went 70-50. Both rank in the top 100 in career scoring at SBU and have been vital in the resurgence of the Bona basketball program under the leadership of head coach Mark Schmidt.
Hall of Fame
The Athletics Department is proud to announce its Hall of Fame class of 2012: Jim Meicke ('87, men's soccer), Mary Jane Telford ('75, women's basketball coach) and Hilary Waltman (women's basketball). The trio will be officially inducted during Alumni Weekend in June. Stay tuned to GoBonnies.com for more information.
Mosley Heating Up
Eric Mosley has scored in double-figures in back-to-back games, the first time he's done so since the end of December. The junior point guard drained a career-high four 3s to notch a personal-best 18 points against Temple.
Home Sweet Home
SBU had its eight-game home winstreak snapped with the loss to Temple, just its third loss in the last 16 home, regular-season A-10 games (13-3) since Feb. 27, 2010 vs. Rhode Island. In their nine home victories overall (9-2), the Bonnies have posted a double-digit win in all but one (Dayton, +8), including a 44-point victory over Fordham Jan. 21.
What's Ahead
The Bonnies hit the road for back to back games at Fordham (2/22) and Charlotte (2/25), before concluding the regular season versus Saint Joe's (2/29) and at La Salle (3/3).
Crashing the Boards
While Andrew Nicholson hauled in 23 boards overall against Duquesne, the senior got eight on the offensive end for a career high and combined with Demitrius Conger (seven offensive) to dominate the backboard. The Bonnies totaled a season-high 21 offensive rebounds, the most since 24 against Canisius 11/29/08. It marked the seventh time under Mark Schmidt that the Bonnies snared 20+ offensive caroms.
Johnson Ranks 2nd in FT%
Chris Johnson is 50-56 from the charity stripe, good for an 89.3 percent clip, which currently ranks second all-time at SBU. He fails to qualify for the NCAAs free throw (2.5 makes/gm – 52.5) minimum but met for the school's single-season standard (50 attempts) in the loss at UMass.
Something's Not Wright
Sophomore shooter Matthew Wright has endured a tough stretch since a 4-for-7 outing from beyond the arc Dec. 23. Since then, Wright is 6-for-37 from deep including: 1-6 (Niagara); 1-7 (Duquesne); 0-5 (UMass).
That's Just Foul
Senior Andrew Nicholson has been hampered with foul trouble in three games prior to UMass, fouling out after an average of just 20 minutes played. Nicholson played a combined seven minutes in the first halves against Rhode Island (six minutes) and Saint Louis (one) after being whistled for two early infractions.
Keys to Victory
Coach Mark Schmidt has stressed three keys to the Bonnies' success on the hardwood throughout the season: Rebound; Defend; Take Care of the Ball. To that end, SBU is 10-3 when outrebounding opponents, 7-1 when holding the opposition under 40 percent from the field and 9-1 when posting fewer turnovers.
Start Me Up
Andrew Nicholson and Demitrius Conger have been staples of the Bona starting five over the past three seasons. Nicholson has started in 66 straight since missing the Dayton game as a sophomore, while Conger has started 54 straight since the beginning of his second season.
Fine From the Line
The Bonnies rank 12th nationally in free throw percentage at 76.0 percent (384-505), and are one of three A-10 teams inside the nation's top 20. SBU has shot more free throws that its opponent in 12 of its 13 wins this season.
1,800 and Counting
With his 14 points in the win over Richmond, Andrew Nicholson became just the sixth player in school history to crack the 1,800-point barier (1,875). The senior also secured his 750th rebound (795). He is on pace for 5th place on both historical charts with 1,949 points and 818 caroms by the end of the regular season.
Against the Grain
Three Bona players scored 10 or more points in the win over Duquesne, the 13th time this season that three or more players have cracked double digits for SBU. The Bonnies are 12-1 in those games, with the only loss being the Saint Louis game.
Closing it Out
The Bonnies got off to a tough 3-4 start to the season, and let late leads slip away in three of those four losses (Cleveland State, Arkansas State, Illinois). Following the Canisius game, however, St. Bonaventure has closed the door on the opposition - winning its last nine games when holding a lead with 4:00 minutes to play (13-3).
Blowing the Doors Off
The Bonnies' 44-point margin of victory vs. Fordham 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.
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).
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 43.7 percent of SBU's points (655-1,498) – the largest percentage of a team's points by Canadian players in the nation.
Let Me Upgrade Ya
There's no debating that the Bonnies (RPI: 88) have significantly upgraded the schedule - and the program - during Mark Schmidt 's tenure. 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.
