St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: The Gulf Coast Showcase / Southern Illinois
Opening Tip: St. Bonaventure travels to Estero, Fla., to participate in the eight-team, inaugural Gulf Coast Showcase. The Bonnies open against Southern Illinois on Monday, Nov. 25, at 8:30 p.m.; they will then play at either 6:00 or 8:30 on Tuesday depending on Monday's outcome. All teams in the tournament are guaranteed three games. Complete Showcase bracket and schedule as well as more information.
Opponent: Southern Illinois Salukis
Date: Monday, Nov. 24
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Location: Germain Arena, Estero, Fla.
St. Bonaventure Record: 3-1
Bonnies Season Stats
Southern Illinois Record: 1-3
SIU Season Statistics
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The St. Bonaventure – Southern Illinois Matchup
This Game: Third meeting all-time
Series: Southern Illinois leads, 2-0
Prior Meetings:
Nov. 27, 1994 in Honolulu, HI: SIU 74, St. Bonaventure 72
1962 season opener at Buffalo Auditorium: SIU 73, St. Bonaventure 66
Southern Illinois (1-3) Scouting Report
• The Salukis picked up their first win of the year on Thursday, defeating NCAA Div. II school Missouri S&T, 94-76. Desmar Jackson and Jalen Pendleton both scored 24 points to lead SIU.
• SIU opened the season with losses to Missouri, Saint Louis and Austin Peay.
• Jackson, a 6-5 senior guard from Warren, Ohio, leads SIU in scoring at 22.0 ppg, while Pendleton averages 13.3 ppg and Anthony Beane is at 10.8.
• The Salukis are averaging 73.0 points per outing and are a strong rebounding team (+5.8 margin).
SIU Head Coach Barry Hinson
At SIU: (first season)
Overall Record: 220-159 (17th season)
Bonnies In Tournaments
• This will be St. Bonaventure's first in-season tournament since the 2009-10 season, when the Bonnies participated in the Basketball Travelers Invitational at Illinois State.
• The Bonnies' last in-season tournament title came in 2000, when they defeated New Mexico State and host Fresno State to win the Sparkletts Invitational.
Florida Bound: This is the Bonnies' first trip to the state of Florida since the 2011 postseason, when Bona's played Central Florida in the CBI.
Germain Arena
• Germain Arena is located in Estero, Fla., which neighbors Fort Myers to the south and sits and north of Naples. The 7,200-seat arena is home to the Florida Everblades, who compete in the East Coast Hockey League.
• Germain will also host a women's Gulf Coast Showcase starting Nov. 29
3-1 Start: St. Bonaventure's 3-1 start ties their mark from last season. Should the Bonnies win their next game, 4-1 would be their best start under Coach Mark Schmidt since the 2009-10 team opened with five wins in its first six games.
Bonnies Stalled By Siena: Tuesday in Albany, N.Y., St. Bonaventure dropped its first game of the year, falling 72-70 to Siena when Marquis Wright banked in a driving layup just before the final horn sounded. The Bonnies had fallen into a 10-point deficit at halftime but climbed back into the game with a stronger second half effort. The Bonnies had a chance to take the lead on a possession that started with 39 seconds left, but Youssou Ndoye was whistled for traveling with nine seconds remaining. Ndoye finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Dion Wright scored 14 points while Matthew Wright added 13 and Andell Cumberbatch had 10. St. Bonaventure struggled at the free throw line, missing 12 freebies in the game.
Ndoye's Progression: While he is in just his fifth season playing the game competitively, junior center Youssou Ndoye has shown growth in all facets. Now at 240 pounds, the Senegal native is about 20 pounds heavier (re: stronger) than when he entered St. Bonaventure after a year of prep school at Lee Academy in Maine. His freshman season, playing behind A10 Player of the Year Andrew Nicholson, Ndoye averaged 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in just over 10 minutes per game. Last season, the 7-footer had seven games in double figure scoring and averaged 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. So far in this young season, he's up to 12.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, with two of his three career double-doubles.
Lift From Batch: The addition of junior guard Andell Cumberbatch has given St. Bonaventure another scoring threat. Cumberbatch, who was forced to sit out the first two games because he played in a non-certified summer league, scored nine points in the win over Canisius and 10 at Siena. He also has 10 rebounds and three assists over his two games. The East Orange, N.J., native played for highly-regarded Barton (Kansas) Community College the past two seasons, averaging 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds there last year as a sophomore.
Leading The Wright Way: Consistency from Matthew Wright has been pointed to as a key to the Bonnies' success this season, and so far the senior shooting guard has delivered. He led St. Bonaventure in scoring two out of the four games, highlighted by a career-high 27 points in the win over Canisius. In the win over Abilene Christian, Wright recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Toronto native is averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game.
Radio Man: While he is more well-known for his work on the court as the Bonnies' starting power forward, senior Marquise Simmons has a side job this season: assisting Voice of the Bonnies Gary Nease with his radio broadcasts. Simmons, who interned under Nease last summer at WPIG Radio, is periodically interviewing his teammates for interviews which are airing during the halftimes of game broadcasts. Simmons is a journalism/mass communication major.
Road Swing: After playing its first three games at home, the Bonnies are now in a stretch of the schedule where they play eight out of nine games on the road or at a neutral site (the Gulf Coast Showcase).
Mark Schmidt Discussing the Gulf Coast Showcase:
