St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: Wagner (Gulf Coast Showcase)
Opening Tip: St. Bonaventure meets Wagner on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. in a second round winner's bracket game in the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Bonnies advanced with an 83-71 win over Southern Illinois on Monday, while Wagner knocked off Stetson.
Opponent: Wagner College Seahawks
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 26
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Location: Germain Arena, Estero, Fla.
St. Bonaventure Record: 4-1 | Wagner Record: 4-2
Bonnies Season Stats | Wagner Season Statistics
Gulf Coast Showcase bracket and schedule
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The St. Bonaventure – Wagner Matchup
This Game: Third meeting all-time
Series: tied, 1-1. This is the first meeting between the schools since the 1991-92 season, when Wagner topped the Bonnies 60-59 on Staten Island.
Wagner Scouting Report
• The Seahawks' two losses came to Penn State and St. John's.
• Latif Rivers leads Wagner in scoring at 16.7 points per game followed by point guard Kenneth Ortiz at 12.7 and Marcus Burton at 11.8. Wagner is averaging 74 points per game and shooting .351 from three-point range.
Wagner Head Coach Bashir Mason
At Wagner: 23-15 (second season) | Overall Record: same
Noteworthy: Mason is the youngest coach in Division I at 29 years, 288 days old.
Bonnies In Tournaments
• This is 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.
4-1 Start: St. Bonaventure's 4-1 start is their best start under Coach Mark Schmidt since the 2009-10 team opened with five wins in its first six games.
Bonnies Use Long Ball To Beat Salukis: Monday night in the first round of the Showcase, Matthew Wright scored a career high 32 points to lead St. Bonaventure to an 83-71 win over Southern Illinois. The Bonnies led by 10 at halftime and SIU never came any closer than seven points in the second half as Bona used a deadly three-point shooting night (10-21 including 7-11 in the second half to power its win. In addition to Wright's exploits, the Bonnies also got 15 points from Dion Wright and 11 each from Charlon Kloof and Andell Cumberbatch.
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 three out of five games, highlighted by his 32-point performance Monday but also including a then-career high 27 points in the win over Canisius. The Toronto native is averaging a team-high 18 points per game.
Balanced Bonnies: Five St. Bonaventure players enter Tuesday's game averaging 10 points or better. Matthew Wright leads the way at 18.6 points per game followed by Charlon Kloof (11.4), Youssou Ndoye (11.2), Dion Wright (10.6) and Andell Cumberbatch (10.0).
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).
