St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: LaSalle Explorers
Date: Wednesday, January 22
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Location: Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center
St. Bonaventure Record: 11-7 (1-3) | La Salle Record: 11-6 (3-0)
Bonnies Statistics | La Salle Statistics
Complete Game Notes Pack
TV: CBS College Sports Network
** Note: due to network restrictions, this game cannot be video streamed
Listen (WPIG 95.7 FM, Olean, NY)
Twitter: @BonniesMBB
Opening Tip: St. Bonaventure hosts La Salle on national television Wednesday night at the Reilly Center. The Bonnies look to regain positive momentum after three straight close losses to three of the best in the A-10, while La Salle has won five in a row. The game will be televised by CBS College Sports Network. Last season, the teams played a classic at the Reilly Center that went to overtime before the Explorers prevailed, 69-66.
The Series: La Salle leads, 14-11
The Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2013 at the Reilly Center: La Salle 69, St. Bonaventure 66 (OT)
Coaches Comparison:
St. Bonaventure Coach Mark Schmidt
At SBU: 99-102 (7th season)
Overall: 181-192 (13th season)
Vs. LaSalle: 3-5
LaSalle Coach Dr. John Giannini
At LaSalle: 154-144 (10th season)
Overall: 451-293 (25th season)
LaSalle Scouting Report:
• The Explorers come to Olean riding a five-game win streak. Most recently, they defeated Temple 74-68 on Saturday at the Palestra in Philadelphia. La Salle owns A-10 wins over George Washington (76-72), Duquesne (75-56) and Rhode Island (72-62).
• La Salle is powered by the inside-outside combination of forwards Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack and guards Tyreek Duren and Tyrone Garland. Zack, who is 6-11 and 245 pounds, is close to averaging a double-double at 10.0 points and an A-10 best 9.7 rebounds per contest while Wright (6-8, 255 lbs.) is at 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. Dureen leads the Explorers in scoring at 14.1 points per game but Garland is right behind him at 13.9. Guard Sam Mills (8.4 ppg, 30 three-pointers) completes the starting five.
• While La Salle shoots only 32 percent from three-point range as a team, Mills stands fourth in the A-10 in three-point percentage at .435.
• All five of La Salle's starters were on last year's club that won 24 games and made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Last Time Out: GW Pulls Away From Bonnies Late: Last Saturday night at the Reilly Center, George Washington handed St. Bonaventure its first home loss, 79-71. The Colonials pulled away from the Bonnies with two second-half spurts that were the difference in an otherwise even game. The Bonnies led 30-29 at the half but GW made 14 of 24 shots, including five of eight from three-point range, in the second half. Tied at 42-42, the Colonials went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead for good. St. Bonaventure, which dropped its third straight, was led by Andell Cumberbatch with 15 points. Youssou Ndoye had 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks while Jordan Gathers added 12 points.
What A Stretch To Start: Talk about a challenging start to Atlantic 10 Conference play. The current combined record of the Bonnies' first four A-10 opponents – Richmond (12-6), UMass (16-1), Saint Louis (17-2) and George Washington (15-3) – is 60-12 (.833) overall and 12-2 in conference games. Both UMass (#12/13 this week) and Saint Louis (#19/20) are ranked in both polls while GW is receiving votes.
Close Losses: Even including a 15-point loss at Wake Forest, the Bonnies' seven losses have come by an average of just 6.5 points. In three of those losses, St. Bonaventure could have come away with wins if it had made more free throws. The Bonnies missed 12 free throws in a 72-70 decision at Siena, 11 in a 76-72 loss to Louisiana Tech, and 14 in a 78-73 final at Buffalo.
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. This season, he's up to 9.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, with three of his four career double-doubles. Since the start of A-10 play, Ndoye has averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in four games.
Kloof Leads The Pack: To say that senior point guard Charlon Kloof's role has increased this season is a vast understatement. He is a leader on and off the court, and the Bonnies rely heavily on his production. Start with playing time: he's on the court 33 minutes per game and really only sits when he's had foul trouble, playing 36 minutes or more nine times with three games playing all 40 minutes. His offensive production is up this season by almost eight points and two assists per game; 11 of his 24 career games scoring in double figures have been this season. Kloof also helps key the Bonnies' improved defense, averaging 1.3 steals. He also has proven to be a clutch player, scoring the winning basket on a buzzer-beating, length of the court drive at Niagara Dec. 21.
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 leads the Bonnies in scoring at 15.4 points per game, which ranks ninth in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Toronto native suffered a sprained ankle at Buffalo which forced him to miss half that game as well as the Iona game, and really only returned to form after Christmas, when he scored a game-high 23 points in the win over Delaware. In all, Wright has scored in double figures 11 times topped by a 32-point outburst against Southern Illinois. He opened A-10 play by scoring 20 points in a win over Richmond.
Scoring Options Increase: With the emergence of Dion Wright, Marquise Simmons and Jordan Gathers as capable scorers, St. Bonaventure has more offensive options than it did last year, when Demitrius Conger, Chris Johnson and Eric Mosely accounted for nearly half of the team's scoring. The Bonnies now have seven players averaging more than 7.9 points: Matthew Wright (15.4), Charlon Kloof (11.9), Andell Cumberbatch (10.8), Gathers (9.5), Dion Wright (9.4), Youssou Ndoye (9.1) and Simmons (7.9). Every one of those players except Dion Wright have led the Bonnies in scoring at least once. The Bonnies rank seventh in the A-10 in scoring at 74.8 points per game.
The "Other Wright": After a year spent in a role typical for most freshmen, Dion Wright has emerged as a key player for the Bonnies as a sophomore. The 6'7" swingman from Carson, Calif., played in only 13 games last year, but this season he has become the Bonnies' most reliable player off the bench. He has played in every game and is averaging 9.4 points per game. Wright, who is not related to teammate Matthew Wright, has seven games of 12 points or more capped by a career-high 22 in the win at Iona. He keyed the win at Niagara with first double-double of his career, 14 points and 11 rebounds. Known for his ability to rebound and score in traffic (he's called "The Worm" by teammates and coaches), Wright also averages 4.9 rebounds, which ranks fourth on the team.
Reilly Center Advantage: Under head coach Mark Schmidt, the Reilly Center is again a feared venue for Bonnies opponents. In addition to being 7-1 at home this season, the Bonnies have been at their best defensively on their home court, holding five of their eight opponents under 65 points and under 40 percent shooting. At the Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure has won 28 of its last 34 games against non-conference opponents dating to the beginning of the 2008-09 season.
Bona Trifecta: With a title like trifecta, you would assume Dick Vitale would be involved and we'd be talking about three-pointers. Actually, what the Bonnies and head coach Mark Schmidt refer to when they talk about their trifecta is defense, rebounding and turnover margin. Like many teams, the Bonnies are focusing on these three areas as keys to success. So far, that focus is paying off. St. Bonaventure has only allowed seven of its 17 opponents to shoot over 45% from the field (S. Illinois, Buffalo, Iona, Wake Forest, Niagara, UMass and GW), and the Bonnies have won the rebounding battle 11 times. In addition, St. Bonaventure ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding margin at +4.3, fifth in field goal percentage defense (.430) and eighth in scoring defense (68.6 ppg).
