St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: Duquesne Dukes
Date: Saturday, January 25
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. / Palumbo Center
St. Bonaventure Record: 12-7 (2-3) | Duquesne Record: 8-9 (1-4)
Bonnies Statistics | Duquesne Statistics
Complete Game Notes Pack
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Twitter: @BonniesMBB
Opening Tip: St. Bonaventure travels to the Steel City for the start of this season's home-and-home series with longtime rival Duquesne. This will be the 111th meeting between the schools; the Bonnies have won three in a row in the series. The Bonnies come off a home win over LaSalle while the Dukes led Saint Louis late in their game on Wednesday but fell by four.
The Series: This will be the 111th meeting in a series that dates to 1920. Duquesne leads the overall series, 57-53. Under Mark Schmidt, the Bonnies are 7-6 vs. Duquesne.
The Last Meeting: Feb. 23, 2013 at the Reilly Center: St. Bonaventure 78, Duquesne 71
Coaches Comparison:
St. Bonaventure Coach Mark Schmidt
At SBU: 100-102 (7th season)
Overall: 182-192 (13th season)
Vs. Duquesne: 7-6
Duquesne Coach Jim Ferry
At DU: 16-31 (2nd season)
Overall: 271-199 (16th season)
Duquesne Scouting Report:
• The Dukes have lost four straight games but have been competitive in nearly every game, especially on Wednesday when they nearly upset Saint Louis only to fall 76-72. Senior Ovie Soko, a 6-8, 225 lb. forward, scored 18 points against the Billikens while Micah Mason and Dominique McKoy both had 15 points as the Dukes shot 50 percent from the field and were 8-15 from long range.
• In A-10 games, Duquesne is allowing opponents to score nearly 80 points per game and shot 45 percent from three-point range.
• Soko leads Duquesne in scoring (17.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.8). A 72 percent free-throw shooter, he also has attempted more than double the number of free throws (156) than any other Dukes player.
• Other top scorers for the Dukes are guard Tra'Vaughn White (10.6), McKoy (10.5), point guard Derrick Colter (9.9), Mason (8.8) and small forward Jeremiah Jones (8.2). McKoy also averages 7.2 rebounds and shoots 67 percent from the field.
Last Time Out: Wednesday night at the Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure stifled La Salle in its best defensive performance of the season and prevailed 66-51. The Explorers, who had been on a five-game win streak and were 3-0 in the A-10, missed 14 of their final 15 shots as the Bonnies pulled away in what had been a close game. La Salle was just 15-50 (30 percent) from the field, the lowest field goal percentage for a Bona opponent this year. Charlon Kloof led St. Bonaventure with 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.
Coach Reaches 100 Wins: Wednesday's win over La Salle was the 100th for head coach Mark Schmidt in his tenure at Bona. He is the sixth coach in school history to reach the milestone.
Suits & Sneakers Weekend: As part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Weekend, coaches from both the St. Bonaventure and Duquesne staffs will wear sneakers during the game to show their support for Coaches vs. Cancer -- a joint effort of the American Cancer Society and the NABC that empowers basketball coaches to help make a difference in the fight against cancer.
What A Stretch To Start: Talk about a challenging start to Atlantic 10 Conference play. The current combined record of the Bonnies' first five A-10 opponents – Richmond (13-6), UMass (16-2), Saint Louis (18-2), George Washington (15-3) and LaSalle (11-7) – is 73-20 (.784) overall. 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.
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; 12 of his 25 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 15.1 points per game, which ranks eighth 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 12 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 8.1 points: Matthew Wright (15.1), Charlon Kloof (12.1), Andell Cumberbatch (10.6), Dion Wright (9.3), Gathers (9.2), Youssou Ndoye (8.9) and Simmons (8.1). 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 74.3 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 9.3 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 5.1 rebounds per game, which ranks third on the team.
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 8.9 points, 5.8 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 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in five games.
