The Starting Five Notes:
1. St. Bonaventure remains at home -- its fourth straight home game to start the season -- to host Jackson State on Tuesday. It will be the first ever meeting between the schools.
2. The Bonnies are off to a strong start on the defensive end. They have not allowed any of their three opponents to shoot over 40 percent from the field, including a season-low 31 percent by Canisius. Opponents are shooting just .356 and the Bonnies are sixth in the A-10 in points allowed (61.0 avg).
3. Marcus Posley hopes to remain hot. The junior shooting guard scored a game-high 20 points in last Saturday's win over Canisius, his second straight game of 20+ points. He is averaging 19.3 points per game, which is the top average in the Atlantic 10 -- and shooting .370 (10-27) from three-point range on the year. Monday, Posley was named the Big 4 Player of the Week.
4. Youssou Ndoye, while not off to a fast start in the scoring column -- mainly due to limited touches -- has been a force on defense with seven blocked shots and 20 rebounds (14 defensive) over his two games this season.
5. While the Bonnies' do have some depth, it comes mainly from young, inexperienced players, as only Ndoye, Dion Wright, Andell Cumberbatch and Chris Dees have played in more than 30 career games at St. Bonaventure. With Jordan Gathers still recuperating from hip surgery and Denzel Gregg suspended, the other six players in the rotation are freshmen or junior college transfers.
The Series/Last Meeting
• This is the first-ever meeting between the schools.
• St. Bonaventure is 6-0 all-time against SWAC member teams.
Jackson State Notes:
• Jackson State comes to the Reilly Center with a 1-3 record. The Tigers suffered a 58-50 loss at UAB on Sunday afternoon. Jackson State led UAB by two points with three minutes to play but was undone by three turnovers down the stretch that led to UAB points. The Tigers committed 27 turnovers in the game which led to 16 UAB points. Jackson State out-rebounded UAB 40-24.
• The Tigers start the season with five straight road games; their home opener is this Friday against Hofstra.
• Jackson State's win came at Jacksonville by a score of 66-57. The Tigers opened the year with road losses at North Carolina State (93-58) and at South Florida (73-64).
• Second-year coach Wayne Brent employs a 9-10 man rotation, and the Tigers have eight players who average at least 4.3 points per game. The leading scorers are forward Kaven Bernard (12.0 ppg) and guard Javeres Brent (10.5 ppg). Guard Dontaveon Robinson averages 8.2 points per game. Brent (5.3) and Bernard (5.0) are also the team's leading rebounders.
• The Tigers are averaging 59.5 points per game and shoot .379 overall as a team, including .262 from three-point range. JSU has also been turnover-prone, averaging 16 per contest.
Posley Named Inaugural Big 4 Player of the Week
After outstanding performances in games against Siena and Canisius last week, St. Bonaventure junior guard Marcus Posley was named inaugural winner of the Big 4 men's basketball Player of the Week. Posley averaged 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists over the Bonnies' two games. The Rockford, Ill., native scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 73-70 loss to Siena on Nov. 19. Saturday, Posley scored a game-high 20 points and had three assists to lead the Bonnies over Canisius, 59-53. Posley made four three-pointers in each game and went 8-20 (.400) from long range for the week. Posley leads all Atlantic 10 Conference players in scoring average at 19.3 points per game.
"Batch" Gaining Confidence
While it is very early, his statistics back up the idea that Andell Cumberbatch is the most improved of the Bonnies' returning players. The senior swingman has a pair of double-doubles already (10-10 vs. Dartmouth, 24-11 vs. Siena) and is second on the team in both scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg). Last year, which was his first with the Bonnies after two seasons at Barton (Kansas) Community College, Cumberbatch averaged 8.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 31 games.
Up Next: Big 4 Classic
Nov. 29 at First Niagara Center in downtown Buffalo, the Big 4 schools will play a doubleheader for the first time in 16 years. St. Bonaventure will face Niagara in the opener at 2:00, followed by Canisius and Buffalo at 4:00. The last Big 4 doubleheader was Dec. 12, 1998, when the Bonnies defeated Niagara. St. Bonaventure's last game at First Niagara Center was on Nov. 29, 2008, a 68-66 loss to Canisius. Overall, the Bonnies have played seven games in FNC and have gone 2-5 there. Niagara was the opponent in just one of those contests, a December 12, 1998 matchup that St. Bonaventure won 70-61.
All four teams will wear Buffalo Braves-themed throwback uniforms modeled after two sets of uniforms that the former NBA team wore during its time in Buffalo, which ran from 1970-78. In the first game, Niagara and St. Bonaventure will wear uniforms reminiscent of what the Braves wore during the 1971-73 seasons. As the home team, Niagara will wear white, with the Bonnies wearing the Braves road orange uniforms.
The Buffalo Hyatt Regency and MASH Urgent Care are the presenting sponsors for the throwback uniforms. All the schools will auction their game-worn uniforms after the games; the proceeds from the sales of the Bonnies' uniforms will go to the Brian Moretti Scholarship Fund, which was established last March following the untimely death of St. Bonaventure's assistant sports information director.
