St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: George Mason University Patriots
Date: Saturday, Feb. 15
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Patriot Center – Fairfax, Va.
St. Bonaventure Record: 14-10 (4-6) | George Mason Record: 9-15 (2-8)
Bonnies Statistics | George Mason Statistics
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TV: MASN
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Opening Tip: St. Bonaventure visits George Mason for the first meeting between the schools as A-10 opponents. The Bonnies come off a win at Fordham to face a Patriots team that won its last two.
The Series: George Mason leads 2-1. This will be the first meeting between the schools since the Patriots joined the A-10 this year. St. Bonaventure has visited the Patriot Center once before, in 2003 when Mason took a 69-55 decision.
The Last Meeting: Dec. 22, 2004 at the Reilly Center: George Mason 95, St. Bonaventure 58
Coaches Comparison:
St. Bonaventure Coach Mark Schmidt
At SBU: 103-105 (7th season)
Overall: 184-195 (13th season)
George Mason Head Coach Paul Hewitt
At Mason: 55-40 (3rd season)
Overall: 311-229 (16th season)
George Mason Scouting Report:
• After starting 0-8 in Atlantic 10 play, the Patriots have won their last two games, defeating Duquesne 74-68 and Massachusetts 91-80. Both of those wins came on the road. Like St. Bonaventure, George Mason has experienced several close losses, including a pair of overtime decisions at Saint Louis and at Rhode Island. Mason is 5-5 at the Patriot Center.
• Bryon Allen (15.3 points per game) and Sherrod Wright (14.6) lead the Patriots in scoring. Patrick Holloway averages 9.2 points per game and is shooting 43 percent (43-99) from three-point range. Jalen Jenkins averages 7.1 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game.
• George Mason is last in the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio and is 11th in the conference in both scoring defense (71.9) and field goal percentage defense (.451). In conference play, the Patriots allow 78 points per game.
Last Time Out: Bonnies Surge Past Fordham: Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Bonnies led nearly from start to finish and defeated Fordham 76-65. St. Bonaventure led by three midway through the second half but pulled away, first with a 9-2 run and then a 10-0 surge that made it 75-58 with 3:24 left. Matthew Wright and Andell Cumberbatch led St. Bonaventure with 18 points apiece, while Dion Wright had 10 points and nine rebounds. The Bonnies shot 49 percent from the field and outrebounded the Rams 40-28 to post their first A-10 road win.
Ndoye's Progression: While he is in just his fifth season playing the game, junior center Youssou Ndoye has shown growth in all facets. His freshman season, playing behind A10 Player of the Year Andrew Nicholson, Ndoye averaged 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds. Last season, the 7-footer improved to 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. This season, he's up to 9.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, with three of his four career double-doubles. In A-10 games, he has been even better, averaging 11 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. His 52 blocks rank seventh in Bona's single-season records; Ndoye stands fourth on Bona's career blocks list with 110. Ndoye came to St. Bonaventure weighing about 200 pounds and now is at 240.
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 8.0 points: Matthew Wright (15.3), Charlon Kloof (12.5), Andell Cumberbatch (9.9), Youssou Ndoye (9.4), Dion Wright (9.2), Simmons (8.2), and Gathers (8.0). Every one of those players except Dion Wright have led the Bonnies in scoring at least once. The Bonnies rank sixth in the A-10 in scoring at 74.1 points per game.
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 15.3 points per game, which ranks 10th in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He also leads the A-10 in free throw shooting percentage at .859. Wright has scored in double figures 16 times topped by a 32-point outburst against Southern Illinois. He also has been an effective distributor, handing out 75 assists so far (3.3 per game, 11th in the A-10). Best known for his three-point shooting, Wright has made 45 threes (45-133/.338), which is the eighth-best total among A-10 players. In A-10 play, Wright is shooting 38 percent from long range.
Kloof Leads The Pack: Senior point guard Charlon Kloof certainly has to be in the conversation about the most improved players in the Atlantic 10 Conference. After losing his starting spot last year, Kloof's playing time and production dropped, but this season he has been a completely different player. A leader on and off the court, the Bonnies rely heavily on his production. Start with playing time: he's on the court 33 minutes per game, playing 36 minutes or more 11 times. Kloof's offensive production has more than doubled from last season (5.3 to 12.5 points per game), and 15 of his 28 career games scoring in double figures have been this season. Kloof averages 4.8 assists per game average (third best in the A-10) compared to 2.0 per game last season, and he has 115 assists against 65 turnovers -- the fifth-best assist-to-TO ratio in the A-10. Kloof also helps key the Bonnies' improved defense, regularly taking on the defensive assignment against other top guards. In the Bonnies' win over UMass Jan. 29, he helped limit Chaz Williams to 11 points on 3-10 shooting; LaSalle's Tyreek Duren scored 16 points but went 5-14 from the field with just two assists; Saint Louis' Jordair Jett went 5-12 with four turnovers.
Bench Press: St. Bonaventure's bench has outscored opponents in 17 of 24 games this season, including eight out of 10 conference games. The Bonnies' four main players coming off the bench contribute 21 points per game: Dion Wright (9.2), Jordan Gathers (8.0), Chris Dees (2.0) and Denzel Gregg (1.8).
