Location: Blue Cross Arena - Rochester, N.Y.

Box Score (PDF) | Final Stats and Play-by-Play

St. Bonaventure Starters: #3 G Marcus Posley, #10 G Jaylen Adams,  #21 F Dion Wright, #23 G Andell Cumberbatch, #35 C Youssou Ndoye

The Short Story:
Senior center Youssou Ndoye scored a career high 28 points and added 13 rebounds to lead St. Bonaventure to a 75-55 victory over George Mason Wednesday evening in Rochester.

After falling behind 12-4 early in the game, the Bonnies showed resilience, responding with a 12-2 run to pull ahead 16-14 with 12:00 left in the first half. St. Bonaventure would not give up the lead for the remainder of the game, holding a 20-point lead for the majority of the second half.

Marcus Posley had a big game, converting five three-pointers on his way to a 22-point night. Senior swingman Andell Cumberbatch added 12 points in the winning effort.

How It Happened:

• After falling behind 12-4 early in the game, the Bonnies responded with a 12-2 run, pulling ahead 16-14 with 12:00 remaining in the first half.
• After exchanging baskets for the next chunk of minutes, Ndoye nailed a jump shot to put the Bonnies up 24-18 with 7:24 remaining.
• Marcus Posley then hit a deep three on the following possession to give St. Bonaventure a 27-18 lead with 6:05 left.
• Ndoye then slammed home a put-back dunk to electrify the crowd and push the Bonnies' lead to double digits at 29-18.
• Posley hit another three to cap a 10-0 Bonnies run that pushed the lead to 32-18.
• The Bonnies entered intermission with a 38-22 lead thanks to a 16-4 run spanning over the final eight minutes of the half.
• The momentum carried into the second half, as St. Bonaventure surged ahead 47-28 off an Andell Cumberbatch fast-break dunk with 15:06 remaining.
• After a quiet couple of minutes from both teams, Ndoye drew an and-1 slam that put the Brown and White up 53-32 with 9:45 remaining.
• St. Bonaventure continued to push its lead. Ndoye slammed home another and-1 dunk with 3:00 left in the game and the Bonnies led 69-45. 
• The 20-point margin equalled the Bonnies' largest margin of victory this season (Dartmouth).

Beyond The Boxscore:

• With 38 points in the first half, St. Bonaventure nearly equaled its game total from its last game, a 60-41 loss at Richmond.
• The Bonnies' defense was superb all night as they held the Patriots to 38 percent shooting, including 33 percent (7-21) in the first half.reggLed by Ndoye, St. Bonaventure dominated the rebounding, 41-28.
• Ndoye's previous career high in points was 23 earlier this season against Niagara.
• Posley's five three-pointers are a new career high.
• St. Bonaventure has now won its last two games at Blue Cross Arena; the Bonnies are 8-11 all-time there.
• The Bonnies received valuable contributions from their bench, especially in the first half from Chris Dees, Denzel Gregg and Idris Taqqee. Dees had five rebounds and two assists, Gregg had five rebounds and two blocks, and Taqqee grabbed three rebounds.
• The game featured a matchup of two of the A-10's best centers, Ndoye and Mason's Shevon Thompson, a head-to-head battle won easily by Ndoye. While Thompson had 18 points, he had only four rebounds - seven below his conference-leading average.

Quotes From Coach Mark Schmidt:
"Going into the game, we talked about what happened at Richmond and at home against Dayton … about defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball. I thought our guys really responded. (The team) did a great job with the scouting report, looking at the personnel, and being able to guard them."

"Youssou (Ndoye) had a tremendous game. Whenever your inside guy plays well both offensively and defensively it helps your team. When you have a big guy who is active like Youssou was today both offensively and defensively, it makes our team that much better."

 "We had a ton more shots than they did … even though we shot a lower percentage in the first half (than George Mason), we had more field goals and we defended. We defended the three … at one point they were 0-10."

"When you out rebound them it really takes away the other team's heart. Second chance points are a big part of winning basketball games."

 "It's always good to come to Rochester. We've been up here five times since I've been the coach. I thought we had a great crowd tonight and hopefully the Bonaventure fans liked what they saw."

 "I thought Chris Dees gave us a big lift coming off the bench, he played out of position at the four today with Dion (Wright) in foul trouble; he really responded, and that was good to see." 

Up Next:
The Bonnies return home to the Reilly Center on Sunday, Jan. 18 to host Saint Joseph's. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m.​ and the game will air on NBC Sports Network.