TV: Time Warner Cable Sports Channel with Brendan McDaniels and Richard Walsh. (SNY will air game on tape delay Sunday at 3:00)
Radio: WPIG 95.7 FM, ESPN Radio 1450 AM (Olean, NY) with Gary Nease (pxp) and Don Scholla
Twitter: @BonniesMBB
Game Promotions: "Super Bowl Sellout" -- the Bona fan base has been challenged to sell out the Reilly Center on this Super Bowl weekend. In addition, all fans are invited to a pre-game tailgate party outside the RC as part of Winter Carnival on campus.
The Starting Five Notes (plus one):
1. St. Bonaventure hosts La Salle in the only regular season meeting between the teams. The Bonnies, who had a mid-week bye, play at the Reilly Center for the first time in nearly two weeks. The teams are familiar with each other, having met three times last season. The game will feature a matchup of two of the A-10's best big men, Youssou Ndoye and Jerrell Wright, who have faced each other for three years already.
2. Junior guard Marcus Posley is the leading scorer in the Atlantic 10 at 17.8 points per game. His nine 20-point games – capped by a 36-point outburst at Duquesne – are the most of any A-10 player. Over the last four games, Posley averaged 21.7 points per game and made 18 of his 36 (.500) three-point attempts.
3. St. Bonaventure's anchor in the middle, 7-foot senior center Youssou Ndoye, is second in the A-10 in both rebounding (11.0) and blocked shots (2.9/game). Over the past four games, Ndoye has increased his offensive production, going 19-30 from the field and averaging 17.2 points per game.
4. Freshman point guard Jay Adams has continued his solid play into the conference season. In the Bonnies' seven Atlantic 10 games, he has 39 assists and only 10 turnovers. Adams tied the school record with 14 assists at Duquesne, and he also made the game-winning jumper with 20 seconds left in overtime. He was then named A-10 Rookie of the Week for the third time this year.
5. Dion Wright enjoyed a strong game at Rhode Island when he tied his career high with 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year.
6. St. Bonaventure's next win will be the 200th in Mark Schmidt's career as a head coach.
St. Bonaventure vs. LaSalle: Last Year's Meetings
March 13, 2014 at Barclays Center -- St. Bonaventure 82, LaSalle 72
Youssou Ndoye (19 points) paced a balanced scoring attack as the Bonnies advanced in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Bonnies went 18-20 at the line, outrebounded the Explorers 30-22 and committed just six turnovers (box score below).
Feb. 26, 2014 at Tom Gola Arena -- LaSalle 75, St. Bonaventure 67
St. Bonaventure led 67-66 with 2:23 left but could score the rest of the way as La Salle gained a split of the regular season series. Matthew Wright led the Bonnies with 18 points while Youssou Ndoye had 16.
Jan. 22, 2014 at Reilly Center -- St. Bonaventure 66, LaSalle 51
St. Bonaventure held the Explorers to 26 percent shooting in the second half to pull away for the win. The Bonnies had a 30-27 lead at halftime. Charlon Kloof led all scorers with 18 points.
Series Notes: This will be the 29th meeting between the teams in a series that dates to 1958. The Explorers lead the series 15-13.
La Salle Notes:
• Tuesday in Philadelphia, the Explorers fell behind by 15 points late in the first half but rallied to defeat Saint Joseph's 53-48. Jerrell Wright scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Cleon Roberts scored 14 points and Steve Zack grabbed 12 rebounds for LaSalle.
• The Explorers have two very experienced forwards in seniors Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack. Wright, who is 6-foot-8 and 245 lbs., is second on the team in both scoring (11.8 points per game) and rebounding (6.8). He shoots nearly 50 percent from the field. Zack, who is 6-11, is the Explorers' leading rebounder at 8.5 per game. Zack averages 8.4 points and two blocked shots per game.
• Guard Jordan Price is LaSalle's leading scorer at 15.8 points per game. He has made 34 three-pointers and shoots 32 percent from long range. Price also leads the Explorers with 49 assists.
• Guard Cleon Roberts is another strong perimeter shooter. He has 33 three-pointers for the season and has connected on 42 percent of his attempts. Roberts averages 9.5 points per game.
St. Bonaventure's Last Game: Rhode Island 53, Bonnies 48
Playing on the home floor of the A-10's best defensive team, St. Bonaventure battled but came up just short, falling 53-48 to Rhode Island last Sunday afternoon. The game was tied at 47-47 after two free throws by Youssou Ndoye with 2:32 left. The Rams benefitted from consecutive fouls called against Dion Wright and Marcus Posley, as T.J. Buchanan made four free throws, the last which gave Rhode Island a 51-47 lead with 1:37 remaining. Hassan Martin then blocked shots by Posley and Jaylen Adams and the Bonnies were forced to foul with 21 seconds left. The Rams sealed their win with two more free throws. St. Bonaventure saw its three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the A-10. Dion Wright tied his career high with 22 points and also added 10 rebounds. Posley, the leading scorer in the A-10, was held to six points on 3-12 shooting.
Ndoye Picks It Up In A-10
In A-10 games, senior center Youssou Ndoye has a .540 field goal percentage and is averaging 13.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Prior to the start of A-10 play, Ndoye was shooting .444 from the field. Over the past four games, Ndoye was 19-30 from the field and averaged 17.2 points per game.
Posley Regains A-10 Scoring Lead On Hot Streak
Marcus Posley has been one of the top scorers in the Atlantic 10 all season. Thanks to a recent hot streak, he re-took the A-10 scoring lead, now at 17.8 points per game:
• Over the last four games, which included a season-low six points at Rhode Island, Posley averaged 21.7 points per game. He went 30-69 (.437) from the field – 18-36 (.500) from three-point range.
• Posley had one of the best shooting nights ever by a St. Bonaventure player at Duquesne Jan. 22. He scored 36 points, the most by anyone in an A-10 game this season, including an incredible 12 over the final 2:35 when he led the Bonnies back from an 11-point deficit. Posley's three-pointer with six seconds left forced overtime. He went 8-11 from three-point range, tying the school record for three-pointers in a game. His 36 points are the second-most ever scored by a Bona player against an Atlantic 10 opponent behind only the 39 scored by Eric Mosley against UMass on Feb. 20, 2013 at the Reilly Center.
• Posley has nine 20-point games this season, the most of any A-10 player.
• Posley also leads the A-10 in three-point field goals per game (3.2).
Jay Adams Named A-10 Rookie of Week for Third Time
Bonnies point guard Jay Adams has been more than a pleasant surprise; he's been one of the best freshmen in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Remarkably consistent, particularly for a freshman, Adams is fifth on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game. Some additional points on Adams:
• Adams has been named the A-10 Rookie of the Week three times. He is the reigning winner after he averaged 12.5 points and 9.5 assists over two games last week at Duquesne and at Rhode Island. His other ROW citations were for the weeks ending Nov. 30 and Dec. 7.
• In the Jan. 22 overtime win at Duquesne, Adams scored the game-winner and tied the school record with 14 assists with no turnovers. It was the first time in St. Bonaventure history that a player has recorded that many assists without a turnover.
• In A-10 games, Adams has 39 assists against only 10 turnovers.
• Overall, Adams ranks third in the A-10 in assists per game (4.2), eighth in assist-to-TO ratio and seventh in free throw percentage (.795).
