St. Bonaventure Game Notes (PDF)

TV: Time Warner SportsChannel with Brendan McDaniels and Richard Walsh
Radio: WPIG 95.7 FM, ESPN Radio 1450 AM (Olean, NY) with Gary Nease (pxp) and Don Scholla
Free Video Streaming: GoBonnies.com (Note: Time Warner policy does not allow the game to be streamed in New York State)
Twitter: @BonniesMBB 

Ticket Promotion: $6 tickets available by mentioning the YMCA at the SBU Ticket Office

The Starting Five Notes:

1.  St. Bonaventure returns to game action for the first time since Dec. 8 when the Bonnies host South Carolina State.  Idle for the last 10 days during final exams, St. Bonaventure hopes to pick up where it left off – winning its last three games prior to the break. The Bulldogs are 5-6 on the season after a loss at Duquesne on Wednesday but are a very competitive team with capable scorers.
2.  Over its last two games, St. Bonaventure rediscovered its three-point shooting stroke. Entering the Ohio game, the Bonnies' three-point percentage for the season was just .269, but they improved that average to .324 by going 21-42 (.500) over the Ohio and Vermont games.  Jaylen Adams led the way, making 12 of 17 three-pointers while Nelson Kaputo was a perfect 5-5.
3.  Seniors Dion Wright and Marcus Posley continue to lead this team and are both off to strong starts to their final season in the Brown and White. Wright is 11th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 16.8 points per game and second in rebounding (9.0). He has four double-doubles. Posley stands 10th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (17.1); he has two 20+ point games and a 35-point game.
4.  While most of the attention goes to Posley and Wright, point guard Jaylen Adams is just as important. The sophomore averages 16 points and 4.9 assists and improved his three-point shooting percentage to .420 thanks to his hot streak the past two games.
5.  St. Bonaventure's 6-2 start mirrors its records at the same point each of the last two years. A win Saturday would equal the start of last year's team. 

St. Bonaventure's Last Game: Bonnies 80, Vermont 68
Jaylen Adams scored a career high 28 points and had seven assists to lead St. Bonaventure to an 80-68 win over Vermont on Dec. 8 in the Reilly Center. The win was the Bonnies' third straight and lifted their record to 6-2 going into a 10-day break for semester exams. Adams made seven of 10 shots from three-point range, finishing one shy of tying the school record. The sophomore point guard made two of those in a span of 1:54 in the second half that broke a 45-45 tie. Adams' shooting sparked an 11-2 run that ended with the Bonnies ahead 56-47. St. Bonaventure built the lead to 73-56 with 7:02 remaining. Dion Wright scored 16 points – 10 in the second half – and Denzel Gregg added 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Marcus Posley had an effective night of eight points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals. St. Bonaventure finished 11-20 from three point range and made 51.8 percent of its shots overall.

Scouting The Bulldogs: SCS lost at Duquesne 83-68 on Wednesday. The Bulldogs led 39-38 at halftime but were undone by 10 second half turnovers. Eric Eaves leads SCS in scoring at 15.3 points per game while Ed Stephens is right behind him at 14.2. Stephens is the team's top three-point shooter at 45 percent for the year (32-71). Gabriel McCray averages 11 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Series Notes:
This will be the first meeting between the schools. 

Adams Keys Bonnies From Point
It's been over 10 years since the Bona program had a four-year starter at point guard; the last was Marques Green (2001-04). Sophomore Jaylen Adams has the chance to become the next. Adams' freshman season ended after 22 games due to a broken finger that required surgery. That injury also likely kept the A-10's coaches from putting Adams on the All-Rookie team – a spot that seemed a sure thing considering he was averaging 10 points and 4.5 assists per game at the time of his injury. Adams also led all A-10 players in assist-to-turnover ratio, and shot a respectable 32 percent from three point range. He's off to a great start to his sophomore season, avergaing 16.0 points and 4.5 assists per game. Adams is shooting .420 from three-point range and leads the Bonnies in three-pointers (21) and assists (39).

Kaputo Catching On Quick
St. Bonaventure's current eight-man lineup means freshman guard Nelson Kaputo not only has the chance to play right away, his contribution coming off the bench is close to a necessity. Known for his quickness and ball-handling, Kaputo has started his career well, averaging 6.6 points and 3.0 assists per game. He's shown the abilty to both penetrate defenses and set up teammates as well as make three-point shots, going 15-34 (.441) from long range including 5-5 over the past two games.

Unorthodox and Undervalued
If you described Dion Wright as undervalued and overlooked – three years ago as a high school senior or even today -- you would be completely accurate.
• Wright played in only 13 games his freshman year and scored just 36 points. He made a huge improvement his sophomore season, playing in all 33 games and averaging 8.7 points and 4.8 rebounds.
• At the start of 2014-15, Sport Illustrated listed Wright among its "Projected Breakout Players" for the year. He certainly proved SI correct, becoming one of the better all-around players in the Atlantic 10. He ranked in the top 15 in the Atlantic 10 in six different statistical categories: 11th in scoring at 13.5 points per game; 12th in rebounding (7.0), eighth in field goal percentage (.542), 12th in free throw percentage (.774), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.9 per game) and fourth in minutes per game (35.1 per game). Wright scored in double figures 26 times and recorded five double-doubles.
• Wright has started out his senior season extremely well. With more pressure and without the luxury of playing alongside 2015 graduate Youssou Ndoye, Wright is averaging 16.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game with an A-10 high four double-doubles. He scored a career high 26 points to lead the Bonnies to a 60-58 win at Buffalo Dec. 2. Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt calls Wright's offensive game "unorthodox" – which we are certain suits Wright just fine. He also is 122 points away from 1,000 for his career.

Posley Puts Slow Start in Rear View
The seasons's first two games were uncharacteristically quiet for senior guard Marcus Posley. A preseason All-Conference selection after he averaged 16.7 points per game last season, Posley scored only five points in the season opener and nine at Syracuse. He was 5-26 from the field over those two games (4-18 from three-point range) and did not attempt a free throw. Since the Loyola game, however, Posley has looked more like himself. He scored 26 points against Loyola, then dominated at Canisius, scoring 35 points, which was one shy of his career high, and scored 22 against Hofstra. Posley scored 13 points at Buffalo thanks to a tough shooting night but he did make the game-winning jumper with eight seconds left, then he scored 19 points against Ohio. Posley is now averaging 17.1 points per game, which ranks 10th in the Atlantic 10. He also leads all A-10 players in minutes played (37.9 per game) and is 11th in assists (4.0/game).