St. Bonaventure Game Notes (PDF)
TV: Time Warner SportsChannel with Ben Wagner and Brendan McDaniels
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: Faith Night (discounted tickets and food/drink vouchers to all who attend Faith Night)
The Starting Five Notes:
1. St. Bonaventure hosts Vermont looking for its fifth win in the last six games. This will be the first meeting between the schools. Following this game, the Bonnies will be idle 10 days for final exams.
2. In Saturday's win over a quality Ohio team, St. Bonaventure rediscovered its shooting stroke from three-point range. Entering the game, the Bonnies' three-point percentage for the season was just .269, but they improved that number by 30 points with a 10-22 game (.455). Jaylen Adams (5-7) and Nelson Kaputo (3-3) combined to go 8-10 from behind the arc.
3. Seniors Dion Wright and Marcus Posley continue to lead this team and are both off to strong start to their final season in the Brown and White. Wright is 11th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 16.9 points per game and second in rebounding (9.3). He has four double-doubles. Posley stands fifth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (18.4) and has two 20+ point games and a 35-point game. He also made the game-winning shot at Buffalo.
4. While most of the attention goes to Posley and Wright, point guard Jaylen Adams is just as important. The sophomore averages 14.3 points and 4.5 assists and improved his three-point shooting percentage to .350 thanks to the 5-7 night against Ohio.
5. As it has since the start of the season, St. Bonaventure continues to play with just eight healthy scholarship players. Both Jordan Tyson and Courtney Stockard are out indefinitely due to injuries.
St. Bonaventure's Last Game: Bonnies 81, Ohio 68
Capitalizing on almost every opportunity, St. Bonaventure posted an impressive, 81-68 win over Ohio on Saturday afternoon in the Reilly Center. Jaylen Adams scored 22 points, Marcus Posley had 19 and Dion Wright 14 to lead the Bonnies to their fifth win of the season. The play of freshman guard Nelson Kaputo and junior forward Denzel Gregg should not be overlooked, however, as they both scored nine points. Kaputo hit all three of his three-point shots during a pivotal stretch in the second half when St. Bonaventure turned a five-point deficit into a commanding lead.
St. Bonaventure trailed 45-40 early in the second half but turned that around with a 10-0 run. Bolstered by hot shooting and several easy scores off Ohio turnovers, the lead grew to 16 points by the 4:53 mark. The Bonnies made six of their 11 three-point shots in the second half. The defensive effort St. Bonaventure gave may have been more impressive, as they limited an Ohio team averaging 84 points per game. The Bonnies also outrebounded the Bobcats 37-32 and committed only six turnovers. Wright led the Bonnies with 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season.
Scouting The Catamounts:
This is the last of a three-game road trip for Vermont. The Cats lost at Yale, 72-54, on Saturday afternoon. They had won their two previous games against Dartmouth and Marist. A traditional power in America East, Vermont has won 20 games or more seven years in a row and reached postseason play the last four seasons (one NCAA). Vermont has a balance of veterans and young talent under head coach John Becker. Trae Bell-Haynes (13.0 ppg), Ethan O'Day (12.4), Ernie Duncan (12.3) and Kurt Steidl (9.9) are Vermont's top scorers. Cam Ward, the 6th Man of the Year in the America East last year as a freshman, is averaging 9.0 points. Vermont was predicted to finish third in the America East this season while O'Day was a preseason all-conference choice.
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 good start to his sophomore season, avergaing 14.3 points and 4.5 assists per game. Adams scored 16 points against both Syracuse and Loyola, 24 against Hofstra and 22 against Ohio. He is shooting .350 from three-point range.
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 6.7 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 13-32 (.406) from long range. He was 3-3 from behind the arc, all in the second half, against Ohio.
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 17 points and 9.3 rebounds per game with 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 138 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 start of 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 18.4 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10.
