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The Starting Five Notes 

1.  Wednesday night, St. Bonaventure returns home to face Siena in the annual Franciscan Cup game. The Bonnies have not captured the Cup since 2013, dropping close games to the Saints each of the last three seasons. This is just St. Bonaventure's second home game of the season. It is an 8 p.m. start as the Bona women's team hosts Stony Brook at 5:30.

2.  The Bonnies went 2-1 at the Lone Star Showcase in Austin, Texas, last week. After an opening loss to Arkansas Little Rock, St. Bonaventure bounced back with convincing wins over Central Michigan and Pepperdine. Matt Mobley averaged 22 points and six assists over the three games while Jaylen Adams averaged 19 points per game. Denzel Gregg also had a strong tournament with double-doubles in two games.

3.  One of the top 50 candidates for the John Wooden Award, Adams is fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (20 points per game) and second in assists (6.0).

4.  Junior guard Matt Mobley is off to a fantastic start to his debut season at St. Bonaventure. Mobley, who sat out last year after transferring from Central Connecticut State, leads the A-10 in scoring (23.2 points per game) and three-pointers (4.0 per game). He has four 20-point games and recorded the first double-double of his career in the win over Pepperdine.

5.  Senior Denzel Gregg comes off back-to-back double-doubles in his last two games, helping key the Bonnies' wins over Central Michigan and Pepperdine. Gregg is now averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game.

St. Bonaventure vs. Siena - The Last Meeting:
Dec. 22, 2016 at the Times Union Center:  Siena 73, Bonnies 70
St. Bonaventure came up just short at the Times Union Center, dropping a 73-70 decision to Siena in the annual Franciscan Cup game. The Bonnies committed three turnovers in the last three minutes of the game, none more critical than a travel called on Jaylen Adams with 10 seconds left when Bona trailed 71-70.  St. Bonaventure led 68-66 with 2:33 left after a jumper by Idris Taqqee. Siena, however, tied the game on a jumper by Marquis Wright and then, after an offensive foul call against Marcus Posley, Brett Bispeng drove for a layup with 40 seconds that gave the Saints the lead for good. The teams combined for 45 turnovers – 25 by Siena. 

Mobley Sprints Out Of Gate
By any measure, junior guard Matt Mobley is off to a fantastic start to his debut season at St. Bonaventure. Mobley, who sat out last year after transferring from Central Connecticut State, leads the Atlantic 10 in both scoring (23.2 points per game) and three-point field goals (4.0 per game). After opening the year with 21 points against St. Francis, he turned heads when he scored 28 points against Florida. He added two more 20-plus point games at the Lone Star Showcase, including his first career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds against Pepperdine. Mobley is doing much more than just scoring -- he is also averaging 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Mobley's production is not a surprise. He practiced with the Bonnies last season after transferring from Central Connecticut, where he averaged 17 points per game as a sophomore and was named the Northeast Conference's most improved player. Mobley had four games of 30-plus points that season. 

Taqqee The Bonnies' Glue Guy
Junior Idris Taqqee brings a hard-nosed, selfless approach to the court -- often described by Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt as a "glue guy" who does all the little things necessary for success. One of the team's co-captains for the second year in a row, Taqqee blossomed last year, starting every game and averaging 5.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Also a very reliable defender, he is typically assigned to the opponent's top wing. This year, Taqqee has already improved his production, averaging 8.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the young season.

Ayeni Shows Promise
Freshman forward Josh Ayeni earned a starting spot -- rare for a first-year player in most programs but perhaps even moreso at St. Bonaventure -- the last three games. He played very well in the Lone Star Showcase. averaging 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds over the three games there. A late signee for the Bonnies this past summer, Ayeni is a native of Nigeria who played high school basketball at St. Frances (Md.), a team in the same league as Jaylen Adams' Mount St. Joseph's.

Offense Stays Hot
The Bonnies averaged 77.9 points per game last season, the best average during coach Mark Schmidt's tenure and the third-highest scoring average in the A-10. Before that, Schmidt's highest-scoring team was in 2013-14 when the Bonnies averaged 73.4 points per game. Early this season, the Bonnies have clicked on offense despite having so many new players. Led by guards Jay Adams and Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure leads the A-10 in scoring at 82.8 points per game.