The Starting Five Notes

1.  Winner of four straight, St. Bonaventure heads east to Long Island to face Hofstra. These teams not only each have four-game winning streaks, they both average better than 80 points per game and are strong three-point shooting teams.

2.  One of the top 50 candidates for the John Wooden Award, Bonnies junior point guard Jaylen Adams moved up to second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (22.3) with two big games last week. Adams scored 27 points in the Bonnies' win over Siena, then scored 29 in the win over Buffalo. He was named the co-Player of the Week in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

3.  Junior guard Matt Mobley joins Adams to give St. Bonaventure a backcourt that together averages 43 points per night. Off to a fantastic start to his debut season at St. Bonaventure, Mobley, who sat out last year after transferring from Central Connecticut State, ranks fifth in the A-10 in scoring (20.7 points per game) and leads the A-10 in three-pointers (3.1 per game). He has five 20-point games including the first double-double of his career.

4.  Senior Denzel Gregg has been the leader most people assumed he would be as a senior.  Gregg is averaging 12.3 points, a team-high 6.7 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game with three double-doubles. Last Saturday, he was a major reason the Bonnies beat Buffalo as he totalled 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Gregg is third in the A-10 in blocked shots.

5.  Senior forward David Andoh was slowed by a foot injury in the summer, but has come on strong the past two weeks. Over the last four games, Andoh averaged 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds. He scored a season-high 13 points against Siena and then had 12 against Buffalo. 

St. Bonaventure's Last Game: Bonnies 90, Buffalo 84
Jaylen Adams led St. Bonaventure to a 90-84 win over Buffalo on Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center. Adams scored 28 points and added eight assists, four rebounds and four steals as the Bonnies won their fourth in a row. St. Bonaventure had to sweat out this win, however. The Bonnies led 48-35 at halftime and were up 83-72 with 2:16 left before Buffalo began to rally. With a flurry of three-point shots, the Bulls closed to within 86-84 on a Blake Hamilton long range jumper with 25 seconds left. Idris Taqqee made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining to give the Bonnies breathing room, and the Bulls then turned the ball over on their final possession. Adams had plenty of help as four of his teammates scored in double figures. Idris Taqqee scored 16 points, Denzel Gregg finished with 14, David Andoh 12 and Josh Ayeni 10. Matt Mobley finished with nine points and six assists. 

St. Bonaventure vs. Hofstra - The Last Meeting:
Nov. 25, 2015 at the Reilly Center: Hofstra 89, Bonnies 83
St. Bonaventure trailed by 10 points, 79-69, with 2:48 before rallying. Nelson Kaputo's three-pointer with 37 seconds remaining capped an 8-2 run that pulled St. Bonaventure within 81-80. Ameen Tanksley made two free throws to make it an 83-80 game, and Jaylen Adams' potential game-tying three-pointer was off the mark with 26 seconds left. Hofstra sealed the outcome at the free throw line. St. Bonaventure led 42-37 at halftime after it held the Pride to 36 percent shooting in the opening half. It was a 59-57 Bonnies lead when Hofstra went on a 16-1 run to take a 73-60 lead by the 6:41 mark. Adams led the Bonnies with 24 points while senior guard Marcus Posley scored 22, while enior forward Dion Wright had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double.

Hofstra Notes:
• The Pride have won four games in a row, moving to 6-3 with an 88-80 win at Florida Atlantic on Saturday. Hofstra's other wins in the streak were over South Dakota, Medaille and Columbia.
• Coached by former Niagara head man Joe Mihalich, Hofstra is a high-scoring, guard-oriented club. Hofstra averages 80.3 points per game and has topped the 85-point mark four times already. As a team, Hofstra shoots .407 from three-point range and averages 9.4 three-pointers per game -- 14th nationally in three-pointers.
• Freshman guard Eli Pemberton leads the Pride in scoring at 15.3 points per game. He had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Florida Atlantic. Pemberton has made 21 three-pointers and shoots .512 from long range.
• Senior guard Brian Bernardi is another long-range specialist, connecting on nearly 40 percent of his three-point shots and averaging 14.4 points per game. Guard Deron Powers averages 12.8 points and 4.2 assists per game. Forward Rokas Gustys leads all NCAA Division I players in rebounding at 14.0 per game. 

Series Notes:
This is only the fifth meeting between the schools. St. Bonaventure holds a 3-1 lead in the series, which dates to 1978.

Adams Named A-10 Player of Week
After superb performances in leading St. Bonaventure to wins over Siena and Buffalo, junior Jaylen Adams was named the co-Player of the Week in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Adams averaged 28.0 points, 6.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He connected on eight of his 16 three-point shots. Adams scored 27 points against Siena and 29 in the win over Buffalo. Adams is certainly off to a fast start to his junior season. He is second in the A-10 in scoring (22.3 ppg), assists (6.1 apg) and three-pointers (3.0/game) as well as fourth in steals (2.4). Adams has three straight 20-point games and five on the year. After a slow start shooting, he went 12-26 from three-point range over the past three games.

Gregg Provides Senior Leadership
Like many St. Bonaventure players before, Denzel Gregg's career has been marked by improvement, a testament to the program's players development. The team's only four-year senior, the 6-7 forward is off to a strong start to his final year. He has scored in double figures four straight games, averaging 12.2 points per game over that span. His 12.1 average for the year is almost three points a game better than last year. At the same time, Gregg continues to be a factor on both ends of the floor. He stands eighth in the A-10 in rebounding (6.7) and third in blocked shots (1.9/game). 

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, is third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (20.7 points per game) and leads the A-10 in three-point field goals (3.1 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 2.8 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 8.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and nearly two assists per game. He has scored in double figures three of the past four games. 

Ayeni Shows Promise
Freshman forward Josh Ayeni has earned a starting spot -- rare for a first-year player in most programs but perhaps even moreso at St. Bonaventure. 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. Ayeni had another solid week last week, highlighted by 10 points and five rebounds against Buffalo. 

Andoh Brings Offense
Like Matt Mobley, David Andoh is not "new" in the sense that he practiced with the Bonnies last season after transferring (from Liberty). The senior battled a stress fracture in his foot over the summer which set him back at the start of practice, but as he has gotten in better shape Andoh has begun to show he can be very productive. Coming off the bench, Andoh averaged 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds the last two games, going 10-21 from the field as he posted his first two double-figure scoring games of the year. 

Schmidt Reaches 150 Wins
Now in his 10th season as head coach at St. Bonaventure, Mark Schmidt ranks third on the program's all-time coaching wins list with 151. The Nov. 30 win over Siena was his 150th at St. Bonaventure.