The Starting Five Notes +ONE
1. St. Bonaventure visits Dayton for the second meeting of the season with the Flyers. Dayton took an 85-79 decision from the Bonnies at the Reilly Center in January, and now the Flyers are ranked in the top 15 in both national polls. St. Bonaventure looks to bounce back from a loss at La Salle and continue its quest for a top four regular season finish in the A-10.
2. The "big three" of senior forward Dion Wright, senior guard Marcus Posley and sophomore guard Jaylen Adams is the second-highest scoring trio in the A-10 (Davidson is first). The three combine to average 52.7 points per game. They all rank in the top 15 scorers in the Atlantic 10 with Posley (18.7) fourth, Adams (17.9) eighth and Wright (16.1) 15th.
3. As of Feb. 19, St. Bonaventure is 51st in the Ratings Percentage Index list on NCAA.com. The Bonnies are 2-2 against top 50 teams and 4-5 against the top 100.
4. With little fanfare, Dion Wright continues to be one of the most effective and productive players in the A-10. He leads all A-10 players with 11 double-doubles and is the second-leading rebounder (9.0) and 15th-leading scorer (16.1) in the conference. His 12th double-double will be the most of any player during Mark Schmidt's nine seasons as coach.
5. Adams continues to make a case for himself to be included in discussions of the most improved players in the A-10. His three-point shooting percentage has improved from .324 last year to an A-10 leading .457 this season, contributing to his 7.9 points-per game jump in scoring. A two-time A-10 Player of the Week, Adams is also second in the A-10 in assists.
6. St. Bonaventure has a chance to break the program record for A-10 wins in a season of 11 set in 1999-00.
Dayton Quick Notes:
• The Flyers are ranked 13th in this week's USA Today Coaches poll and 15th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
• Dayton saw its nine-game win streak snapped at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, 79-70. Charles Cooke paced five Flyers in double figures with 16 points.
• Cooke leads Dayton in scoring at 16 points per game followed by Dyshaun Pierre (13.2), Kendall Pollard (11.0) and Scoochie Smith (10.2). Pierre is Dayton's top rebounder with a 7.7 average.
• Pollard is day-to-day with a knee bruise. He sat out the past two games.
St. Bonaventure vs. Dayton: The Last Meeting
Jan. 19, 2016 at the Reilly Center: Dayton 85, St. Bonaventure 79
Trailing by 31 points early in the second half, St. Bonaventure battled back but ultimately ran out of time and fell, 85-79. It was a tale of two completely opposite halves for two teams who entered the night with 4-1 records in the Atlantic 10. The Bonnies saw the Flyers dominate the first half with defense and 65 percent shooting en route to a 45-18 lead. St. Bonaventure then outscored the Dayton 61-40 in the second half, making 10 of 18 three-point shots. The Flyers led 56-25 with 13:07 left, but Marcus Posley's three-pointer, his fifth of the half, pulled the Bonnies to within 79-70 at the 1:26 mark. The Flyers were able to stave off the comeback attempt with free throws and a Kendall Pollard dunk. Posley led all scorers with 31 points, 27 of which came in the second half. Jaylen Adams scored 27 points and added six assists.
Series History:
This will be the 30th meeting between the teams; Dayton leads the series 21-9 and has won 13 of the last 14 games. St. Bonaventure's last win at UD Arena came in 2002.
Nine Atlantic 10 Wins
St. Bonaventure's nine Atlantic 10 Conference wins this season are tied for the third most ever in the 37 years the Bonnies have been members of the A-10. The top A-10 win totals and winning percentages in the program's history:
Wins Season W-L (Pct.)
11 1999-00 11-5 (.687)
10 2014-15 10-8 (.555)
2011-12 10-6 (.625)
1985-86 10-8 (.555)
1982-83 10-4 (.714)
9 2015-16 9-4 (.692)
2000-01 9-7 (.562)
1994-95 9-7 (.562)
St. Bonaventure Vs. Ranked Teams
This is St. Bonaventure's first game this season against a ranked opponent.
• The Bonnies have won their last three games against ranked opponents. Last season, they played just one game against a Top 25 team, 18th-ranked VCU, and prevailed 73-71 at the Reilly Center Feb. 7.
• In the 2013-14 season, the Bonnies won two games against ranked teams – a 71-68 decision over #19/20 Saint Louis on March 14, 2014 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament and a 78-65 win over #21/19 Massachusetts on Jan. 29 at the Reilly Center.
• Prior to those three wins, St. Bonaventure had lost 24 consecutive games to ranked teams.
• All-time, St. Bonaventure is 12-60 against ranked opponents -- 10-25 at the Reilly Center and 2-35 away from the RC.
National Leader In Free Throws
Traditionally a strength of Mark Schmidt's teams, St. Bonaventure has taken its free throw shooting to a new level this season. As of Feb. 18, the Bonnies lead the nation in free throw percentage at 77.9 percent. Guards Jaylen Adams and Marcus Posley both shoot better than 81 percent at the line and are in the top five in the A-10 in free throw percentage. At .879, Adams ranks second in the A-10 and 15th nationally.
Milestone Watch For Posley, Wright
• Marcus Posley (966 points) is 34 points away from 1,000 for his career at St. Bonaventure, and 51 points shy of 500 for the season.
• Dion Wright (611 rebounds) needs 26 rebounds to move into the top 20 rebounders all-time at St. Bonaventure.
Adams Playing At All-Conference Level
Last season, a broken finger ended point guard Jaylen Adams' superb freshman season prematurely. The injury 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 and led the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio at the time. This year, he has played at an All-Conference level.
• Adams leads the A-10 in three-point percentage (.457) and ranks sixth in scoring (17.9), second in assists (5.1 per game), fourth in three-pointers per game (2.9) and second in free throw percentage (.879). Adams' .457 three-point percentage ranks 12th nationally.
• Adams has a chance at the school record for three-point field goal percentage in a season of .456 set by Rich McCormick in 1986-87.
• Adams has been named the A-10 Player of the Week twice this season, most recently for the week ending Feb. 7.
