St. Bonaventure Game Notes (PDF)

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NIT Central

The Starting FIVE NOTES + One
1. Wednesday will be a special night as St. Bonaventure hosts Wagner in the first round of the NIT. The Bonnies are the No. 1 overall seed in the NIT and will host their first postseason game since 1995 (NIT). The winner of this game advances to face the Creighton-Alabama winner. St. Bonaventure is making its 16th appearance in the NIT and first since 2002.
2.  A record-breaking regular season culminated with the Bonnies as co-champions of the Atlantic 10 for the first time. This is also the first year since 1976-77 that St. Bonaventure won 20 games in the regular season. Overall, it is the 14th season of 20 wins or more in school history.  St. Bonaventure also set a program record for Atlantic 10 Conference wins (14).
3.  Mark Schmidt was named the A-10 Coach of the Year for the first time after he guided the Bonnies to their record-breaking season. This is St. Bonaventure's second 20-win season in the last five years, both under Schmidt.
4.  Bona's "big three" of senior forward Dion Wright, Posley and sophomore point guard Jaylen Adams combine to average 54.3 points per game. They all rank in the top 15 scorers in the Atlantic 10 with Posley (19.7) second, Adams (17.7) ninth and Wright (16.9) 13th. All three players have scored over 500 points this season; Posley has 1,108 points over his two seasons.
5.  Adams was a first team All-Conference selection while Posley made the All-Conference second team and Denzel Gregg was named co-winner of the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year.
6.  Wright has 13 double-doubles this season, the most in the Atlantic 10. He comes off a 32-point, 15-rebound performance against Davidson – both of which were career highs.

Schmidt Named Coach of Year; Adams, Posley, Gregg Receive A-10 Awards
Following their most successful Atlantic 10 Conference season ever, three St. Bonaventure players received All-Conference honors, and Mark Schmidt was named the 2015-16 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, the A-10 announced today. Sophomore point guard Jaylen Adams was named to the all-conference first team and senior guard Marcus Posley was selected to the second team. Junior forward Denzel Gregg was chosen the co-winner of the Sixth Man of the Year award. Read more 

Adams + Posley = Dynamic Duo
Together, the backcourt of Jaylen Adams and Marcus Posley average 37.4 points, 8.5 assists and 5.2 three-pointers per game. They both shoot better than 36 percent from three-point range and better than 81 percent at the free throw line. Between them, they have made 157 three-pointers and 279 free throws, and they have accounted for 24 games of 20 points or more. 

Wright Piles Up Double-Doubles
Dion Wright has 13 double-doubles this season, the most by an Atlantic 10 player this season and most by any player during Mark Schmidt's nine seasons as Bonnies coach. His most recent was a big one: career highs of 32 points and 15 rebounds against Davidson in the A-10 Tournament.  Nine of Wright's double-doubles were against A-10 teams.

Gregg Co-Sixth Man of Year
Junior forward Denzel Gregg's reverse, no-look dunk at George Mason Jan. 6 landed him on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day, but his value to the Bonnies is far more than highlight reel dunks. That was reinforced by the A-10's coaches, who voted Gregg the A-10 co-Sixth Man of the Year. Some of Gregg's season highlights:
• 15 of his 16 career games in double figures have been this year, including nine of Bona's A-10 games. He scored a career high 22 points in a win over Rhode Island.
• Gregg's presence on the defensive end is also critical; he is seventh in the A-10 in blocks (1.3) and is second on the team in defensive rebounds.
• Like teammate Dion Wright, Gregg is a player who has developed from a little-known recruit into a productive player. 

Schmidt Third On Coaching Win List
Now in his ninth season as head coach at St. Bonaventure, Mark Schmidt recently moved into third place on the program's all-time coaching wins list. This season, he has passed Eddie Donovan, Jim Baron and Mike Reilly. Schmidt is the fourth-longest tenured coach in the Atlantic 10 behind St. Joseph's Phil Martelli (now in his 20th season), LaSalle's John Giannini (12th) and Richmond's Chris Mooney (10th). 

Three-Point Threat
Thanks to a hot streak the last six games, St. Bonaventure now leads the A-10 and ranks 43rd nationally in three-point field goal percentage at .377. Over their last six games, the Bonnies made 55 of 127 three-point attempts -- a 43 percent clip. As the season percentage attests, that kind of shooting is not an abberation. The Bonnies have a chance at the school record for three-point percentage of .378 set by the 1988-89 team.

Fourth In Nation 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 March 13, the Bonnies rank fourth in the nation in free throw percentage at 77.2 percent. Guards Jaylen Adams and Marcus Posley both shoot better than 81 percent at the line while Dion Wright is close behind at 79 percent. At .873, Adams ranks fourth in the A-10 and 21st nationally. 

Offense Trending Toward Best Under Schmidt
The Bonnies are averaging 77.8 points per game, which is on pace for the best average during coach Mark Schmidt's nine seasons. Schmidt's highest-scoring team to this point was in 2013-14 when the Bonnies averaged 73.4 points per game. 

Wagner Scouting Report
Wagner is 22-10 and was the regular season champion of the Northeast Conference. The Seahawks lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in the championship game of the NEC. Wagner has won seven of its last eight games. Corey Henson (13.7 points per game) and Michael Carey (12.6) are the top scorers on a balanced team.