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Men's Basketball

Return To Rochester: @BonniesMBB To Face Fordham In Lightower Conference Classic

St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: Fordham Rams

Date: Saturday, Jan. 14
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Rochester, N.Y.  |  Blue Cross Arena

Records:
St. Bonaventure 10-6 (2-2)   |   Fordham 7-10 (1-3)
Bonnies Statistics      |      Fordham Statistics

TV: NBC Sports Network with and Jason Knapp and Blaine Fowler
Radio: WPIG 95.7 FM with Gary Nease and Don Scholla
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Twitter: @BonniesMBB

Complete St. Bonaventure Game Notes (PDF) 

The Starting Five Notes + One
1.  St. Bonaventure returns to Rochester to host Fordham in the Lightower Conference Classic. The Bonnies hope to bounce back from a road loss to Richmond while Fordham got its first A-10 win on Wednesday at Davidson.

2.  This is St. Bonaventure's 21st game at Blue Cross Arena and the third straight season the Bonnies have hosted an Atlantic 10 game there. St. Bonaventure has won three in a row at BCA and is 9-11 there all-time. Last season's Lightower Conference Classic was an "instant classic" as the Bonnies beat Saint Joseph's 98-90 behind Marcus Posley's 47 points.

3.  The backcourt of Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley is the fourth highest scoring teammate tandem in the country, averaging 41.7 points per game. One of the top 50 candidates for the John Wooden Award, Adams leads the Atlantic 10 and ranks ninth nationally in scoring (22.3). He also leads the Atlantic 10 in assists and is second in three-point field goals. Mobley ranks fifth in the A-10 at 19.4 points per game and is the Bonnies' second-leading rebounder. Together, they fuel the A-10's top scoring offense (82.8 points per game).

4.  In his first year as a starter, senior Denzel Gregg is among the A-10 leaders in blocks and rebounding. Saturday, he will play an hour from his hometown of Syracuse.

5.  Coach Mark Schmidt needs one win to take sole possession of second place on the program's coaching wins list. Schmidt, the 2016 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, has 156 career wins and is tied with Jim Satalin.

6. Both teams will wear gold-colored shoelaces as they "Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer" to raise awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. To assist in this effort in the local community, St. Bonaventure Athletics will also make a contribution to Rochester's Golisano Children's Hospital. Fans are asked to donate at www.Go4theGoal.org/laceup.html to join the fight. 

Series Notes:
This will be the 39th meeting in a series that St. Bonaventure leads 23-15. The Bonnies have won nine of the last 10 meetings; the only loss in that stretch was at the Reilly Center on March 9, 2013, when Fordham played spoiler and knocked the Bonnies out of the A-10 Tournament. 

Fordham Notes:
•The Rams surprised Davidson on Wednesday, beating the Wildcats 60-54 in North Carolina. Fordham limited Davidson to shooting just 28.9 percent (13-45) from the field, including 19.0 percent (4-21) in the first half. The Rams limited the Wildcats to season lows for points and field goals made. Grad student Javontae Hawkins, a 6-5 forward, led Fordham with 17 points.
• Hawkins tops the Rams at 13.6 points per game on the season followed by forward Christian Sengfelder (12.2), point guard Joseph Chartouny (11.4) and guard Antwoine Anderson (10.9). Anderson is a Rochester native who attended Bishop Kearney.
• Fordham is near the bottom of the A-10 in scoring (67.3) and rebounding (-9.1 margin) but leads the A-10 in steals (10.4). 

St. Bonaventure vs. Fordham: The Last Meeting: Feb. 10, 2016 at Rose Hill Gym: Bonnies 76, Fordham 72 (OT)
St. Bonaventure survived an overtime test in the Bronx. Fordham led 66-62 with 3:09 left on a Ryan Rhoomes layup, but the Bonnies clawed back. Jaylen Adams tied the game with two free throws. Rhoomes missed two free throws with 1:53 left, then Dion Wright tied the game with 1:29 with two free throws. The Rams missed two shots on their final two possessions, the second a jumper by Antoine Anderson as time expired in regulation. In the extra session, Fordham took a 72-69 lead on two free throws with 2:04 remaining, but again the Bonnies answered. Idris Taqqee made a jumper off a pass from Jaylen Adams with 18 seconds left to put the Bonnies up 75-72.  The Rams' Joseph Chartouny missed a three-pointer trying to tie the game, and Posley sealed the win with a free throw. 

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 player development. A fan favorite for his highlight-reel dunks and blocks, the A-10's coaches named him the co-Sixth Man of the Year in 2015-16. The team's only four-year senior, the 6-7 forward is. He has scored in double figures 13 out of 16 games. His 13.1 average for the year is more than 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 is third in the A-10 in rebounding (7.9) and tied for the A-10 lead in blocked shots (2.1/game). Five of his six career double-doubles have been this season. Gregg stands fifth all-time at Bona's in blocked shots with 115. 

The Bonnies At Blue Cross Arena (9-11)
This year's Lightower Conference Classic will be St. Bonaventure's 21st game at Blue Cross Arena (previously known as the War Memorial) and the third time the Bonnies have hosted an A-10 Conference game there. Last season's game was perhaps the most memorable of any, as Marcus Posley scored 47 points, the most by any Division I player last year, to lead the Bonnies to their 21st win of the season. Saint Joseph's entered the game with 24 wins and featured first round NBA draft pick De'Andre Bembry. 

Former Kearney Teammates Meet
Playing in Rochester has become nearly an annual tradition for St. Bonaventure, which has nearly 1.800 alumni in the area. This year's game also has unique twist in that it will feature former teammates from Rochester's Bishop Kearney High School - St. Bonaventure's Chinonso Obokoh and Fordham's Antwoine Anderson. Unfortunately Obokoh will not play as he is still rehabbing from a sprained right knee. Anderson is one of the Rams' top players. 

Kaputo Makes First Start of 16-17
Sophomore Nelson Kaputo made his ifrst start of the season at Richmond in place of Jaylen Adams. He scored 12 points with two assists. It was Kaputo's second career start. The past two games have been Kaputo's most significant playing time this year. He returned to the active roster for the Niagara game after he did not compete in the first nine games of the season in order to concentrate on his academic responsibilities. Kaputo helped key the Jan. 7 win over George Mason by scoring a season-best 13 points in 20 minutes of action. Last season, Kaputo played in 30 games, coming off the bench in all but one of those games. He averaged 4.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists. 

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For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on Twitter @Go_Bonnies and get men's basketball updates @BonniesMBB. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies.

 
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