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Complete St. Bonaventure Game Notes (PDF)

The Starting Five Notes + One
1.  St. Bonaventure visits Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon in a matchup of the third and  sixth place teams in the Atlantic 10. Winners of three straight, the Bonnies are tied for third place in the A-10. They'll try to overcome a high-scoring URI team that is 9-1 at home.

2.  St. Bonaventure's defense has improved in A-10 play, primarily over the past three games as the Bonnies allowed an average of only 56 points per game to Fordham, Saint Louis and Saint Joseph's. In their seven A-10 games, the Bonnies have allowed an average of 69 points per game compared to 77 points per game over 12 non-conference games.

3.  The backcourt of Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley is the fourth highest scoring teammate tandem in the country, averaging 41.2 points per game. Adams is second in the Atlantic 10 and ranks 16th nationally in scoring (21.6). He also leads the Atlantic 10 in assists and is third in three-point field goals. Mobley ranks fourth in the A-10 at 19.6 points per game and second in three-pointers. Together, they fuel the A-10's top scoring offense (80.8 points/game).

4.  In his first year as a starter, senior Denzel Gregg is playing better than any point in his career, including last season when he was co-Sixth Man of the Year in the Atlantic 10. He is among the A-10 leaders in rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage and has become a reliable scorer with 15 games in double figures. Gregg has six double-doubles this season.

5.  Freshman forward Josh Ayeni has played perhaps his best basketball of the season the past three games, when he moved into the sixth man role. Ayeni, who has started 14 games, averaged 10.1 points over the last three games. He hit the go-ahead jumper against Saint Joseph's.

6. Both coaching staffs will wear sneakers as part of the Coaches Vs. Cancer "Suits And Sneakers" awareness week Jan. 23-29. 

Series Notes:
This will be the 66th meeting between the Atlantic 10 rivals. Rhode Island has a 36-29 lead in the series, although St. Bonaventure won five of the last seven games. 

St. Bonaventure vs. Rhode Island: The Last Meeting
Jan. 13, 2016 at Reilly Center: Bonnies 69, Rhode Island 64
St. Bonaventure made all the plays down the stretch to grit out a 69-64 win and move to 4-0 in the A-10.
The Rams led 64-60 after a three-point play by Jarvis Garrett with 3:39 left, but the Bonnies scored the final nine points of the game. Denzel Gregg's three-pointer gave St. Bonaventure the lead for good with 1:37 remaining. As Rhode Island missed its final four shots from the field, Gregg made two free throws with 1:05 left to make it 67-64. After a missed three-pointer by Marcus Posley, Idris Taqqee grabbed the offensive rebound and Jaylen Adams was fouled. Adams sealed the game with two free throws with 17 seconds left. Gregg set a career high with his 22 points. The Bonnies made 26 of 31 free throws, outscoring the Rams 26-10 at the line.

Rhode Island Notes:
• Rhode Island lost 73-62 at Richmond on Wednesday. Kuran Iverson set a career high with a remarkable 23 rebounds against the Spiders. Guard E.C. Matthews led the Rams with 16 points. Rhode Island was 2-19 from three-point range.
• URI was picked second in the A-10's preseason poll, earning 12 first place votes. Playing the last three games without starting point guard Jarvis Garrett (illness), the Rams are 4-3 in the A-10. They feature a high-powered offense with balance inside and on the perimeter. Matthews, who missed last year with a knee injury, leads URI at 15.5 points per game. Senior center Hassan Martin (13.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Iverson (9.6, 7.5) lead a talented frontline.
• Rhode Island is 9-1 in the Ryan Center this year, with the loss coming to La Salle on Jan. 12 (87-75).

Defense Improves In A-10 Play
St. Bonaventure's defense has improved in the A-10 season, particularly over the past three games when the Bonnies allowed an average of only 56 points per game to Fordham (53), Saint Louis (52) and Saint Joseph's (63). In each of those three games, St. Bonaventure held opponents to halves of 21 points or less, including a 15-point first half by SLU. In their seven A-10 games, the Bonnies have allowed 69 points per game compared to 77 points per game over their 12 non-conference games. 

Offense Stays Hot, Leads A-10
As you would expect in the A-10 season, defenses tighten and scoring becomes tougher. While the Bonnies have not maintained their scoring pace of the non-conference (84.8), they are still averaging 80.8 points per game, tops in the A-10.
• Led by guards Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley, The Bonnies have reached the 90-point mark five times including two 100-point games. Only four times have they not reached 70 points.
• In their seven A-10 games, St. Bonaventure is at 74 points per game.
• Last season, 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 (73.4). 

Getting On The Glass
Not being the tallest team, nor the most experienced on its front line, has not meant that St. Bonaventure is not an effective rebounding team. In fact, the Bonnies rank second in the A-10 in offensive rebounds at 12.5 per game. They are also are third in the conference in rebounding margin (+3.2 per game). St. Bonaventure has won the rebounding battle in 12 of its 19 games and is 10-3 when outrebounding its opponent. 

Three-Point Production
With two high-scoring guards leading the way, it is not surprising that St. Bonaventure is a strong three-point shooting team. Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley are in the top five in the Atlantic 10 in three-pointers per game and as a team, the Bonnies are second in the A-10 with a .377 three-point field goal percentage. 

Free Throws Continue To Be A Plus
Last season, St. Bonaventure set a school record with a .773 free throw percentage. That good shooting at the line has carried over into this season. The Bonnies are at .762 at the charity stripe, which is 18th best in the country and ranks third in the Atlantic 10. Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley both rank in the top 10 in the conference in free throw percentage. The Bonnies have made 45 more free throws than their opponents.

Adams Top 20 In Nation In Scoring and Assists
Jaylen Adams earned plenty of preseason accolades (see further notes below) and he's lived up to the hype. Adams, who sat out the Richmond and Fordham games with a sprained ankle, is 16th in the nation in scoring (21.6 ppg) and eighth nationally in assists (6.6 apg). He also is fourth in the Atlantic 10 in three-pointers (2.9/game), fifth in steals (2.0) and 12th in three-point percentage (.388). Adams returned from his ankle injury at Saint Louis and scored 13 points with 14 assists, tying the school record he already shares. Adams has 10 games of 20 points or more on the year including a pair of 31-point performances. He has been named the Player of the Week in the Atlantic 10 once. 

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 has scored in double figures 15 times. His 13.1 average for the year is more almost four 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 second in the A-10 in blocked shots (1.8/game). Six of his seven career double-doubles have been this season. Gregg stands fifth all-time at Bona's in blocked shots with 117. 

Mobley Instant Offense
By any measure, Matt Mobley has provided instant offense in his debut season at St. Bonaventure. The 6-3 junior guard is fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 19.6 points per game. He has 11 games with 20 points or more. Mobley is also second in the A-10 in three-point field goals (3.0 per game), fourth in three-point percentage (.413) and ninth free throw percentage (.829). Mobley is doing much more than just scoring -- he is also averaging 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He is 12th in the A-10 in rebounding, and the second-leading rebounder among A-10 guards. 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.

Ayeni Shows Promise
Freshman forward Josh Ayeni earned a starting spot in 14 games -- rare for a first-year player in most programs but perhaps even more so at St. Bonaventure. While he has battled foul troubles throughout the year, Ayeni has shown the ability to stretch the floor with his shooting touch. He is averaging 7.1 points and 2.5 rebounds for the season. In A-10 games, he's increased his scoring to 9.0 points per game with three games in double figures. In the Jan. 14 win over Fordham, he set season highs of 16 points, seven rebounds and 12 free throws. His previous season high was 12 points against Dayton Jan. 3. Ayeni made the go-ahead jumper with 1:31 left in the Bonnies' come-from-behind win over Saint Joseph's on Jan. 24. 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.

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