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Men's Basketball

118th Meeting Between @BonniesMBB And Duquesne To Highlight Homecoming Weekend

St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: Duquesne Dukes

Date: Saturday, Feb. 25
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center

Records:
St. Bonaventure 17-10 (9-6)   |   Duquesne 10-18 (3-12)
Bonnies Statistics      |      Dukes Statistics 

TV: American Sports Network with Ed Cohen and Tom Pecora
Where to Watch: Listing of ASN Affiliates for this game
Radio: WPIG 95.7 FM with Gary Nease
Twitter:
@BonniesMBB
Promotions: All fans are asked to wear brown and white for this Homecoming game. $7 kids tickets with purchase of full-priced adult ticket.

Complete St. Bonaventure Game Notes (PDF)

The Starting Five Notes
1.  A capacity crowd on Homecoming Weekend is expected for St. Bonaventure's second-to-last home game of the season, when the Bonnies host Duquesne in the second meeting of the year between the teams. St. Bonaventure took a hard-fought, 71-64 decision on Feb. 1 in Pittsburgh.

2.  St. Bonaventure hopes to continue its push toward another strong Atlantic 10 finish, entering the weekend in fifth place. The Bonnies, who have two home games and one road game remaining, need one win to secure their third straight season with double-digit A-10 wins, which would be a new program standard. St. Bonaventure is also looking for its fifth season with at least 18 wins in Mark Schmidt's 10 years as head coach.

3.  Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley are the fourth-highest scoring teammate tandem in the country, averaging 40.8 points per game. Between them, they have 28 games of 20 points or more. Adams leads the Atlantic 10 and ranks 11th nationally in scoring (21.4). Mobley, who scored 31 points at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, ranks fifth in the A-10 at 19.4 points per game and leads the conference in three-point field goals.

4.  A candidate for A-10 Player of the Year, Adams does much more than just score from his point guard position. He leads the A-10 and ranks ninth in the country in assists (6.7 per game). Over the last four games, Adams had 38 assists and just 12 turnovers. He also ranks second in the A-10 in steals (2.1).

5.  In his first year as a starter, senior Denzel Gregg is playing better than any point in his career. He is among the A-10 leaders in rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage and has 17 games in double figure scoring. Gregg has seven double-doubles this season.

Series Notes: This will be the 118th meeting between the longtime A-10 rivals. St. Bonaventure has claimed eight of the last 10 meetings, and the Bonnies have won seven in a row over Duquesne at the Reilly Center.  The Dukes hold a one-game lead in the all-time series, 59-58.

St. Bonaventure vs. Duquesne: The Last Meeting
Feb. 1, 2017 at Palumbo Center: Bonnies 71, Dukes 64
Matt Mobley scored 22 points and St. Bonaventure got major contributions from its bench as the Bonnies earned a their fifth road win. St. Bonaventure trailed by one at halftime, 34-33, but grabbed control by scoring the first 10 points of the second half. The Bonnies also picked up their defense in the second half, limiting the Dukes to just nine field goals on 32 shots -- 28 percent. 

Duquesne Notes:
• Duquesne is tied for last place in the A-10 at 3-12. The Dukes come off two home losses, 77-70 to GW and 70-52 to Fordham. A very young team, the Dukes start two freshmen, Mike Lewis and Isiaha Mike. Both have been named A-10 Rookie of the Week multiple times. Lewis leads Duquesne in scoring at 14 points per game while Mike is at 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds.
• Emile Blackman is a graduate transfer who faced the Bonnies before during his career at Niagara. Blackman averages 11.9 points per game, second best on the team. He and Lewis are both 38 percent shooters from long range.

Nine Atlantic 10 Wins
With a 9-6 record with three games remaining, St. Bonaventure has a chance to reach double figure conference wins for the third year in a row and just the seventh time overall. The program has never won 10 or more A-10 games three consecutive seasons. The top A-10 win totals and winning percentages in the program's history:
Wins   Season                   W-L  (Pct.)
14      2015-16                 14-4  (.777)
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)

Offense 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 78.5 points per game, which leads the A-10. The Bonnies have reached the 90-point mark five times including two 100-point games. Only five times have they not reached 70 points. In A-10 games, St. Bonaventure is at 73.5 points per game. 

Top 15 In Nation In Free Throw Pct.
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 .774 at the charity stripe, which is 11th best in the country and second 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 70 more free throws than their opponents.

Mobley Sets Three-Point Pace
Matt Mobley's 81 three-pointers so far this year rank 7th-best in a single season in program history. The record is 101 by Chris Matthews in 2009-10. Feb. 4 against VCU, Mobley broke the school record for three-pointers in a game with nine.

Adams Top 15 In Scoring & Assists
Even while earning the full attention of every opposing defense, Jaylen Adams continues to play at an All-Conference level. Adams is 13th in the nation in scoring (21.4 ppg) and seventh nationally in assists (6.7 apg). Certainly a candidate for A-10 Player of the Year, he leads the A-10 in assists and is just ahead of Davidson's Jack Gibbs for the A-10 scoring lead. Adams is also is third in the Atlantic 10 in three-pointers (2.8/game) and third in steals (2.1). Adams has 14 games of 20 points or more on the year, including three 30-point performances, most recently a career high 35 at Dayton. He also has four points/assists double-doubles. In the Bonnies' win at Saint Louis, Adams tied the school record with 14 assists, the second time in his career he did that. 

Adams Eyes Top Five In Assists
Jaylen Adams just three assists away from cracking the top five on St. Bonaventure's all-time assists chart. He has 417 for his career while Norm Clarke is fifth with 419. Adams is only the eighth Bonnies player to reach the 400-assist plateau.

Mobley Is Instant Offense
By any measure, Matt Mobley has provided instant offense in his debut season at St. Bonaventure. The 6-3 junior guard ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 19.0 points per game. He has 14 games with 20 points or more including three 30-point games, most recently 31 at Saint Joseph's Feb. 22. On Feb. 4, he scored a career high 34 points against VCU, setting a school record with nine three-pointers. Mobley leads the A-10 in three-point field goals (81 total, 3.0 per game), is seventh in three-point percentage (.405) and fourth in free throw percentage (.859). Mobley is doing much more than just scoring -- he is also averaging 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He is 12th in the A-10 in rebounding, and the second-leading rebounder among 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. 

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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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