St. Bonaventure Men's Basketball Game Preview: Davidson Wildcats
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 28
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Belk Arena
Records:
St. Bonaventure 18-10 (10-6) | Davidson 13-14 (7-9)
Bonnies Statistics | Davidson Statistics
TV: American Sports Network / SNY
Listing of all ASN affiliate stations for this game
Radio: WPIG 95.7 FM with Gary Nease
Twitter: @BonniesMBB
Complete St. Bonaventure Game Notes (PDF)
The Starting Five Notes
1. Now down to the final week of the regular season, St. Bonaventure travels to the state of North Carolina for its only meeting of the year with Davidson. The game will feature two of the highest-scoring tandems not just in the A-10 but in the nation.
2. St. Bonaventure hopes to continue its push toward another strong Atlantic 10 finish, entering the week in sole possession of fifth place. The Bonnies have already earned their third straight season with double-digit A-10 wins, which is a new program standard. Over the last three seasons, the Bonnies have won 34 conference games.
3. Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley are the fourth-highest scoring teammate tandem in the country, averaging 40.7 points per game. Between them, they have 29 games of 20 points or more. Adams ranks 16th nationally and second in the A-10 in scoring (21.2). Mobley, who was named A-10 Player of the Week after he averaged 25.5 points over two wins last week, ranks fourth in the A-10 at 19.5 points per game and leads the A-10 in three-pointers.
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 seventh in the country in assists (6.7 per game). Over the last five games, Adams had 43 assists and 16 turnovers. He also ranks second in the A-10 and 23rd nationally 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 18 games in double figure scoring. Gregg has eight double-doubles this season, most recently 15 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's win over Duquesne.
Series Notes: This will be the eighth meeting between the teams and the fourth since Davidson joined the Atlantic 10. St. Bonaventure holds a 4-3 series edge and is 2-1 against the Wildcats as A-10 opponents. The lone loss, however, came in last year's A-10 Tournament quarterfinals in overtime and may have cost the Bonnies an at-large NCAA berth.
St. Bonaventure vs. Davidson: The Last Meeting
March 11, 2016 at Barclays Center:
The Bonnies dropped a 90-85 overtime decision to Davidson in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship. St. Bonaventure led by 10 points with 6:30 left in regulation, but foul troubles attributed to some offensive droughts down the stretch. Both Jaylen Adams and Denzel Gregg fouled out prior to the overtime. The Bonnies held a 75-72 lead after Marcus Posley scored with 33 seconds left in regulation, but Dion Wright was called for a foul on Peyton Aldridge as he attempted a three-pointer. With just 11 seconds remaining, Aldridge made all three free throws to tie the game. Posley had a shot to win the game, but his floater with two seconds left bounced off the rim. The Wildcats went 3-5 from three-point range in the extra period to hold off the Bonnies. The key shot was a three-pointer by Brian Sullivan that stretched Bona's deficit from 85-83 to 88-83 with 1:11 remaining. Wright set career highs in both points (32) and rebounds (15), while Posley also scored 32 points as the senior duo was brilliant all night. Idris Taqqee added nine points while Gregg had six. Adams was limited to three points.
Davidson Notes:
• Davidson has dropped its last two games, most recently an 89-82 OT decision to Dayton at home last Friday. They also fell 84-76 at Richmond last week.
• Senior point guard Jack Gibbs has a slight edge (21.5-21.2) over Jaylen Adams for the A-10 scoring lead. Gibbs has made 77 three-pointers. He teams with Peyton Aldridge (21.0 ppg) to actually outscore the Bonnies' combination of Adams and Matt Mobley. Aldridge is a 40 percent shooter from long range and also averages 7.9 rebounds per game.
• Center Will Magarity (9.1 ppg/5.2 rpg) has missed the last three games with a concussion and his status is unknown.
Ten Atlantic 10 Wins
With a 10-6 record with two games remaining, St. Bonaventure has earned double-digit Atlantic 10 wins for the third consecutive year, a new program standard record. 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 2016-17 10-6 (.625)
2014-15 10-8 (.555)
2011-12 10-6 (.625)
1985-86 10-8 (.555)
1982-83 10-4 (.714)
Top 20 In Nation In Free Throw Pct.; Season Record Within Reach
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 .766 at the charity stripe, which is 17th 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 65 more free throws than their opponents. St. Bonaventure has made 536 free throws this season, which is only 19 short of the school record of 555 set in the 1956-57 season.
Mobley Sets Three-Point Pace
Matt Mobley's 83 three-pointers so far this year rank sixth-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. Over the last seven games (VCU to now), Mobley is 25-60 (.416) from behind the arc. He has made at least one three-pointer in 25 of the Bonnies' 28 games this year.
Adams Top 20 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 16th in the nation in scoring (21.2 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 behind Davidson's Jack Gibbs for the A-10 scoring lead. Adams is also is third in the Atlantic 10 in three-pointers (2.7/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 Cracks Top Five In Assists
Jaylen Adams now has 422 career assists, which ranks fifth on St. Bonaventure's all-time assists chart. With five assists Feb. 25 against Duquesne, he passed Norm Clarke (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 19.5 points per game. He has 15 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 (83 total, 3.0 per game), is seventh in three-point percentage (.399) and second in free throw percentage (.855). Mobley is doing much more than just scoring -- he is also averaging 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 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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