ST. BONAVENTURE (10-2, 8-2) at VCU (14-4, 7-2)
Friday, Feb. 12 - 7:00 p.m.
Richmond, Va.
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Bonnies Basketball Radio Network
Online Coverage: Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
OPENING TIP
The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team travels to VCU Friday night to compete under the national spotlight in the Bonnies' second Friday Night Showcase game of the season on ESPN2. St. Bonaventure previously defeated Duquesne at home last month in the A-10 Friday Night Showcase. Five of Bona's last seven games have been broadcast live on national TV as the Bonnies continue to gain more national exposure.
GAME NOTES
- St. Bonaventure wraps a busy week completely altered by schedule changes by traveling to VCU. Tuesday, the Bonnies started the week by hosting La Salle in a game that was moved up two weeks from Feb. 24, then bumped up 24 hours more to Tuesday night last weekend. That game was moved again from Wednesday to Tuesday to make room for a new date on the schedule - at VCU this Friday night in a contest that will replace an originally scheduled game at UMass. That game was scratched when UMass announced a two-week pause for all athletics activities over the weekend. By the time this weekend rolls around, the Bonnies will have had eight straight games altered by schedule changes going back to the Jan. 15 game vs. Duquesne which was moved up a day. Since, VCU replaced Richmond Jan. 20; a second Duquesne game was moved from March 3 to Jan. 23; George Mason replaced Davidson Jan. 30; a date at Saint Joseph's was postponed Feb. 3; a makeup game at Saint Louis slid to Feb. 6; La Salle moved from Feb. 24 to Feb. 9 and a previously unscheduled second VCU meeting replaced UMass for Feb. 12.
- It was a tale of two halves in the first Bona/VCU meeting on Jan. 20: SBU trailed by 15 at halftime but outscored the Rams 45-14 in the second half while holding VCU to 5-of-26 shooting from the floor as the Bonnies won, 70-54.
PREVIOUS MEETING
St. Bonaventure 70, VCU 54 (1/20/21)
At halftime in the first matchup, VCU was seemingly off to a convincing victory over the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team, one like it had picked up in each of the past two years.
The Bonnies used an incredible last 20 minutes – what head coach
Mark Schmidt described as his team's best half out of any during his 14-year tenure with the
program – to take down the Rams, 70-54.
Dominick Welch delivered 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting including 5-of-6 from distance.
Jaren Holmes added 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals while
Kyle Lofton checked in with 12 points and three assists.
It was a complete turnaround: VCU (10-4, 3-2) took control during a first half where they used 13 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points to seize control. The Rams also swatted seven Bonnies shots in the first half. After halftime, though, the Bonnies owned a 22-14 margin on the boards, a 24-4 advantage in the paint and did not allow a single second-chance point.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday marks the 12th meeting all-time between St. Bonaventure and VCU - it is the 10th since the Rams joined the Atlantic 10 in 2013. The Bonnies will look to do something they have never done - secure a season sweep of VCU and avenge a blowout loss in Richmond last year.
Prior to their first matchup as A-10 foes in 2013, the Bonnies defeated VCU in back-to-back years during the late 70s - a 63-61 victory in the 1978 ECAC Championship Game to reach the NCAA Tournament as well as a victory in the following season on home court. In the 1978 ECAC Championship, Tim Waterman's buzzer-beater sent the Bonnies to victory - and a spot in the NCAA Tournament - in Rochester's War Memorial Stadium with one of the most memorable shots in program history.
TRENDING NUMBERS
1 – The Bonnies have won just once in four trips to VCU's Siegel Center. That came in another year where the Bonnies had NCAA Tournament aspirations - a 68-63 victory in February 2018, powered by 21 points each from Jaylen Adams and Courtney Stockard. St. Bonaventure reached the NCAA Tournament that March, defeating UCLA in the First Four.
2 – Among all Atlantic 10 guards,
Dominick Welch ranks second in the league on the glass with 6.3 rebounds/game.
5 – Kyle Lofton had a career-high five steals at Saint Louis. It was the first time a Bonnies player had at least five steals in a game since Jaylen Adams had six vs. Yale Dec. 9, 2017.
5 – Osun Osunniyi had five blocks at SLU, his season-high, the most by any Bonnies player since Osunniyi also had five swats Jan. 8, 2020 at George Mason.
6 – St. Bonaventure had six COVID-related cancellations during non-conference play. Due to a team pause on Nov. 19, the Bonnies went from being slated to having the very first Division I game of the season Nov. 25 at 9 a.m. in Bubbleville vs. Towson to being one of the last teams in the nation to play their first game Dec. 15 vs. Akron.
7 – Osun Osunniyi handed out a career-high seven assists in the Jan. 13 win at Fordham, the most by a Bonnies center during the
Mark Schmidt Era. Osunniyi has had three or more assists in a game four times this season.
11 – Alejandro Vasquez provided a spark off the bench Jan. 15 vs. Duquesne, scoring a season-high 11 points. He scored in double figures eight times as a freshman, but that game was his first such performance since Feb. 1, 2020 vs. George Mason.
12 – The Bonnies are averaging nearly 12 offensive rebounds per game, leading in the A-10.
23 – The Bonnies are one of 23 Division I teams with five or more players averaging 10+ ppg. All of Bona's five starters average double-figure scoring. The Bonnies have used the same starting lineup in all but one game this year.
27 – Bona handed out 27 assists on 32 made field goals Jan. 6 vs. SJU - it was the most assists in a game by the Bonnies during
Mark Schmidt's 14 years as head coach. Bona is averaging 15.5 assists per game, ranking third in the A-10.
34 – Kyle Lofton moved into 34th all-time in Bonnies scoring on Tuesday with 1,120 career points, passing some greats in program history: Sam Stith '60 (1,112 points), Rob Samuels '85 (1,112), Patricio Prato '03 (1,110) and Paul Hoffman '72 (1,103). Lofton needs just one point to tie Caswell Cyrus '00 for 33rd and six points to match Marcus Posley '16.
35 – Osun Osunniyi has 35 career games of three or more blocks, including three of the last four contests.
40 – Bona's No. 40
Jalen Shaw had his best game in a Bonnies uniform Jan. 23 at Duquesne. With
Osun Osunniyi sidelined for nearly the entire first half due to foul trouble, Shaw picked up the slack, finishing with season highs in minutes (16), points (7) and rebounds (3).
63.0 – St. Bonaventure ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and 29th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 63.0 ppg.
+130 – Despite being outsized in most of its games, the Bonnies are +130 in points in the paint this year. The Bonnies have been outscored in the paint just once this year, that coming at SLU on Feb. 6 when the Billikens owned a 20-18 edge in the painted area.
ADAWAY'S ADDITION
- When the Bonnies finally played their first game of the season Dec. 15 vs. Akron, Jalen Adaway returned to the court in the season-opener for his first Division I game action in 648 days after playing two seasons at Miami (OH) and sitting out last year as a transfer. During his sit year, head coach Mark Schmidt said at times he was the best player in practices and consistently forced the rest of the team to match his energy level.
- He tallied a career-high 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting Jan. 6 vs. Saint Joseph's and had a second 20-point game Feb. 9 vs. La Salle, scoring 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
- For the season, he ranks second in the A-10 by shooting 58.2% from the floor and is also fifth in offensive rebounds per game with 2.3.
- Jan. 23 at Duquesne, he went on a personal 8-0 run in the final two minutes, helping to break a 55-55 tie and send the Bonnies to a victory. During that stretch, he added two blocks and two key offensive rebounds. He was a game-time decision and did not start for the first time this year due to strep throat and played the game under the weather.
NET RANKINGS
The Bonnies are ranked No. 40 in the NCAA NET rankings as of Thursday, just behind VCU which slots at No. 37. Also in the Top 100 from the A-10: Saint Louis (41), Richmond (53), Davidson (68), Rhode Island (90) and Dayton (91).
FEBRUARY IS WINNING TIME
February has traditionally been very good to
Mark Schmidt's Bonnies. Since 2016, Bona is 32-11 in February and have won 20 of its past 26 games during the month.
BIG A-10 WINS
St. Bonaventure has already had some memorable moments in conference play. Jan. 2, the Bonnies defeated preseason A-10 favorite Richmond, 69-66, on the road when
Kyle Lofton drained a three from the top of the key with 2.8 seconds remaining. Lofton finished with 16 points while
Jaren Holmes poured in 17 to down the Spiders for a huge A-10 win.
Jan. 20 vs. VCU, the Bonnies scored a Top 50 NCAA NET win with a huge comeback vs. the Rams. Down 15 at halftime, the Bonnies roared back to outscore VCU 45-14 during the second half, holding the Rams to 5-for-26 shooting from the floor to score a 70-54 victory.
THE POSSIBLE ROAD AHEAD
St. Bonaventure could - and in this season of uncertainty, no one knows exactly what the rest of the schedule will look like - have many opportunities to boost its resume down the stretch. The Bonnies - at least based on its original season schedule - could play five Top 100 NET opponents before the end of the season during February and March. The team will play at a top-40 team in VCU Feb. 12 and also hosts Top-100 Dayton Feb. 28. Potential games for rescheduling include home dates with top-55 opponents SLU and Richmond while other postponed dates from the original schedule include at No. 67 Davidson and No. 104 UMass.
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