ST. BONAVENTURE (0-0) vs. ALFRED (0-0)
Wednesday, Nov. 2 – 7:00 p.m.
Reilly Center
TV: ESPN+

TIPPING OFF

• The new-look St. Bonaventure men's basketball team returns to the Reilly Center when the Bonnies host Alfred in an exhibition contest Wednesday night.
• St. Bonaventure and Alfred renew acquaintances in the annual season preview by meeting in exhibition action for the fifth time.
• The Bonnies won last year's matchup, 95-54. Bona also won four straight games from 2016-19.
• Monday's game will not count toward season results for either team.
• Two returning members of the Bonnies roster played in last year's game: Justin Ndjock-Tadjore played 16 minutes, posting eight points and five rebounds and Anouar Mellouk played nine minutes with two steals and an assist.

A WHOLE NEW YEAR

• Bona's is turning the page after graduating one of the top senior classes in program history following last season. A year ago, the Bonnies were coming off Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles in 2021. Last year's squad reached a national ranking of No. 16 after multiple weeks in the Top 25, the first national ranking for the program in four decades. The Bonnies finished by winning 23 games and reaching the NIT semifinals following three straight road wins at Colorado, at Oklahoma and at Virginia.
• Last year's seniors graduated with 76 victories over four seasons with the Bonnies, the fifth-most wins for any graduating class in program history.
• This year, St. Bonaventure returns just four total points – yes, four, all scored by Justin Ndjock-Tadjore – and has less returning scoring than any other team at the Division I level. Nine new players join the roster while three return – only Ndjock-Tadjore logged minutes last year while Mellouk and Brett Rumpel redshirted.
• Bonnies fans will want to grab a program this year to learn all the new names and numbers, but just because the new faces are donning the Brown and White for the first time, that doesn't mean they come without experience. Four newcomers boast previous All-Conference honors: redshirt junior Daryl Banks III was a star of Saint Peter's unlikely Cinderella Elite Eight run last year and was a three-time All-MAAC selection there. Fellow redshirt junior Moses Flowers, who joins Banks as co-team captain, was named to the All-America East teams twice while at Hartford. Meanwhile, two sophomores – guard Kyrell Luc and forward Anquan Hill – were named Rookie of the Year in the Patriot League and Northeast Conference respectively last year.

FAMILY TIES

• Alfred boasts two very familiar names on its roster: Schmidt and Curran. Senior guard Mike Schmidt is the son of Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt, continuing a tradition of Schmidt players at Alfred. Mike's older brothers Derek and Nick also played at AU. Like his brothers, Mike was a standout at Olean High before starting his collegiate career where he was named All-Empire 8 Second Team in 2021 after leading the team with 14.3 points per game over a shortened seven-game slate. Last year, he started 23 of 24 games and averaged 10.1 points per contest with 117 total assists, against just 61 turnovers. A 1,000-point scorer at Olean High, he graduated as the OHS all-time assists leader and was part of a 2016 New York Class B state title in 2016 for the Huskies.
• Alfred junior forward Casey Curran is the son of Bonnies associate head coach Steve Curran and older brother of Bonnies freshman guard Tyler Curran. Last year, Casey started five games and suited up in 27 contests, posting 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He helped Allegany-Limestone to the Section VI, Class B2 championship in both 2019 and 2020. His younger brother Tyler joins the Bonnies this year after averaging 18 points per game while capturing Big 30 Player of the Year accolades last year at Allegany-Limestone.

ABOUT THE SAXONS

• The Saxons are coming off a 17-10 overall finish last season including a 9-7 mark in the Empire 8 Conference, placing fourth in the conference standings.  
• The Saxons bring back three of their top four scorers from last season including leading scorer Brewster Marshall who averaged 15.6 points per game, ranking sixth in the conference for scoring and also grabbing a team-high 9.5 rebounds per game to stand third in the league on the boards. Schmidt tied for the Empire 8 lead in assists per game with 4.9 helpers per contest.
• Alfred returns a majority of its lineup from last year, including four of five starters which include Brewster Marshall, Mike Schmidt, Kevin Durkin and Elliot Bowen. Also coming back are key role players Casey Curran, Darren Miller (7.4 ppg) and Adam Enders (6.6 ppg)

UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure officially kicks off the 2022-23 campaign by hosting Saint Francis (PA) Monday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. inside the Reilly Center.

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