Feb. 1, 2008

Complete Game Notes 

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
DATE: Saturday, February 2, 2008
SITE: Reilly Center (5,780)
COURT: Bob Lanier Court
TIP-OFF: 4:00 p.m.
RADIO: WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
WXRL (1300 AM) - Buffalo
WHTK (1280 AM) - Rochester
TALENT: Gary Nease (play-by-play)
Dr. John Watson (analyst)
WEB AUDIO & VIDEO: www.GoBonnies.com
SERIES: Duquesne leads, 52-46
UP NEXT: Saturday, February 9, 2008
vs. Charlotte @ 7 p.m.

At A Glance
Happy to see the month of January come to an end, St. Bonaventure gladly returns home for its 99th meeting and second in 10 days against Atlantic 10 rival Duquesne. After winning their first game of the new year, the Bonnies dropped their final six in January, including a 17-point loss to the Dukes in Pittsburgh. A win tonight would also put an end to St. Bonaventure's seven-game home A-10 losing streak and a threegame home losing streak to the Dukes. While at Robert Morris, head coach Mark Schmidt posted a 2-0 record when hosting Duquesne.

Series History
Duquesne owns a 52-46 edge in the all-time series and has taken six of the last eight from St. Bonaventure. Prior to the Dukes' home triumph 10 days ago, the visiting team had won four straight in the series. Duquesne has enjoyed the three-hour drive to St. Bonaventure as of late, taking the last three meetings at the Reilly Center. The two teams have squared off 30 times in the RC since it opened in 1966, with the Bonnies holding a 19-11 edge. Of those 30 meetings, 22 have been decided by 10 points or less with 13 of them going in the favor of the Brown and White.

This Day In Bona Basketball
St. Bonaventure is 6-5 all-time when playing on February 2, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. The Bonnies last win on Feb. 2 came in 1995, in a double-overtime thriller against a John Chaney-led Temple club.

HeadCoachingMatchup
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 6-14 (First Season)
Overall: 88-104 (7th Season)
Vs. Duquesne: 2-3

DUQUESNE HEAD COACH
Ron Everhart
@ Duquesne: 23-25 (Second Season)
Overall: 197-197 (14th Season)
Vs. St. Bonaventure: 3-2

LAST TIME OUT: la salle shoots its way past bonnies, 84-61
The La Salle Explorers made 13 of their season-high 16 three-pointers in the first half, including seven off the hands of senior guard Darnell Harris, as it cruised to a 84-61 win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena. Harris' 21 first half points came on a perfect 7-of-7 from long range, giving him 40 points over the last 40 minutes against the Bonnies after closing out the final 20 minutes of the Jan. 12th meeting with 19. Harris paced four Explorers in double figures with a game-high 23 points and puts him a tie for the A-10 lead with four 20-point efforts in conference play. The win breaks a three-game home losing streak for the Explorers (8-11, 3-3) and also extends the Bonnies road losing streak to 12, dating back to last season. St. Bonaventure's six-straight losses have all come in A-10 play as it falls to 6-13 on the season. Senior Michael Lee led the Brown and White with his sixth double-double of the season and second of the month against La Salle with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Classmate Tyler Relph finished with 13 points, four assists and tied a career-high with three steals. Freshman forward Matt Morgan came off the bench to reach double-digits for the second time in three games with 10 points.

Bonnies In FEBRUARY
St. Bonaventure is 109-151 in the month of January for a .419 win percentage dating back to 1975. The Bonnies are 2-14 at home over the last four seasons and 62-63 all-time. The Brown and White have won just one of their last 13 on the road in February.

Saving His Best For Last
Senior Michael Lee is off to a furious start in his final season in the Brown and White. Lee leads the team nearly every statistical category, including scoring (17.3), rebounding (8.1), field goal percentage (.498) and steals (31). Lee and Rhode Island's Will Daniels are the only two players in the A-10 that rank in the top 10 in points per game, rebounds per game and field goal percentage. Lee ranks tied for second in the A-10 in both 20- point games (11) and double-doubles (6). He has also scored in double figures 16 times and has led the team in both scoring and rebounding 12 times.

Welcome Back
After missing the final four games of the 2006-07 campaign, senior Zarryon Fereti has returned to team and looks better than ever. Last year's third leading scorer (12.1 ppg), Fereti is second on the team at 14.5 points per game while sinking a team-high 43 three-pointers. He's led the team in scoring five times and is 16th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring. Earlier this season, Fereti became the third current Bonnie to enter the top 100 on the all-time scoring list and currently has 580 points, good for 79th place.

two tylers make a right
In their six games in the starting lineup together, senior Tyler Relph and junior Tyler Benson have combined to given the Bonnies some stability with their consistent play. The duo has combined for 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game over the six-game span. The most impressive statistic is their 1.72 (43/25) assist/turnover ratio. Benson has been the primary source, dishing out 19 assists while committing just three turnovers. Relph has picked up the slack at the offensive end, collecting 11.5 points per game.

20/20 Vision
Seniors Michael Lee and Zarryon Fereti are starting to make a habit of scoring 20 points in the same game. They each have scored 20 points more in the same game three times this season. Lee has reached 20 points on 11 occasions, good for second in the A-10, while Fereti's five 20-point outings are already two more than he had all of last season.

Bonnies Ink Pair In Early Signing Period
St. Bonaventure men's basketball first year head coach Mark Schmidt announced a pair of signings this past week. Andrew Nicholson, a 6-foot-9 forward and Marquise Simmons, a 6-foot-8 swingman, both inked National Letters of Intent to join the Bonnies in 2008. A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Nicholson is in his final year at Father Michael Goetz Secondary School. Simmons hails from Capitol Heights, Md. and is entering his senior season at Central High School. In Hamilton, Ontario, Nicholson opened his final season by leading the Gators to a 5-1 mark and a berth in the championship game of the Pinky Lewis Tournament. Nicholson scored 19 points in each of the final two games of the tournament, adding 12 rebounds and four blocks in the championship game. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Tournament team. Father Goetz is currently ranked fifth in the hooptowngta.com Senior Boy's Super 16. In 2006-07, Nicholson led Father Goetz to a 38-4 mark, a Peel Region senior championship and a spot in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Quad-A playoffs. Under the direction of head coach Ray Kulig, Nicholson averaged 17 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals per game en route to being named to the Toronto Star Fab Five. Nicholson also earned All-Star status at three tournaments, including the Most Valuable Player award at the Pearson Invitational. There, he poured in 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Gators to a win in the championship game against host Pearson. As a junior, Simmons averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds over 20 games. Under the tutelage of coach David Kontaxix, Simmons plays multiple positions on the floor and in 2006 used his athleticism to get the free throw line 193 times. Simmons plays AAU basketball for the nationallyrecognized D.C. Assault.

FREE Throws
After finishing 12th in the Atlantic 10 last year in free throw percentage, the Bonnies have flipped the script and now rank second in the conference and 14th in the nation, as of Jan. 27, with a .752 percentage this season. Senior Zarryon Fereti leads the A-10 and is also 14th nationally with a .893 percentage. St. Bonaventure has been calm at the line with five minutes left in the game, shooting 76 percent (83-109) as a team, helping it win three games by 10 points or less.

One-Two Punch
The Atlantic 10 Conference boasts six scoring tandems that average a combined 30 points per game. Seniors Zarryon Fereti and Michael Lee are vital parts of St. Bonaventure's offense. The duo ranks as fifth-best scoring tandem in the Atlantic 10 at 31.8 points per game. Lee ranks eighth in the conference in scoring (17.3), while Fereti is 16th at 14.5 points per game. Both established new career-high's against Binghamton earlier this season in the team's home opener with Fereti going for 32 and Lee scoring 26. Lee has led the team in scoring 12 times and between them they have led or tied for the team lead in scoring in all but three games.