Feb. 23, 2008

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

GAME DAY CENTRAL
DATE: Sunday, February 24, 2008
SITE:Mullins Center (9,493)
COURT: Jack LeamanCourt
TIP-OFF:2:00 p.m.
RADIO:WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
WXRL (1300 AM) - Buffalo
TALENT:Gary Nease (play-by-play)
WEB AUDIO & VIDEO: www.GoBonnies.com
SERIES: UMass leads, 36-17
LAST MEETING: Feburary 21, 2007
UMass 83, St. Bonaventure 44
UP NEXT:Wednesday, February 27, 2008
vs. Richmond @ 7 p.m.

AT A GLANCE
Still in search of its first road win of the season, St. Bonaventure will make its second appearance in as many years at the Mullins Center on Sunday. Two teams headed in opposite directions as the regular season comes to a close, UMass will look to break a three-way tie for sixth place in the Atlantic 10 standings with its third straight win. Only six teams in the A-10 have strung together three-straight wins in conference play.The Bonnies have dropped four straight overall and 13 in a row on the road, dating back to last season. A win today would keep the Brown and White's postseason hopes alive heading into the final two weeks of conference action.

SERIES HISTORY
The Minutemen hold a 36-17 advantage in the all-time series and have won five straight and eight out of the past 10 meetings. UMass has won three in a row against the Bonnies at the Mullins Center, but prior that dropped three-straight. The home team is 33-17 all-time in the series. The Minutemen hold a slight 13-12 advantage in the 25 games decided by 10 points or less. UMass holds the longest win streak in series history at 17 games, stretching from 1988-1996.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 3-3 all-time when playing on February 24, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. The Brown and White haven't played on Feb. 24 since 2001, where they came away with a 84-74 win over Fordham at the Reilly Center.

HEAD COACHING MATCHUP
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 7-18 (First Season)
Overall: 89-108 (7th Season)
Vs. UMass: 0-0

UMASS HEAD COACH
Travis Ford
@ UMass: 44-33 (Third Season)
Overall: 182-144 (11th Season)
Vs. St. Bonaventure: 2-0

SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN
Fresh off an impressive 98-91 win at Rhode Island on Thursday night, UMass is in search of its first three-game win streak of the conference slate. The Minutemen are in a four-way tie for sixth place in the Atlantic 10 standings. With 17 overall wins and an impressive non-conference slate, the Minutemen are one of the A-10's NCAA Tournament hopefuls. The highest scoring team (82.8) in the A-10, UMass ranks seventh nationally in scoring thanks to four players in double figures. Senior swingman Gary Forbes leads the conference at 20.3 points per game, while adding a team-best 7.6 boards. Sophomore sensation Ricky Harris is enjoying a breakout second season, averaging 17.8 points per game. The duo of Forbes and Harris combine to score over 38 points per game, making them the highest scoring tandem in the conference. Versatile senior forward Etienne Brower is coming off a career-high 26 points at URI. Sophomore point guard Chris Lowe is averaging 11 assists per game over the last three contests with his first two career double-doubles.

LAST TIME OUT: BALANCED SCORING ATTACK LEADS TEMPLE PAST BONNIES
Led by five players in double figures, Temple turned in its best offensive performance of the season as it ran past St. Bonaventure 96-82 on Wednesday night on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center. Three Owls finished with 20 points helping the visitors finish with a season-best 96 points.The loss is the Brown and White's fourth consecutive overall and third in a row at home. Temple's one-two punch of Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale combined for 42 points, but did more than just score. Both just missed recording triple-doubles as Tyndale added a career-best nine assists and eight boards, while Christmas also tallied eight rebounds with seven assists. Reserve senior guard Chris Clark scored a career-high 20 points, while Ryan Brooks and Lavoy Allen added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Senior Michael Lee led four Bonnies in double-digits with 23 points. Lee connected on 9-of-18 from the floor, including a pair of threes, for his 14th outing of 20 or more points. Senior Tyler Relph led St. Bonaventure in rebounding for the second-straight game with seven boards while adding 19 points. Relph drilled five long range field goals to support his seventh double figure outing in nine games. Zarryon Fereti added 14 points and freshman forward Matt Morgan had 13 points. After the opening 10 minutes yielded a 19-19 tie, Temple broke open the game in a big way over the next five minutes with a 24-5 run. Despite a solid offensive performance, the Brown and White couldn't overcome giving up 80 or more points for the seventh time in eight games. As a team, St. Bonaventure passed out 18 helpers with just 10 turnovers.

GOING OUT WITH A BANG
Senior Tyler Relph has been through and seen it all during his collegiate career. With the season winding down, Relph isn't leaving anything on the floor as he attempts to get the Bonnies into the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The former Mr. New York State award winner is in the midst of the best nine-game span of his career, averaging 14.6 points, 5.2 assists and 4.1 boards per game. During the past nine games, Relph has led the team in assists seven times, scoring twice and is a perfect 27-of-27 from the free throw line. His seven double figure outings are highlighted by a pair of 20-pont efforts and complimented by career-highs in both assists (9-twice) and rebounds (8 vs. GW). Against George Washington, Relph became the first player this season to lead the team in points (21), rebounds (8) and assists (5) in the same game. Relph has also found his shooting stroke from beyond the arc, hitting 16-of-25 in his last four games.

BOARD WORK
After being out-rebounded in 13 of 15 games in December and January, St. Bonaventure has made a commitment to improving its rebounding efforts. The Bonnies have edged four opponents on the glass in the last seven games. The Brown and White are averaging 12.9 offensive boards per game over that span, led by 17 each from senior Michael Lee, junior D'Lancy Carter and freshman Matt Morgan.

NO LONGER A FRESHMAN
So-called freshman Matt Morgan has turned the corner in his first season in the Brown and White. Now with 23 games under his belt, Morgan looks as though he's made the adjustment to the collegiate game and coach Mark Schmidt and the Bonnies are reaping the benefits. The Handover, Md. product won back-to-back A-10 Rookie of the Week honors to start the month and is fourth on the team in both scoring (7.6) and rebounding (4.0) in conference play. Over the last eight games, Morgan has scored in double figures five times and has more than tripled the amount of points over that span than he did in his first 15 games.

SAVING HIS BEST FOR LAST
Senior Michael Lee is having a career year in his final season in the Brown and White. Lee leads the team nearly every statistical category, including scoring (17.3), rebounding (7.8) and steals (41). 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 is tied for second in the league with seven doubles and third in 20-point games (14). He has also scored in double figures 20 times and has led the team in scoring on 15 occasions and rebounding 14 times. Below is a look at how Lee stacks up amongst the conference leaders.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE
The play of St. Bonaventure's three seniors will dictate the Bonnies success down the stretch with such a young roster. Zarryon Fereti, Michael Lee and Tyler Relph have answered the call so far this season. The trio is averaging 42.1 points per game, 63 percent of the team's scoring. Each of them are in the program's top 70 scorers of all-time and hold the top three spots on team's current leading scorers list. They also hold two of the top three spots on the team in rebounding, assists and steals. At least one of the three has scored in double-digits in every game, two of them in 18 games and seven occasions, including three in a row, when all three have hit for double figures.