Game Preview: Bonnies set to take on Binghamton

GAME NOTES(PDF) | SEASON STATS (PDF)

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
ST. BONAVENTURE (1-1) vs. BINGHAMTON (1-1)
DATE: Friday, November 20, 2009
SITE: Reilly Center (5,780)
COURT: Bob Lanier Court
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m.
RADIO: WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
TALENT: Gary Nease (Play-by-Play)
Dr. John Watson (Color)
WEB AUDIO & VIDEO: www.GOBONNIES.com
SERIES: Tied, 1-1
LAST MEETING: December 30, 2007
Binghamton 64, St. Bonaventure 59 (Box Score - Pg. 2)
UP NEXT: vs. Southeast Missouri State
Friday, Nov. 27 @ 9 p.m. at the BTI Classic

AT A GLANCE
Winners of five straight games at the Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure will welcome Binghamton to campus on Friday for its third game over the opening week of the season. The Bonnies were just 11 seconds away from defeating BIG EAST foe St. John's on Tuesday, 69-68, while Binghamton lost at fellow BIG EAST member Pittsburgh on the same night by a 71-46 margin. Sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON scored a game-high 26 points in the loss, his third career 20-point game away from the RC.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Both meetings in the series came in the 2007-08 season with each team coming away with a victory on its home court. The Brown and White's win came in the home opener at the Reilly Center in the form of a 97-80 triumph in which then-senior ZARRYON FERETI scored 30 points. Binghamton came away with a 64-59 win the non-conference finale for both teams, holding the Bonnies to just 16 first half points. St. Bonaventure junior MALCOLM ELEBY and Binghamton juniors Moussa Camara and Chretien Lukusa are the only players from either team's current roster that played in those games.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 2-1 all-time when playing on November 20, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. Both of the team's wins on this date came on the road and were double-digit victories. The last win on this date came in the season opener at Cleveland State in 2001-02, a 79-64 victory. Cleveland natives J.R. BREMER and MIKE GANSEY led the way with 25 points and 17 points, respectively. Bremer's seventh point of the game gave him 1,000 for this career.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Led by interim head coach and former Temple great Mark Macon, Binghamton sports a 1-1 record through two games. A rough offseason has limited the Bearcats to just three returning players from last year's America East regular season and tournament championship team that finished with a school record 23 wins. Junior Greer Wright and Moussa Camara lead the team in scoring at 12 points and 11 points, respectively. Greer went for 15 points and 10 rebounds in a season-opening win over Bloomsburg, while Camara had a game-high 16 points in the victory. Sophomore center Kyrie Sutton had the best game of his young career on Tuesday at Pittsburgh, setting a career-high with 12 points.

VS. THE AMERICA EAST
St. Bonaventure is 13-4 all-time against America East Conference foes since the league was formed in 1979 as the ECAC North. The Bonnies played four games against America East foes in 2007-08, going 2-2 with home wins over Binghamton and Albany.

HEAD COACHING MATCHUP
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 24-38 (3rd Season)
Overall: 106-128 (9th Season)
Atlantic 10: 8-24 (3rd Season)
vs. Binghamton: 1-1

BINGHAMTON INTERIM HEAD COACH
Mark Macon
@ Binghamton: 1-1 (1st Season)
Overall: Same
vs. St. Bonaventure: First Meeting

BONNIES IN NOVEMBER
St. Bonaventure is 44-35 in the month of November for a .564 win percentage dating back to 1975. That mark is pumped up by a 27-7 record at the Reilly Center in the opening month of the season and a 41-3 all-time mark in home openers at the RC. With six games in the first month of the season, the Bonnies will look to beat the program record of three wins in November. 

MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Standing 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON is center of attention for opposing teams. That has stopped the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year from getting off to a great start to his second season, as the Canadian big man leads the team at 21.5 points per game. Nicholson is shooting a gaudy 72 percent (18-25) from the field and has shot below 50 percent just eight times in 32 career games. Nicholson poured in a game-high 26 points on 11-of-15 from the field against St. John's despite playing 28 minutes due to first half foul trouble.

AGAINST THE BIG BOYS
In three career games against BCS Conference foes, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON has more than stood his ground. Most recently, Nicholson registered his fourth career 20-point game against St. John's. The Mississauga, Ontario product is averaging 18 points and eight rebounds while shooting 59 percent (23-39) from the floor over three games against Rutgers, Mississippi State and St. John's. Below is a closer look at those three games.

Date         Opponent              Pts.   FG-FGA    Reb.      Blk.
11/17/09   vs. St. John's        26      11-15        4           2
11/25/08   vs. Mississippi St. 13        6-11        9           2
11/23/08   at Rutgers            15        6-13        11         5

OFFENSIVE EFFICENCY
Despite only connecting on a trio of three-pointers through two games, St. Bonaventure has been extremely efficient on offense. The Bonnies have shot 50 percent or better in three of the four halves this season and are shooting at an impressive 59 percent clip (54-92) through two games. The easy buckets around the rim have led to a commanding 90-64 edge in points in the paint. St. Bonaventure has also passed out 31 assists to its 31 turnovers, led by senior CHRIS MATTHEWS' eight helpers to just two turnovers.

MR. NOVEMBER
Senior JONATHAN HALL has made an immediate impact during his short time in the Brown and White, especially in the opening month of the season. Last season, Hall scored in double figures in the opening nine games, including all six games in November. Hall has continued his early season success with two more double figure games, including a game-high 20 points in the season opener, to bring his career eight-game November scoring average to 15.9 points. Hall has also led the team in rebounding in both games this season.

HOME COOKING
With last Friday's season-opening win over Cleveland State, St. Bonaventure's extended its home win streak to five games. The Bonnies closed last season on a four-game A-10 home win streak. Over the five-game win streak, the Bonnies have out-scored their opponents by over nine points per game and have shot over 50 percent in four of the five games for a cumulative 53 percent clip (136-259). Senior JONATHAN HALL is averaging 17 points and 8.4 rebounds during the home win streak. Hall has a 30-point and 20-point effort during the run. Senior CHRIS MATTHEWS (12.0) and sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON (11.6) are also averaging double figure points during the win streak.

UP NEXT: BTI CLASSIC
Following Friday's game, St. Bonaventure will have six days off from game action before it takes part in the BTI Classic hosted by Illinois State. The tournament guarantees each team three games over a three-day span beginning on Nov. 27. The Bonnies will open play with back-to-back 9 P.M. ET contests against Southeast Missouri State (Nov. 27) and Norfolk State. The Brown and White's final game of the tournament will be against host Illinois State on Sunday, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. at Redbird Arena.