Jan. 13, 2009
Game Notes 
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ST. BONAVENTURE (10-5, 1-1 A-10)
VS
SAINT JOSEPH'S (7-7, 1-0 A-10)
GAME DAY CENTRAL
DATE:Wednesday, January 14, 2009
SITE:Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center (5,780)
TIP-OFF:7:00 p.m.
RADIO:WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
WXRL (1300 AM) - Buffalo
TALENT:Gary Nease (play-by-play)
Dr. John Watson (Analyst)
WEB AUDIO & VIDEO: www.GoBonnies.com
SERIES: Saint Joseph's leads, 43-14
LAST MEETING: February 13, 2008
Saint Joseph's 81, St. Bona 56 (Box Score - Pg. 2)
UP NEXT: Saturday, January 17, 2009
at Richmond @ 7 p.m.
AT A GLANCE
The first of two meetings this season, St. Bonaventure will welcome Saint Joseph's to the Reilly Center on Wednesday night. Both teams were victorious in their Atlantic 10 openers. The Bonnies fell in their most recent conference game against Duquesne, snapping a three-game win streak. The Hawks survived three overtimes on Saturday to defeat Rhode Island, 92-86. The Brown and White will try to deny Saint Joseph's from starting 2-0 in the A-10 for the eighth time in the last nine seasons under head coach Phil Martelli. St. Bonaventure will also try to avoid its first losing streak since the end of November.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hawks have simply dominated the series as of late, taking the last 13 meetings by an average of 18.5 points per game. The two teams will meet twice this season for the first time since 2005. The Bonnies have dropped their last six against the Hawks at the Reilly Center where they are 5-19 all-time. St. Bonaventure's last win in the series came at Hawk Hill on Feb. 26, 2000. Saint Joseph's is 4-2 in six overtime meetings between the two clubs and owns a 23-11 edge in 34 games decided by 10 points or less. Three of the first five games of this series were played at Madison Square Garden with the Bonnies claiming all three contests.
THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 2-10 all-time when playing on January 14, 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 this date came in 2004 against UMass at the Reilly Center. Led by Patrick Lottin's 22 points, St. Bonaventure defeated the Minutemen for their first A-10 win of the season.
HEAD COACHING MATCHUP
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 18-27 (2nd Season)
Overall: 100-117 (8th Season)
Vs. Saint Joseph's: 0-1
SAINT JOSEPH'S HEAD COACH
Phil Martelli
@ Saint Joseph's: 268-159 (14th Season)
Overall: same
Vs. St. Bonaventure: 21-3
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Led by Atlantic 10 Player of the Year candidate Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph's enters the RC with a 7-7 record. The Hawks played a challenging non-conference slate, taking on the likes of Texas, Indiana, Alabama, Villanova and Siena. The Hawks defeated Rhode Island in triple-overtime on Saturday to win their second game in a row for the first time this season. Nivins leads the Hawks in both scoring (19.5) and rebounding (10.9), but his most impressive stat might be his conference-best 39.4 minutes per game. Nivins logged 54 out of a possible 55 minutes against the Rams, accumulating 28 points and a career-high 20 rebounds en route to his second A-10 Player of the Week honor. Junior Darrin Govens and senior point guard Tasheed Carr give the Hawks a solid one-two scoring punch in the backcourt. Govens has reached double figures in 12 of 14 games and recently notched his third 20-point game of the season against URI. Carr, a transfer from Iowa State, is third on the team at 12.4 points per game. Saint Joseph's is the only team in the A-10 with three players in the top 20 in scoring. The trio of Nivins, Govens and Carr account for 69 percent of the team's scoring at 46.5 per game.
LOOK OUT BELOW
Freshman Andrew Nicholson has more than lived up to the hype that crossed the Canadian border with him. The 6-foot-9 forward from Mississauga, Ontario is averaging 12.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. Nicholson leads all A-10 Rookies in rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage (.625), ranking second overall in two categories. On the season, Nicholson has scored in double figures 10 times and has led the team in scoring in four of the last five games, rebounding seven times and blocks 14 times. Nicholson just missed recording a triple-double at Bucknell with 22 points, eight rebounds and a school record nine blocks. He is just one of three Bona players to record a double-double this season, while his 17 dunks are tops on the team. Below is a look at how Nicholson stacks up amongst the league's rookies and leaders.
| Category | Stat | A-10 Rookies | A-10 Overall |
| Scoring | 12.7 | 2nd | 19th |
| FG Percentage$ | .625 | 1st | 2nd |
| Rebounding | 6.1 | 1st | 15th |
| Blocks* | 3.4 | 1st | 2nd |
| 20-Point Games | 2 | T-1st | T-12th |
* - Ranks 5th nationally and is tops amongst all freshman
$ - Ranks 12th nationally and is tops amongst all freshman
OH CANADA
Freshman Andrew Nicholson continued his dominance of the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week accolade this past Sunday, as he earned his fourth citation from the league office. The Mississauga, Ontario native averaged 15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks over two games last week. Nicholson scored in double figures in both games, highlighted by team-highs of 18 points and nine rebounds against Duquesne. Nicholson has led the Bonnies in scoring in four of the last five games.
BLOCK PARTY
Led by freshman Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure has a new element to its aggressive style of defense ... blocked shots. The Bonnies' 85 blocks are already 21 more than last year's total of 64. Nicholson has been the catalyst for the turnaround, swatting away 51 shots so far this season already good for fifth on the program's single-season list. Nicholson's 51 blocks lead all freshman, while his 3.4 per game is second in the Atlantic 10 and fifth nationally, as of Jan. 11. Nicholson tied a program single-game record with eight rejections against Princeton, but broke that mark with nine blocked shots at Bucknell. The record-breaking night gave the freshman four performances of five blocks or more. Nicholson's nine blocks tied the best single-game total by any player in the NCAA this season. Junior Jonathan Hall has used his 6-foot-5 frame and sneaky athleticism to swat away 10 shots, while a total of 10 different players have at least one block. As a team, St. Bonaventure is third in the A-10 and 18th nationally (as of Jan. 11) at 5.7 blocks per game.
ROAD WARRIORS
After winning one road game last season and just five over the previous three seasons, St. Bonaventure has posted a perfect 6-0 mark away from the Reilly Center so far this season. The Bonnies have out-rebounded all six road opponents for a +10.5 margin and have finished with three of their top four shooting percentage away from home. St. Bonaventure has taken a lead into the locker room in five of six games, including a trio of double figure advantages. The team's most impressive road stat might be that they've trailed for only 23 minutes and 32 seconds out of a possible 255 minutes played. The team's six consecutive wins on the road to start the season is a school record, besting the start set by the 1967-68 team. The last team to win more than five road games in a season was the 2001-02 club that won seven.
| Opponent | Time Trailed | Largest Lead |
| at Marist | 2:34 | 27 (2nd - 3:05) |
| at Rutgers | 12:28 | 4 (2nd - 0:36) |
| at Eastern Michigan | 1:37 | 19 (2nd - 14:40) |
| at Bucknell | 3:42 | 18 (1st - 3:48) |
| at Central Arkansas | N/A | 17 (2nd - 3:47) |
| at Fordham | 3:11 | 17 (2nd - 6:27) |
JOHN OF ALL TRADES
Junior Jonathan Hall may be the most intriguing prospect of Schmidt's eight newcomers. Hall currently leads the Bonnies in scoring at 14.1 points per game, good for 15th in the Atlantic 10. Hall has shown consistency at the offensive end, finishing in double figures in 13 games, including the first nine, while leading the team in scoring on five occasions. The Miami, Fla., native can do more than just score evident by his team-highs of 23 steals and 36 offensive rebounds. Hall also averages 5.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and has 10 blocks - all of which are in the top three on the team. Hall ranks among the conference leaders in six different categories, including field goal percentage (.481/9th) and minutes per game (34.5/8th). Hall has played 30 or more minutes in 14 of 15 games this season. Below is a look at the number of games Hall has led the team in each category, including ties.
BENCH POINTS
The increase in overall depth at every position has helped the Bona bench out-score the opposition in every game, resulting in a 368-227 margin. The bench has provided head coach Mark Schmidt with 30 or more points three times and at least 20 points in 12 games, highlighted by a season-high 36 against Canisius. Through 15 games, the Bonnies are receiving 24.5 points, nearly 10 points more than their opponents, and 16.3 rebounds per contest from the bench. Ray Blackburn is fourth on the team in scoring (10.4) and has eight double figure games off the bench. Junior Maurice Thomas' 22-point effort was his last game as a non-starter, in which he also added 12 rebounds against Canisius. The team's leading scorer has come from the bench on four occasions, while it has also supplied a double figure scorer in 13 of the 15 games and three 20-point performances. A total of five different players have scored double figure points off the bench.
BALANCING ACT
St. Bonaventure's balanced scoring and rebounding attack is sure to give its opponents fits in the film room. The Brown and White have five players averaging 8.9 points or more and six that are averaging at least 3.3 boards per game. Through 15 games, a total of seven different players have led St. Bonaventure in either scoring, rebounding or assists in a game. The Bonnies have received seven 20-point efforts from five different players. Those scoring outbursts have come over seven different games. All five starters hit for double-digit points in the team's win at Fordham and the Bonnies are 4-2 when at least four players accomplish the feat.
RECORD BREAKER
Freshman Andrew Nicholson set a program record with nine blocks at Bucknell earlier this season, breaking the previous mark of eight that he equaled earlier this season against Princeton. The original block record was set by Caswell Cyrus in 1998 against Siena. Nicholson's nine-block night is tied for the most by any Division I player this season, while his 51 blocks through 15 games are the fifth-best single-season total in program history.
