Jan. 15, 2008

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

GAME DAY CENTRAL
DATE:Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m.
SITE: Robins Center (9,071)
RADIO:WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
WXRL (1300 AM) - Buffalo
WHTK (1280 AM) - Rochester
TALENT:Gary Nease (play-by-play)
WEB AUDIO & VIDEO: www.GoBonnies.com
SERIES: Richmond leads, 7-2
UP NEXT:Wednesday, January 23, 2008
@ Duquesne (CSTV Regional)

AT A GLANCE
St. Bonaventure will look to get back on track as it searches for its first Atlantic 10 win of they year at Richmond. Wednesday night is the first of two meetings between the two clubs this season and the 10th meeting all-time. The Brown and White have won just three of their last 25 road A-10 games dating back to the 2004-05 season and are still in search of their first road victory of the season (0-8). The Spiders are 4-2 in A-10 home openers despite dropping both under third-year coach Chris Mooney.

SERIES HISTORY
Richmond has taken seven of the nine meetings from the Bonnies in the alltime series since joining the A-10 in 2001. The Spiders claimed the first five meetings, but the two teams have split the last four. The visiting club claimed both games last season with the Bonnies taking the final game at the Robins Center. The last three games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 5-7 all-time when playing on January 16, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. The Bonnies have won three of their last four contests on Jan. 16

HEAD COACHING MATCHUP
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 6-10 (First Season)
Overall: 88-100 (7th Season)
Vs. Temple: 0-0

RICHMOND HEAD COACH
Chris Mooney
@ Richmond: 29-46 (Third Season)
Overall: 71-85 (Sixth Season)
Vs. St. Bonaventure: 2-2

SCOUTING THE SPIDERS
Richmond is off to a promising start under third-year coach Chris Mooney. The Spiders split a pair of games in Philadelphia last weekend, defeating La Salle on opening night of league play before falling to Saint Joseph's on Saturday. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for Richmond that included a 52-49 win over ACC member Virginia Tech. The Spiders season has been full of gut-wrenching finishes, as 12 of its 15 games have been decided by 10 points or less. All eight of Richmond's wins have come over those 12 close-nit games. The Spiders are the led by a pair of sensational sophomores in Dan Geriot and David Gonzalvez. Geriot leads the team in both scoring (14.2) and rebounding (5.0) and opened his second season of A-10 play with 31 points in the team's triple-overtime win against the Explorers. Gonzalvez's biggest games this season came against then-No. 3 Memphis and Virginia Tech as he scored a career-high 25 points and 19 points, respectively. Richmond has won three in a row at the Robins Center and has held five of its seven visiting opponents to under 60 points.

LAST TIME OUT: La Salle surges past host bonnies in second half
host bonnies in second half Darnell Harris scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half as visiting La Salle turned in a dominating second half to defeat St. Bonaventure 72-61 in its Atlantic 10 home opener on Saturday night on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center. The Explorers (5-9, 1-1) doubled-up the Brown and White on the scoreboard (46-23) and the glass (27-13) in the second half and snapped a five-game losing streak. The loss is just the Bonnies second on their new playing surface as they fall to 6-10 overall and 0-2 in the league. Leading 59-54 with 6:03 remaining, the Bonnies had led for all but 18 seconds before an offensive dry-spell and lackluster defensive kickstarted a huge La Salle run. St. Bonaventure failed to record a bucket over the next five minutes, 57 seconds as the Explorers scored the game's next 18 points en route to running away with the win.

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 three games this season. Lee's ten 20-point outings is tied for the A-10 lead, while Fereti's four are already one more than he had all of last season.

BONNIES IN JANUARY
St. Bonaventure is 136-155 in the month of January for a .472 win percentage dating back to 1975. The Bonnies are 1-16 over the past four seasons on the road in January. Below is a look at how the current Bonnies have faired in January.

DE-FENSE!
St. Bonaventure has held its last five of its last seven opponents to 65 points or less, including three with less than 60. Prior to the Binghamton game, the Bonnies had held three-straight teams to under 60 points for the first time over 20 years. For the season, the Brown and White have limited eight teams to 65 or less. St. Bonaventure currently ranks seventh in the A-10 in scoring defense (67.4).

LEADING BY EXAMPLE
The play of St. Bonaventure's three seniors will dictate the Bonnies success this season in the Atlantic 10 with such a young roster. Zarryon Fereti, Michael Lee and Tyler Relph have answered the call so far this season. The trio is averaging 41.1 points per game; nearly 64 percent of the team's scoring. Each of them are in the program's top 100 scorers of all time and they hold the top three spots on team's current leading scorers list. At least one of the three has scored in double digits in every game, two of them in 11 games and three occasions when all three have it double figures.

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 (18.4), rebounding (8.5), field goal percentage (.516), steals (28) and minutes (37.1). Lee has produced a league-high ten 20-point games this season. His five double-doubles are tied with Fordham's Bryant Dunston for the league lead, giving Lee 12 for his career to go along with 60 games in double figures. He has also led the team in both scoring and rebounding 10 times. Below is a look at how Lee stacks up amongst the conference leaders.

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 with 14.7 points per game while sinking a team-high 33 three-pointers. He has led the team in scoring four times and is 14th 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 525 points, good for 83rd place.

They keep going and going
With a roster that features just eight scholarship players and four newcomers, loads of minutes have fallen on the team's returners. No one has felt the effects of the thin roster more than seniors Michael Lee and Zarryon Fereti. Lee and Fereti rank first (37.1) and third (36.8) in minutes per game, respectively, in the A-10. Each of them has only played under 30 minutes in one game this season and have gone the full 40 in five contests.