Men's Basketball inks Tyler Benson

May 5, 2005

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Head coach Anthony Solomon landed his fourth recruit of the spring signing period today, as forward Tyler Benson (Morgantown, W.V./Massanutten Military Academy, Va.) signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at St. Bonaventure next season.

The 6-foot-7, 205 lb. Benson will have four years of eligibility when he joins the team next fall. Benson joins 6-foot point guard Terron Diggs (Fairfax, Va./Tallahassee Community College), 6-foot-5 swingman A.J. Hawkins (Edmond, Okla./South Kent [Conn.] Prep) and 6-foot-10 center Ivan Kovacevic (Croatia/Olney Central [Ill.] College) as the spring signee's.

"Tyler's commitment to join us is exciting and very pleasing," said Solomon. "He is a young man who accomplished his goal of playing in the A-10. Tyler's skills will benefit our team tremendously and he will be a key component in upgrading our roster next season."

Benson started every game this past season at Massanutten Military Academy, leading his team to a 20-9 record. Under the direction of head coach Bruce Kreutzer, he averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists this past winter. Benson also displayed a shooting touch at Massanutten, connecting on 84 percent of shots from the charity stripe and 39 percent from three-point.

Benson attended Morgantown High School, where he was a two-time all-state selection. During his three-year reign, he led Morgantown to a 66-9 record, the best record over a three-year span in school history.

Benson will be the seventh new addition to the Bonnies' roster next season. David Fox, a 6-foot-10 center from Mercyhurst-Northeast (Pa.) Community College, signed an NLI last fall. St. Bonaventure will also welcome 6-foot sophomore guard Tyler Relph and 6-foot-10 junior forward Paul Williams to the roster next year; both transferred to St. Bonaventure and sat out the 2004-05 season per NCAA rules.