Men's Basketball to host St. John's in Rochester
Aug. 12, 2009
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - For the first time since 2005, the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team will return to Rochester, N.Y., when it hosts Big East Conference foe St. John's on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Blue Cross Arena.
"We're excited to be able to get a game back to Rochester in front of our great alumni base there," said head coach Mark Schmidt. "To be able to play a good Big East Conference program like St. John's at a great venue like Blue Cross Arena is exactly what we need to do. Games that our program has played in the past in Rochester have been well received by our alums and the community and we look for another big crowd this year."
Tickets will go on sale on Sept. 15 and can be purchased at Blue Cross Arena or through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets will also be available through the St. Bonaventure Ticket Office either in person or by phone at (716) 375-2500. Ticket prices will range from $10-$35 and group rates for 10 or more will be available.
There will be a preliminary game on Nov. 17 as well when Rochester rivals Nazareth College and Roberts Wesleyan College will play at 4:30. Tickets for St. Bonaventure, Nazareth and Roberts Wesleyan students will cost $10.
St. Bonaventure is 1-3 all-time at Blue Cross Arena. The Bonnies also played there in 2002 and 2000 against former Conference USA members and now A-10 affiliates Saint Louis and Charlotte, respectively.
Led by Schmidt, who enters his third season at St. Bonaventure, the Brown and White will look to build off last year's 15-15 campaign that saw them reach the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Highlighting four returning starters from last year's squad is reigning A-10 Rookie of the Year Andrew Nicholson, who finished 11th in the nation in blocks (81) and 12th in field goal percentage (.602). Also back is senior swingman Jonathan Hall, who last year became just the second player in program history to lead the team in scoring (12.9), rebounding (6.3) and assists (95) in the same season.
The Red Storm earned a berth into the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in 2008-09, finishing with a 16-18 overall mark and 6-12 record in the Big East. Under sixth-year head coach Norm Roberts, St. John's welcomes back nine players from last year's squad, including all five starters.
This will be the 17th meeting between the two teams, but the first since 1985. St. John's owns an 11-5 edge in the all-time series.
Fibertech Networks of Rochester will serve as the Presenting Sponsor of the game. Fibertech was the Presenting Sponsor in 2005 when the Bonnies took on West Virginia and in 2003 when the Brown and White faced off against then-defending national champion Syracuse, both at Blue Cross Arena.
Headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., Fibertech has quickly established itself as a leading provider of metro dark and fiber-based transport services in mid-size cities throughout the eastern and central United States.
Fibertech is at the forefront of building and operating state-of-the-art fiber optic networks that connect local telco central offices, carrier hotels, data centers, office parks, and other high-traffic locations. The company also extends its core infrastructure directly into local businesses to create scalable high-speed optical networks for end-user customers. Founded in 2000, Fibertech is a privately held company with more than 150 dedicated employees operating across 12 states.
