Nov. 24, 2008

Game Notes | Gametracker | Watch

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

DATE: Tuesday, November 25, 2008
SITE: Reilly Center (5,780)
COURT: Bob Lanier Court
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 VIDEO & AUDIO: www.GoBonnies.com
SERIES: First Meeting
LAST MEETING: N/A
RECORD VS. THE SEC: 1-5
UP NEXT: Saturday, November 29, 2008 vs. Canisius @ 7:00 P.M.
SITE: HSBC Arena (Buffalo, N.Y.)

AT A GLANCE
Off to its best start since the 2001-02 season, St. Bonaventure will hit the hardwood for the fifth time in 11 days when it welcomes Southeastern Conference (SEC) foe Mississippi State to the Reilly Center. With their win at Rutgers Sunday, the Bonnies claimed the title of the Garden State Challenge with a 3-1 record. The win also gave the Brown and White a 2-0 record on the road, marking the first time in six seasons that they've won their first two road contests. The victory over Rutgers was also the program's first over a Big East team since 2001, snapping a string of seven consecutive losses.

SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday's game is the first-ever meeting between the two teams and just the seventh all-time for the Bonnies against a member of the SEC. St. Bonaventure's last meeting against a SEC school came in 2002 at Alabama, a 77-68 loss for the Brown and White. Mississippi State is just the third SEC team to ever play at the RC.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 5-1 all-time when playing on November 25, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. The Bonnies have won four straight on this date, highlighted by a dramatic 79-78 win over Conference USA affiliate Charlotte in 2000 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. Senior Kevin Houston's layup with three second remaining clinched the win. Six different players scored at least nine points, led by JR BREMER'S 18. Senior Peter Van Paassen had a game-high 14 rebounds.

HEAD COACHING MATCHUP

ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 11-23 (Second Season)
Overall: 93-113 (Eighth Season)
vs. Mississippi State: First Meeting

MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH
Rick Stansbury
@ MISSISSIPPI STATE: 211-115 (11th Season)
Overall: same
vs. St. Bonaventure: First Meeting

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Off to a 4-0 start, Mississippi State has defeated its opponents by an average of 29.5 points per game to begin the season. The Bulldogs are led by reigning SEC and National Defensive Player of the Year Jarvis Varnado. In 2007-08, Varnado led the nation with 157 blocks and already has 31 over games this season. With his eight blocks against Fairleigh Dickinson, Vernado surpassed Erick Dampier on the all-time blocks list in school history with 255. The 6-foot-9 All-American candidate has become more of a complete player this season, also averaging 10.3 points and a team-best 13.0 rebounds per contest despite playing just 24.5 minutes a night. Surrounding Varnado is a crop of talented young players, highlighted by the backcourt trio of junior Barry Stewart, sophomore Ravern Johnson and freshman Dee Bost. Stewart leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game, while Johnson is second at 11.0 clip. Bost, a first-year point guard, leads the SEC with 6.8 assists per game to go along with his 9.0 points. Led by 11th-year head coach Rick Stansbury, the Bulldogs are averaging a gaudy 48 rebounds per game and holding opponents to just a 29 percent clip from the field. Mississippi State was the SEC West Regular Season champ in 2007-08 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

BLOCK PARTY
With the arrival of Mississippi State junior Jarvis Varnado to the Reilly Center and the emergence of Bona freshman forward Andrew Nicholson, Tuesday evenings contest should feature plenty of blocked shots as the two have combined for 44 on the season. The majority of the blocks come from Varnado, as he enters the showdown averaging a nation-high 7.8 rejections per game. A native of Canada, Nicholson has Bona fans reminiscing about former Bonnie Caswell Cyrus, also from Canada. Nicholson ranks second in the Atlantic 10 with 13 blocks - good for a 3.3 average. The 6-foot-9 forward has at least one block in every game this season, including two five-block performances.

NICHOLSON EARNS WEEKLY A-10 HONOR
Freshman Andrew Nicholson was named the Atlantic Co-Rookie of the Week on Sunday morning prior to the start of the Brown and White's game at Rutgers. Nicholson averaged 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks off the bench during a 1-1 week for the Bonnies. The weekly accolades are just the second set handed out by the A-10 this season as Duquesne's Eric Evans split the award with Nicholson. The 6-foot-9 forward began the week with 13 points and five blocks in the Bonnies convincing 23-point win at Marist. Nicholson's five blocked shots were the most by a Bona player over the last 58 games. On Friday against Delaware, Nicholson again came off the bench to finish in double figures. He finished with season-highs in both points (14) and rebounds (6) against the Blue Hens.

JOHN OF ALL TRADES
Junior Jonathan Hall may be the most intriguing prospect of Schmidt's eight newcomers. Standing at 6-foot-5, Hall was named the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament MVP in his final season at South Plains Community College. Hall currently leads the Bonnies in scoring at 18.5 points per game, good for fourth in the Atlantic 10. Hall has shown consistency at the offensive end, finishing in double figures in all four games, while leading the team in scoring on three occasions. The Miami, Fla. product also ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.0), assists (13), steals (6) and blocks (3). This past weekend at the Garden State Challenge, Hall scored 17 points in the second half en route to 24 points - the most by a Bona player this season. Hall then had a team-high 18 points and nine boards in the win over Rutgers.

INSTANT OFFENSE
St. Bonaventure's leading scorer, junior Chris Matthews has shown the ability to score points in bunches. In three games and four times total, Matthews has scored five or more points over a three-minute span to bolster his 16.3 point scoring average. Matthews has made back-to-back field goals during a game four times this season, including three consecutive on two occasions. Matthews has scored at least 18 points in three contests.

LOOK OUT BELOW
After making the typical first year mistakes in the opener against Robert Morris, freshman Andrew Nicholson has supplied a ton of highlight reel plays in the past two games. The 6-foot-9 forward from Mississauga, Ontario is averaging 14 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks over the last three games. Nicholson was recently named the A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week and followed that accolade with his first career double-double at Rutgers. Nicholson tortured the Scarlet Knights for season-highs of 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. His five blocks at Marist were the most by an St. Bonaventure player in 58 games. Nicholson also leads the Bonnies with seven dunks.