Dec. 13, 2007

Game Notes |Season Stats|Listen Live

At A Glance
St. Bonaventure will look for its first road win under first year head coach Mark Schmidt as it travels to Hampton University on Saturday night. The Bonnies have dropped all four games away from the Reilly Center this season and nine of their last 10 dating back to last year. This is just the second meeting between the two teams.

Scouting the Pirates
One of the best defensive teams in the country, Hampton uses a strong pressure defense to fuel everything it does on the offensive end. Heading into this weekend, the Pirates ranked 16th and 17th in the nation in steals (10.6) and scoring defense (56.9), respectively. The Hampton backcourt duo of senior Rashad West and sophomore Vincent Simpson rank first and second on the team in points and steals. West leads the team in scoring at 17.6 points per game and is second with 13 thefts. Last year against the Bonnies, West poured in 28 points on 8-of-13 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. A promising sophomore, Simpson ranks second on the club in scoring (11.3) and has a team-best 17 steals despite coming off the bench. Sophomore forward Matthew Pilgrim was named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week back on Dec. 3 after helping the Pirates limit Howard to the nation's lowest scoring output of the season (31). Pilgrim has a team-high 10 blocks on the season to go along with 8.6 points per contest.

Against the MEAC
St. Bonaventure owns a 5-1 record all-time against schools from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Hampton is credited for the Bonnies lone loss, an 89-74 win at the Reilly Center last season. Prior to last year's meeting, the Brown and White had not faced a MEAC opponent since Dec. 29, 1999 when they hosted Delaware State.

On This Day In Bona Basketball
St. Bonaventure is 2-2 all-time when playing on December 15 dating back to the 195-76 season in the Bona record books. The Bonnies defeated Davidson, 79-70, in their last Dec. 15 contest.

LAST TIME OUT: Bonnies Stun Albany With Late Run
Led by its trio of seniors, the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team erased a late 10-point deficit with a 17-3 run over the final seven minutes of the game for a 58-54 come-from-behind win over Albany on Saturday night on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center. Trailing 51-41 with exactly seven minutes remaining, the Bonnies had managed just six points over the first 13 minutes of the half until senior Tyler Relph ignited the improbable run with a pull-up three-pointer. All eight of Relph's points came in the final seven minutes as the senior class accounted for all 17 points. Junior D'Lancy Carter also played a big part in the comeback, grabbing five defensive rebounds en route to a game and season-high 15 for the night. The Great Danes failed to get to the free throw line and finished with a 41 percent shooting percentage (24-59) after a 57 percent clip (11- 36) in the first half. The Brown and White became the first team this season to outrebound Albany, 34-33. Lee finished with his league-best eighth 20-point effort of the season and added eight boards. Fereti was the only other Bonaventure player in double figures with 12, while Carter added eight points and three blocks to go along with his 15 boards.

One-Two Punch
Seniors Zarryon Fereti and Michael Lee have been vital in St. Bonaventure's early success. The duo ranks first and second, respectively, on the team scoring and are the third-best scoring tandem in the Atlantic 10 with 35.9 points per game. Lee ranks second in the conference in scoring (21.1), while Fereti is 13th at 14.9 points per game. Both established new career-high's against Binghamton in the team's home opener with Fereti going for 32 and Lee's scoring 26. Lee has led the team in scoring in six-straight games and between them they have led or tied for the team lead in scoring every game.

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 (21.0), rebounding (8.1), field goal percentage (.576) and steals (18). Lee has produced a league-high eight 20-point games this season. His three doubledoubles are also tied for the league lead, giving Lee 10 for his career to go along with 56 games in double figures. He has also led the team scoring eight times, including six consecutive games, and rebounding five times out of the team's 10 games. Below is a look at how Lee stacks up in the conference and nationally.

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 14.9 points per game while sinking a team-high 22 three-pointers. After being held to two points in the season opener at Boston, Fereti torched St. Bonaventure's three opponents at the BTI Invitational for 18.7 points per contest and sank 19-of-20 from the free throw line. He has led the team in scoring two times and his 14.9 points per game 13th in the Atlantic 10. Fereti recently became the third current Bonnie to enter the top 100 on the all-time scoring list and currently has 439 points.

Elite Company
Senior Michael Lee has used steady play throughout his career to build one of the best resumes in program history. On Wednesday at Niagara, Lee became the 21st player in school history to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for his career. Lee recorded the 1,000th point of his career in Albuquerque in the team's final game against Presbyterian. Lee ranks 27th on the all-time scoring list with 1,112 points.

FREE Throws
After finishing 12th in the Atlantic 10 last year in free throw percentage, the Bonnies have flipped the script and now rank second in the conference and ninth in the nation, as of Dec. 9, with a .773 percentage this season. Senior Zarryon Fereti is a perfect 23-of-23 from the line in the second half and leads the A-10 with a .929 percentage. Fellow senior Tyler Relph is right behind Fereti at .893, good for third place in the conference. The duo ranks 12th and 38th, respectively, in the nation. St. Bonaventure has been calm at the line with five minutes left in the game, helping it win three games by 10 points or less.

Leading By Example
The play of St. Bonaventure's three seniors will dictate the Bonnies success this season with such a young roster. Zarryon Fereti, Michael Lee and Tyler Relph have answered the call so far this season, helping the Brown and White get off to an encouraging start. The trio is averaging 45.9 points per game; nearly 67 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.

Back On Track
Due in part to a lingering ankle injury, senior Tyler Relph got off to a rocky start in his final season. Relph has picked up his play since being inserted into the starting lineup six games ago. Relph is averaging 13.4 over the six-game span, starting four games. As a starter, Relph is averaging 14.8 points per game and shooting 59 percent (17-29) from the floor, including 12-of- 20 from three-point range. Relph has hit for double figures in three of four games that he has started. After missing last week's contest in Ohio, Relph scored eight points over the final seven minutes against Albany to help the Bonnies overcome a 10-point deficit.