Dec. 18, 2007

Complete Game Notes

At A Glance
St. Bonaventure will look for its first road win under first year head coach Mark Schmidt as it travels to 2007 NCAA participant Wright State on Tuesday night. The Bonnies have dropped all five games away from the Reilly Center this season and 10 of their last 11 dating back to last year. On the flipside, tonight's contest is the seventh home game for the Raiders this season. St. Bonaventure took the first two games of this series in the early 90's and Wright State claimed last year's meeting at the RC.

Scouting the Raiders
Wright State is 4-3 on the season with a pair of one-point wins. Both of those victories have come over the last three games as the Raiders have only left the friendly confines of the Nutter Center once this season. Wright State is led by a strong sophomore class that gained valuable postseason experience as freshmen. Despite having such a young nucleus of players, the Raiders do a great job of taking care of the ball and rank 10th in the nation in turnovers (11.7) per game. Second-year guard and reigning Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Vaughn Duggins leads team in scoring at 14.6 points per game. Classmate Todd Brown is tied with Duggins for the team lead in three-pointers (12) and is second in scoring (13.3) and third in rebounding (4.9). Team leading rebounder and senior starter Scottie Wilson missed the team's last game due to a broken orbital bone. Wright State is coached by Brad Brownell, who guided the team to the 2007 NCAA Tournament and a Horizon League Tournament title.

Against the Horizon League
St. Bonaventure owns a 24-21 record all-time against schools from the Horizon League. Wright State recorded their first win against the Bonnies last year at the Reilly Center. Prior to last year's game, the Brown and White had won nine games in a row against the Horizon League.

On This Day In Bona Basketball
St. Bonaventure is 3-1 all-time when playing on December 18 dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books. The Bonnies defeated Florida International, 78-70, in overtime in 1999.

LAST TIME OUT: Offensive Miscues Lead to Loss
Two field goals and a pair of free throws over the final 13:31 of the game was all the offense St. Bonaventure could muster as it fell to Hampton, 55-48, on Saturday night at the HU Convocation Center. Following a breakaway dunk by senior Zarryon Fereti that gave the Bonnies a 44-41 lead with 9:43 to go, the Brown and White went the next nine minutes without a field goal as the Pirates limped their way to victory. Hampton was anything but an offensive juggernaut over that span, racking up just 12 points while St. Bonaventure managed just a pair of free throws. For the game, the Bonnies shot 29 percent (19-66) from the floor, including 20 percent (5-25) from long range, as they dropped to 0-5 on the road this season and 5-6 overall. Thanks to St. Bonaventure's shooting woes, the Pirates (5-4) gathered 35 defensive rebounds en route to a 49-39 edge for the game. Haley and senior Tyler Relph each scored 13 points to lead the way for the Brown and White. Seniors Michael Lee and Fereti combined for 17 rebounds, but went a combined 5-of-30 from the field, including 0-12 from long range.

Bonnies In December
St. Bonaventure has a 76 percent win percentage in the month of December with a 139-106 record dating back to 1971.

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 33.6 points per game. Lee ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (19.5), while Fereti is 15th at 14.1 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 eight games and between them they have led or tied for the team lead in scoring in all but one 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 and rebounding six times out of the team's 11 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 14.1 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 14.1 points per game 15th 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 445 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 1,116 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 19th in the nation, as of Dec. 16, with a .757 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 10th and 30th, respectively, in the nation. St. Bonaventure has been calm at the line with five minutes left in the game, shooting 83 percent (52-63) as a team, 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 43.4 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.

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 seven games ago. Relph is averaging 13.3 over the six-game span, shooting 58 percent (25-43), including 17-of-30 from three-point range. In four games as a starter, Relph is averaging 14.8 points per game and has hit for double figures in three times.