2011-12 St. Bonaventure Men’s Basketball
Washington and Dayton games. Changing of the Guards Head coach Mark Schmidt swapped Jordan Gathers in for Matthew Wright versus Rhode Island, adjusting the starting lineup for the first time in 12 games. It marked Gathers’ first career start and was the fifth different cast deployed by the Bonnies this season. Better Off the Bench Matthew Wright earned the 2-guard spot in place of Michael Davenport earlier this season, but has come off the bench in in two straight, a decision that appears to have paid off for head coach Mark Schmidt. In 18 games as a starter, Wright averages 6.9 points and shoots 28.4 percent from 3 with a 1.4 A:TO ratio. Coming off the bench, Wright posts 8.5 points, shoots 40.5 percent from 3, and has a 4.1:1 A:TO ratio. Wright came off the bench for the first time in 18 games vs. URI and responded by knocking down his first two 3s and passing out eight assists with no turnovers. Home Sweet Home SBU had its eight-game home winstreak snapped with the loss to Temple, just its third loss in the last 17 home, regular-season A-10 games (14-3) since Feb. 27, 2010 vs. Rhode Island. In their 10 home victories overall (102), the Bonnies have posted a double-digit win in all but one (Dayton, +8), including a 44-point victory over Fordham Jan. 21. Johnson Ranks 2nd in FT% Chris Johnson is 52-58 from the charity stripe, good for an 89.7 percent clip, which currently ranks second all-time at SBU. He fails to qualify for the NCAAs free throw (2.5 makes/ gm – 60) minimum but met for the school’s single-season standard (50 attempts) in the loss at UMass. Keys to Victory Coach Mark Schmidt has stressed three keys to the Bonnies’ success on the hardwood throughout the season: Rebound; Defend; Take Care of the Ball. To that end, SBU is 12-4 when outrebounding opponents, 9-1 when holding the opposition under 40 percent from the field and 9-1 when posting fewer turnovers. Start Me Up Andrew Nicholson and Demitrius Conger have been staples of the Bona starting five over the past three seasons. Nicholson has started in 69 straight since missing the Dayton game as a sophomore, while Conger has started 57 straight since the beginning of his second season. Fine From the Line The Bonnies rank 5th nationally in free throw percentage at 76.9 percent (443-576, as of Feb. 28). SBU has shot more free throws that its opponent in 13 of its 16 wins this season.
three of those four losses (Cleveland State, Arkansas State, Illinois). Following the Canisius game, however, St. Bonaventure has closed the door on the opposition winning its last 12 games when holding a lead with 4:00 minutes to play (16-3). Blowing the Doors Off The Bonnies’ 44-point margin of victory vs. Fordham is the biggest ever in conference play for SBU and just the second time with a 40+ point victory within the A-10. The other two biggest margins of victory have both come against Rhode Island: 1/29/00 (40, 84-44); 1/21/01 (36, 91-55). He’s a Hunter, That Gathers Freshman guard Jordan Gathers had a breakout performance against Fordham, posting 12 points on 5-of-7 FGs (2-4 from 3) while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists in 20 minutes. The Los Angeles, Calif. native booked career highs in each of those categories and stepped out of a 1-for-14 shooting funk to start his career, before breaking into the starting lineup vs. Rhode Island. Andrew’s Explosion Andrew Nicholson’s 30-point, 13-rebound, six-block effort against Dayton was just the third 30+/10+/5+ game in the nation over the last two seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information Senior Researcher Jason McCallum. He’s the first Atlantic 10 player to do it since Ahmad Nivins in 2008. The last “Power 6” conference player with a 30-105 game? Kevin Durant. It marked his sixth career 30-point game (first this season), seventh career game with five or more blocks (first since 5 @UMass 1/20/10), and 20th career double-double (third this season). Canadians Lead the U.S. St. Bona boasts three Canadian players on its roster in Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga, Ontario), Matthew Wright (Toronto) and Chris Johnson (North Preston, Nova Scotia). The trio have combined for 44.7 percent of SBU’s points (809-1,810) – the largest percentage of a team’s points by Canadian players in the nation. Let Me Upgrade Ya There’s no debating that the Bonnies (RPI: 100) have significantly upgraded the schedule - and the program - during Mark Schmidt ‘s tenure. By comparison, SBU ended the 200607 season (prior to the Schmidt era) ranked 278th in the RPI. House of Toupane St. Bonaventure announced the signing of Jean Yves Toupane (Jawn two-PAIN) to a National Letter of Intent Nov. 16. The 6-foot-7 small forward from Senegal joins Lee Academy (Maine) teammate, freshman Youssou Ndoye.
Against the Grain SBU has put 3+ in double figures in 15th games this season. The Bonnies are 14-1 in those games, with the only loss being the Saint Louis game.
Bonnies’ Record By...
LOCATION Home ...................................................10-2 Away . ..................................................... 6-7 Neutral .................................................. 0-1 SCORE BY PERIOD Leading @ half ....................................13-7 Trailing @ half . ...................................... 3-3 Tied @ half ............................................ 0-0 Overtime games ................................... 1-0 REBOUNDS SBU outrebounds ...............................13-4 Opponent outrebounds SBU ................ 2-3 Tied ........................................................ 1-3 TURNOVERS Less than opponent ............................. 9-1 More than opponent ............................ 6-9 Tied ........................................................ 1-0 SBU SCORES 59 or less .............................................. 0-3 60-69 . ................................................... 5-6 70-79 . ................................................... 5-1 80-89 . ................................................... 5-0 90-99 . ................................................... 1-0 100+ . .................................................... 0-0 Margin Games decided by 5 or less ................ 1-3 Games decided by 6-10 ....................... 6-4 Games decided by 11+ ........................ 9-3 DAY Sunday .................................................. 1-1 Monday . ................................................ 1-0 Tuesday ................................................. 0-1 Wednesday . .......................................... 4-4 Thursday . .............................................. 0-1 Friday ..................................................... 3-1 Saturday ................................................ 7-2 MISCELLANEOUS Day games ............................................ 3-2 Night games . ......................................13-8 Brown Uniforms .................................... 6-7 White Uniforms ...................................10-3 On television ......................................... 6-3 SBU FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE SBU shoots under 40% ........................ 0-5 SBU shoots between 40-49% .............. 8-3 SBU shoots at/over 50% . .................... 8-2 OPPONENT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE Opponent shoots under 40% . ...........10-1 Opponent shoots between 40-49% . ... 6-7 Opponent shoots at/over 50% ............ 0-2 FREE THROWS SBU shoots more FTs .........................13-3 Opponent shoots more FTs .................. 1-7 tied . ....................................................... 2-0 BENCH SCORING SBU bench outscores ........................... 9-7 Opponent bench outscores ................. 7-1 scoring tied ........................................... 0-2 LEADING/TRAILING AT 4:00 MARK SBU leading ........................................16-3 SBU Trailing ........................................... 0-7 tied . ....................................................... 0-0
Closing it Out The Bonnies got off to a tough 3-4 start to the season, and let late leads slip away in
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