Bonnies head to rival Canisius Saturday looking to start 3-0

Rivalry Epitomized
Neither team has won more than two consecutive games since 1993 when the Bonnies won three in a row. Neither team has won more than three straight games in the series since 1979, when Bonaventure completed a streak of 11 consecutive victories over the Griffs. St. Bona owns the all-time series, 97-63, including last year’s 81-62 victory in the Reilly Center.

Koessler Woes
Not counting a victory that was later forfeited in 2002, St. Bonaventure has not won at the Koessler Center since Jan. 21, 1995, when it claimed a 77-65 win. However, that is only a stretch of five straight losses on the Griffs’ home court as the two teams squared off on a neutral court for four seasons over that period.

Last Time Out
Bonaventure surrendered a 14-point second-half lead and just 62-percent free-throw shooting (26-42), to earn a 72-68 victory at Cornell in front of a national TV audience on the NBC Sports Network. Chris Johnson tied a career high in three categories – including points – to lead the Bona offensive attack by tallying 19. After not scoring in the first half and playing just eight minutes, Demitrius Conger netted all 14 of his points in the second half.

Can’t Lose If You’re Not Trailing
St. Bonaventure enters the contest with Canisius having not trailed at all in the last 77 minutes and 24 seconds. In the season opener against Bethune-Cookman last Friday, B-CU hit a 3-pointer on its opening possession, but after a Chris Johnson short jumper fell at the 17:36 mark to give the Bonnies a 4-3 lead, they never again trailed in the game. Against Cornell on Wednesday, the game was tied on four separate occasions, but Bonaventure did not trail at all against the Big Red.

Fresh Performance
Freshman Dion Wright came off the bench against Cornell and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. The California product’s seven boards are the most by a Bonaventure freshman in his first road game since Mike Gansey grabbed six against Cleveland State on Nov. 20, 2001. Furthermore, Wright becomes the first Bona freshman to lead the team in rebounding in his first road game since Vidal Massiah against Siena on Nov. 24, 1998, when he corralled eight caroms.

Looking For A Better Road Start
St. Bonaventure’s win at Cornell improved its record in the last 11 years in road openers to 2-9. Prior to that, SBU’s only win during that stretch came on Nov. 17, 2008, against Marist as the Bonnies claimed a 77-54 victory. That same season was also the last time the Brown and White won their opening two road games of a campaign as Bona went on to defeat Rutgers on Nov. 23 in overtime, 64-63.

Foul-Filled Affair
Bonaventure’s game at Cornell on Wednesday featured a combined 54 fouls and 70 free throws between the two teams. That’s the most fouls and free throws in an SBU game since last year against Niagara on Dec. 30 when the Bonnies and Purple Eagles combined for 55 fouls and 74 free throws.

Sole Charity
Despite St. Bonaventure’s poor performance from the free-throw line against Cornell (26-42), junior Charlon Kloof hit six free throws in the contest, accounting for all of his scoring on the night. He’s the first SBU player to score at least five points – all of which came from the free-throw line – since Da’Quan Cook went 5-6 in a contest against Binghamton on Nov. 20, 2009.

Same Face, New Place
Canisius is coached by former St. Bonaventure standout Jim Baron, who helped guide the Bonnies to the 1977 NIT Championship as a player and later returned to the Bona sidelines as a coach from 1992-2001 where he took SBU to an NCAA Tournament and NIT. Baron had previously coached at A-10 member Rhode Island since 2001.

Scouting Canisius
^ The Golden Griffins topped Boston University, 83-75, to open the season on Monday night
^ Harold Washington, a senior who averaged 17 points per game last season, was a Preseason All-MAAC Second Team selection
^ Alshwan Hymes ranks third all-time in program history with 178 made 3-pointers
^ The Griffs starting lineup features two Division I transfers in Billy Baron (Rhode Island & Virginia) and fellow guard Isaac Sosa (Central Florida), both of whom have history against St. Bonaventure. Baron averaged seven points against the Bonnies in two games last season, while Sosa scored two points against SBU in UCF’s 69-54 victory in the 2011 CBI Invitational
^ Another transfer, center Freddy Asprilla (Kansas State), is suspended for the season’s first three games and will not play against SBU
^ Despite having a new coaching staff and seven new players, the Griffs have a combined 1,535 points back off last year’s roster, which breaks down to 78.1 percent of last season’s scoring
^ Canisius was picked to finished 9th in the MAAC Preseason Poll
^ The Griffs went 5-25 overall and 1-17 in the MAAC last season

St. Bonaventure-Canisius Series History
Overall: St. Bonaventure Leads, 97-63 (96-64) – SBU victory in 2002-03 later forfeited
At St. Bonaventure: St. Bonaventure leads, 50-15
At Canisius: Canisius leads, 7-3 (8-2) – SBU victory in 2002-03 later forfeited
At Neutral/Unknown Site: St. Bonaventure Leads, 44-41
Most St. Bonaventure Points: 97 (3 times, last Feb. 24, 1979: 97-90, OT)
Most Canisius Points: 90 (Feb. 24, 1979: 97-90, OT)
Fewest St. Bonaventure Points: 13 (1920-21: 25-13)
Fewest Canisius Points: 12 (3 times, last 1927-28: 20-12)
Largest St. Bonaventure Margin: 39 (Feb. 2, 1967: 97-58)
Largest Canisius Margin: 29 (Dec. 15, 1990: 82-53)

Big 4 / MAAC Trends & Notes
> SBU swept its Big 4 rivals in 2011-12, defeating Buffalo (66-60), Canisius (81-62) and Niagara (72-70)
> SBU is 185-132 all-time against Big 4 foes, holding series advantages over Canisius (97-63), Niagara (83-68) and Buffalo (5-1)
> At SBU, Schmidt is 6-6 against Big 4 opponents: Canisius (3-2), Niagara (1-4), Buffalo (2-0)
> SBU is 243-155 all-time against MAAC foes
> At SBU, Schmidt is 8-6 against MAAC opponents: Canisius (3-2), Loyola, Md. (1-0), Marist (1-0), Niagara (1-4) and Siena (2-0)
> SBU has met every one of the MAAC’s 10 members at least once, and owns a .500 record or better against all but one: Marist (1-2)

St. Bonaventure Bonnies 3-0 Trends
# SBU has started 3-0 30 times in 92 years
# SBU has finished 27 seasons with an above .500 record after starting 3-0
# SBU has advanced to 13 postseason tournaments after starting 3-0 (4 NCAA, 9 NIT)
# Since joining the A-10 in 1979, SBU has started 3-0 six times; the Bonnies have finished four of those seasons with 15 or more victories, including two NIT appearances (1998, 2001)
# The last time SBU started 3-0 was in 2000-01, with victories over New Mexico State, Fresno State and Charlotte; the Bonnies finished that season 18-12 and earned a berth in the NIT
# As a head coach, Schmidt has guided teams to 3-0 starts once (2006-07 at Robert Morris)
# Schmidt’s best season start is 4-0 with Robert Morris in 2006-07
# The last time the Bonnies started 3-0 and made the NCAA Tournament was in 1977-78, when they went 21-8
# The last time Bonaventure started 4-0 and 5-0 was in 1992-93
# The last time SBU started 6-0 was 1973-74
# The last time SBU started 7-0 and 8-0 was 1970-71
# The last time SBU started 9-0, 10-0, 11-0, 12-0 was 1969-70
# The Bonnies’ most wins to start a season is 23 in 1967-68; they completed a 22-0 regular season before winning their first NCAA Tournament game to move to 23-0 and finished the year 23-2

National Exposure
St. Bonaventure made its first TV appearance of the year against Cornell – the first of 11 scheduled regular-season television appearances, including two national broadcasts. SBU was 2-3 in national TV games last year, but all three losses – at Illinois, vs. Temple and vs. Florida State – came by a combined 14 points. Over the last two+ years total, including the 2012-13 season, St. Bona is 12-9 in TV games.

Locking Down On D
The 55 points allowed by Bonaventure in its season opener this year are the fewest in a season opener since a 68-53 win against New Mexico State on Nov. 17, 2000. Additionally, it’s also the fewest points allowed in home opener since a 58-53 victory over Rice on Dec. 3, 1996.

Next Up
St. Bonaventure faces another Little Three rival as it will battle Niagara at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena next Saturday, Nov. 24. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.