Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
St. Bonaventure (5-3) vs. Cleveland State (6-3)
Saturday, Dec. 15 | 2 PM | Reilly Center (5,480)
Game Notes: St. Bona | Cleveland State | A-10
Twitter: @BonniesMBB | #Bonnies
Sign Up For Free Text & Email Alerts
There are a limited number of $10 seats available in the student section as part of the Back to the Future promotion. For more information, please visit our Gameday Central page which details all events from pre-game, in-game and post-game.
Opening Tip
St. Bonaventure meets Cleveland State for the fourth straight season on Saturday as the Vikings visit the Reilly Center for the first time since the 2009-10 season opener. The Bonnies lead the all-time series, 5-3, (6-2 when not factoring in a win that was later forfeited). CSU has collected home victories in each of the last two seasons over the Bonnies, whose last win against the Vikings came on Nov. 13, 2009, at the RC.
Last Time Out
Bonaventure erased a 17-point deficit, but a last-second 3-pointer from Arkansas State gave the Red Wolves a 73-70 home win last Saturday. With under a minute to play, ASU’s Raeford Worsham stole the ball from Bonaventure’s Chris Johnson and turned the Bonnies’ lone turnover of the second half into a layup at the other end to tie the game at 70-70. On the ensuing SBU possession, Johnson got a great look from the baseline, but his 3-pointer was long, and Ed Townsel grabbed the rebound. Arkansas State decided not to call a timeout, and Townsel took the ball the other way and pulled up for the game-winning 3-pointer from 25 feet with under three seconds remaining. Bonaventure got a great look on its final attempt as a full-court pass from Matthew Wright found Demitrius Conger on the wing in front of SBU’s bench, but the senior’s 3-point attempt hit the back rim.
Scouting Cleveland State
^ The Vikings come into the RC aiming to rebound from an 80-63 loss at No. 25/25 NC State last Saturday.
^ Two of Cleveland State’s three losses this season have come to nationally ranked teams, with the other coming by a 77-47 margin at No. 3 Michigan.
^ The Vikings are 5-0 at home but only 1-3 on the road, with the one victory coming over Ball State, 69-63.
^ CSU returns one starter (forward Tim Kamczyc) from last year’s team, which went 22-11 and earned a berth in the NIT.
^ Point guard Charlie Lee leads the Vikings with 15.7 points and 5.4 assists per game.
^ Lee and Kamczyc are potent threats from the perimeter, as Lee is shooting 46.7 percent (21-45) and Kamczyc 42.2 percent on 3-pointers.
^ Anton Grady (13.7) and Kamczyc (11.1) also average double figures in points for CSU. However, Grady isn’t expected to play due to injury.
^ Head coach Gary Waters is one win shy of 300 for his career. He enters Saturday’s game with a 299-220 overall record in his 17th season.
Conger Nearing Elite Company
Demitrius Conger is closing in on 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists for his career. The senior enters the Cleveland State game with 902 points, 497 rebounds and 182 assists. The last St. Bonaventure player to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists was Ahmad Smith, who registered 1,261 points, 536 rebounds and 245 assists from 2002-2006. Conger also stands 35 steals shy of 100 for his career. The only Bonnie to produce 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals was David Vanterpool, who posted 1,474 points, 630 rebounds, 401 assists and 247 steals from 1991-95.
Bounce Back Bonnies
Bonaventure has proven the ability to bounce back from a non-conference loss very well over the past two years, and will look to continue that against Cleveland State coming off its setback at Arkansas State. With its victory against Buffalo on Dec. 1, SBU improved to 11-1 in its non-conference slate since the start of the 2010-11 season in games following losses. The only two-game losing streak during that timeframe came against Virginia Tech (73-64) and Arkansas State (58-52) last year.
Home Court Advantage
Throughout much of its history, the Reilly Center has been feared by many opponents as one of the most difficult places to play in the country, so much so that in 2003 it prompted ESPN’s Jay Bilas to label it as one of his top-5 “Hostile Homes” in the nation. While that may not have been the case throughout much of the last decade, the RC is gradually becoming the feared venue it once was. The Bonnies have won 13 of their last 14 regular-season home games, and 19 of 21 dating back to the 2010-11 campaign.
Too Close For Comfort
St. Bonaventure’s three losses this season have come by a combined 10 points. Each of the losses have come by four points or less (at Canisius, 72-69; at Ohio, 69-65; at Arkansas State, 73-70). In all, six of the Bonnies’ first eight games have been decided by five points or less, and only one game (Siena, 58-43) has been decided by more than 10 points.
Uncharacteristically Off
Senior Chris Johnson shot 87.7 percent from the free-throw line last year to rank as the fifth-best single-season showing from the stripe in program history. However, so far this season – despite being the team’s leading scorer – he has already missed more free throws through the first eight games than he did all of last year combined. Johnson went 57-65 last season from the line, but is just 24-34 from the stripe so far this campaign.
Bench Support
Sophomore Jordan Gathers played the best game of his season off the bench at Arkansas State to give the Bonnies a much-needed boost in the second half. The California native tallied all of his season-high eight points in the second half – including the first two 3-pointers of his year – while also setting a season-high in assists (four) against no turnovers as he played a season-most 20 minutes, 15 of which came in the second half.
Protecting The Rock
The Bonnies have recorded more assists than turnovers in each of their last three games and have also committed 10 or fewer turnovers in each those contests. Last season, SBU had a stretch of four straight games with more assists than turnovers (Feb. 18-Feb. 29 vs. Rhode Island, Fordham, Charlotte and Saint Joseph’s) but only once finished with fewer than 10 turnovers (nine during a 98-93 double-overtime victory over Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 29). The Bonnies last posted a three-game streak of 10 or fewer turnovers during the 2010-11 season against Richmond (Feb. 20), Fordham (Feb. 23) and Saint Joseph’s (Feb. 26).
Double-Digit Streak Snapped
Demitrius Conger’s eight-game streak of double-figure scoring games dating back to last season ended when he was held to eight points against Arkansas State. Conger’s longest stretch of double-figure scoring games last season was five, which he did twice.
Next Up
St. Bonaventure returns to action at home on Wednesday, Dec. 19, against Citadel. The military college based in South Carolina will face the Bonnies for the first time. A special $10 ticket will be released if @Go_Bonnies can reach 4,000 Twitter followers prior to the game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
Leave a Reply