Posted: Feb 20, 2021
ST. BONAVENTURE (10-3, 8-3) vs. DAVIDSON (11-5, 6-2)
Sunday, Feb. 21 - 3:30 p.m.
Reilly Center
TV: NBC Sports Network
Radio: Bonnies Basketball Radio Network
Online Coverage: Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
Complete Game Notes (PDF) | Digital Gameday Program (PDF)
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OPENING TIP
The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team will finally return to action after a nine-day layoff to begin a furious stretch over the final two weeks of the regular season. That stretch begins with back-to-back games vs. Davidson - the Bonnies will host the Wildcats Sunday afternoon before making the trek to North Carolina for a Wednesday evening battle. The games will be key for both teams - the Bonnies enter the weekend No. 44 in the NCAA NET rankings while Davidson is No. 71.
The game will be broadcast live nationally on NBC Sports Network. Please check your local listings for channel information. NBCSN can be found on Dish Network channel 159, DIRECTV channel 220 and Spectrum cable in the Olean area on channel 314.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Although fans are not allowed to be in the Reilly Center this season, there are still plenty of ways to stay involved with St. Bonaventure basketball on game days. The goal of St. Bonaventure Athletics is to share as much of the experience of the Reilly Center as possible so loyal Bonnies fans can feel a part of the action.
Fans can get information on each individual game including key facts about players, opposing teams and where to watch and listen to games on TV and online by visiting GoBonnies.com/Gameday.
GAMEDAY NOTES
- The Bonnies have remained near the top of the Atlantic 10 standings despite having their schedule wrecked by changes this season. In the past month, the Bonnies have had no fewer than 11 schedule changes including every game since Jan. 15 altered in some way following the first Duquesne game getting moved up a day. Since, the Bonnies had a VCU game replace Richmond Jan. 20; a second Duquesne game moved from March 3 to Jan. 23; a date at Saint Joseph's was postponed Feb. 3; a makeup date at Saint Louis slid to Feb. 6; La Salle was moved from Feb. 24 to Feb. 9; a previously unscheduled second VCU road game replaced UMass on Feb. 12. Last Sunday, it was announced the Bonnies would host Fordham on Feb. 17. Then Fordham went on pause and a Thursday game at George Mason was slated. Just over 24 hours later, and just before departing campus, that game was scrapped due to weather concerns. Sunday's game vs. Davidson was announced earlier this week. Thanks to the most recent postponements, Bona will have gone nine days between games.
- St. Bonaventure enters the week battling for position atop the A-10 standings at 8-3 in league play along with VCU (9-2), Davidson (6-2) and UMass (6-2) though the Wildcats and Minutemen have been sidelined due to virus concerns in recent weeks. Davidson went 26 days without playing prior to this past Friday night without playing a game due to a virus pause. Davidson defeated Division III opponent Virginia Southern, 101-51.
PREVIOUS MEETING
Davidson 93, St. Bonaventure 64 (2/14/20)
A red-hot first half shooting effort from visiting Davidson set the tone and sent the Wildcats to a 93-64 victory over St. Bonaventure in the Reilly Center.
The Bonnies (17-9, 9-4 A-10) built much of their impressive start to conference play last year, which came one win shy of matching the best in program history at the time, on lockdown defense, but the Wildcats sank shots early and often to build a large lead during the opening 20 minutes.
The Bonnies led early, opening a narrow 16-13 advantage behind eight quick points from Osun Osunniyi.
Davidson then embarked on a 20-2 run that gave the Wildcats a 33-18 cushion with 7:30 left in the half.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 15th meeting between the teams and the 11th since Davidson joined the Atlantic 10. The Wildcats hold an 9-5 series lead and have been Bona's nemesis in recent years, winning seven of the last eight meetings. The lone Bona win in that stretch - a triple-overtime thriller Feb. 27, 2018, at the Reilly Center that was key to Bona reaching the NCAA Tournament as an at-large that March.
The first-ever meeting between the schools came in the 1970 NCAA Tournament when the Bonnies won, 85-72, en route to that year's Final Four.
TRENDING NUMBERS
2 – Among all Atlantic 10 guards, Dominick Welch ranks second in the league on the glass with 6.4 rebounds/game.
5 – Kyle Lofton had a career-high five steals at Saint Louis. It was the first time a Bonnies player had at least five steals in a game since Jaylen Adams had six vs. Yale Dec. 9, 2017.
5 – Osun Osunniyi had five blocks at VCU. He also reached that total at SLU on Feb. 6. He now leads the Atlantic 10 this year with 2.6 blocks per game, a total that ranks 14th in the nation.
6 – St. Bonaventure had six COVID-related cancellations during non-conference play. Due to a team pause on Nov. 19, the Bonnies went from being slated to having the very first Division I game of the season Nov. 25 at 9 a.m. in Bubbleville vs. Towson to being one of the last teams in the nation to play their first game Dec. 15 vs. Akron.
7 – Osun Osunniyi handed out a career-high seven assists in the Jan. 13 win at Fordham, the most by a Bonnies center during the Mark Schmidt Era. Osunniyi has had three or more assists in a game four times this season.
10 – St. Bonaventure ranks 10th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 38.9% shooting from the floor this year.
11 – Alejandro Vasquez provided a spark off the bench
Jan. 15 vs. Duquesne, scoring a season-high 11 points. He scored in double figures eight times as a freshman, but that game was his first such performance since Feb. 1, 2020, vs. George Mason. It is one of just two times this year a Bona player has scored in double figures off the bench - the other was when Jalen Adaway posted 12 at Duquesne Jan. 23.
12 – The Bonnies are averaging nearly 12 offensive rebounds per game, leading in the A-10.
23 – The Bonnies are one of 23 Division I teams with five or more players averaging 10+ ppg. All of Bona's five starters average double-figure scoring. The Bonnies have used the same starting lineup in all but one game this year.
27 – Bona handed out 27 assists on 32 made field goals Jan. 6 vs. SJU - it was the most assists in a game by the Bonnies during Mark Schmidt's 14 years as head coach. Bona is averaging nearly 15 assists per game, ranking fourth in the A-10.
32 – Kyle Lofton moved into 32nd all-time in Bonnies scoring last Friday with 1,128 career points, passing Caswell Cyrus '00 and Marcus Posley '16.
36 – Osun Osunniyi has 36 career games of three or more blocks, including four of the last five contests.
63.3 – St. Bonaventure ranks first in the Atlantic 10 by allowing 63.3 ppg.
67% – After a late December and early January cold spell, Osun Osunniyi is again returning to form offensively. The junior has shot 67.7% from the floor in the past five games (21-31).
90 – When Davidson scored 93 points against the Bonnies last year, it represented one of just three times SBU has allowed 90 points or more in regulation since the 2016-17 season.
+130 – Despite being outsized in most of its games, the Bonnies are +130 in points in the paint this year. The Bonnies have been outscored in the paint just once this year, that coming at SLU on Feb. 6 when the Billikens owned a 20-18 edge in the painted area.
ST. DUNKAVENTURE
The Bonnies have put their high-flying athleticism on display throughout the season with many rim-rattling dunks. The team has recorded 37 dunks so far this season, led by Osun Osunniyi (16) and Jalen Adaway (aka "Flight 33") (12).
ADAWAY NAMED A-10 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
St. Bonaventure redshirt junior Jalen Adaway has earned Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week honors, conference officials announced Monday. Adaway was red hot over the past week, averaging 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and shot better than 72 percent from the floor in a pair of games. In a Feb. 9 victory over La Salle, the Indiana native delivered a game-high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, adding eight rebounds and also went 6-for-7 at the line. Feb. 12 at VCU, he made it back-to-back 20-point performances for the first time during his Bonnies career as he poured in a game-best 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, again adding eight rebounds while he also went 5-for-6 at the stripe. Adaway shares Player of the Week honors with Jordan Goodwin of Saint Louis. Adaway was also named Big 4 Hoops Player of the Week for his efforts.
'SHOON SWATS
Osun Osunniyi has proven himself to be one of the nation's top shot blockers. His 185 career blocks stand 11th among all active Division I players. More impressively, his nearly 2.6 blocks per game rank third among all D-I players. Also, his 8.2 rebounds per game over his career stand 25th nationally among all active Division I players. He has been named to the A-10 All-Defensive Team each of the last two years.
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For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on Twitter @GoBonnies and get men's basketball updates @BonniesMBB. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies.
For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on Twitter @GoBonnies and get men's basketball updates @BonniesMBB. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies.