March 5, 2008
Game Notes in PDF Format 
ST. BONAVENTURE (8-20, 2-12 A-10)
vs
DAYTON (18-9, 6-8 A-10)
GAME DAY CENTRAL
DATE:Wednesday, March 5, 2008
SITE:Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center (5,780)
TIP-OFF:7:00 p.m.
RADIO:WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
WXRL (1300 AM) - Buffalo
TALENT:Gary Nease (play-by-play)
Dr. John Watson (analyst)
WEB AUDIO & VIDEO: www.GoBonnies.com
SERIES: Dayton leads, 11-8
LAST MEETING: February 10, 2007
Dayton 69, St. Bonaventure 62
UP NEXT:Saturday, March 8, 2008
@ Fordham - 1 p.m.
AT A GLANCE
Playing its final home game of the season, St. Bonaventure will welcome Dayton to the Reilly Center for Senior Day. The Bonnies will honor seniors Zarryon Fereti, Michael Lee and Tyler Relph prior to the game. Fresh-off its first road win of the season at Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure will look to end its first season on Bob Lanier Court on a positive note. The Bonnies are 5-7 at the RC this season, but have dropped their last four home contests. The Flyers can clinch a berth in the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a win tonight and in the process can move up into a three-way tie for eighth place with one game remaining.
SERIES HISTORY
Dayton has taken five in a row and seven of the last 10 meetings in the series. St. Bonaventure is 3-2 against the Flyers at the Reilly Center and the home team is 9-4 in the series. Dayton holds a slight 7-6 edge in the 13 games decided by 10 points or less. The two teams have met four times in the Atlantic 10 Tournament since Dayton joined the conference in 1996, with both teams each winning two games.
THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 1-6 all-time when playing on March 5, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. The Brown and White's lone win on this date came in the 1997 Atlantic 10 Tournament against Dayton. The Bonnies scored a season-high 45 points in the first half and rolled to a 81-75 win over the Flyers in the first round. Rashaan Palmer scored a game-high 22 points followed by three other players in double figures.
HEAD COACHING MATCHUP
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 8-20 (First Season)
Overall: 90-110 (7th Season)
Vs. Dayton: First Meeting
RICHMOND HEAD COACH
Brian Gregory
@ Dayton: 93-58 (Fifth Season)
Overall: same
Vs. St. Bonaventure: 5-0
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
After cruising to a 12-1 non-conference record that earned it a national ranking in both major polls, Dayton has dropped 8 of its last 12 in the riggers of the Atlantic 10. The Flyers picked up a huge road win last Saturday in the Bronx with a 57-50 victory over the Rams. The win moved Dayton out of a tie for the final conference postseason berth and into a tie with Duquesne for 10th place. The Flyers are 11-4 in games decided by 10 points or less and are second in the A-10 in rebound margin (+5.3). The league's fourth leading scorer (19.0), senior Brian Roberts is having a Player of the Year type of season. Named to the Wooden Award List, Roberts has an A-10-best eight 20-point games in conference play, including four in the last six games. The team's second leading scorer Chris Wright has missed the last 14 games due to injury. The scoring slack has been picked up by committee as five other Flyers are averaging over six points per game.
GOING OUT WITH A BANG
Senior Tyler Relph has been through and seen it all during his collegiate career. With the season winding down, Relph isn't leaving anything on the floor as he closes out his career. The former Mr. New York State award winner is in the midst of the best 12-game span of his career, averaging 15.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.8 boards per game. During the past 12 games, Relph has led the team in assists nine times, scoring three times, and is a perfect 36-of-36 from the free throw line. His 10 double figure outings are highlighted by three 20-pont efforts and complimented by career-highs in both assists (9-twice) and rebounds (8 vs. GW). Against George Washington, Relph became the first player this season to lead the team in points (21), rebounds (8) and assists (5) in the same game. This past Saturday in St. Louis, Relph went for a career-best 25 points on 8-of-10 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from long range. Relph has also found his shooting stroke from beyond the arc, hitting 28-of-44 (64 percent) in his last seven games.
IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT
Over the past eight games, St. Bonaventure has vastly improved on the offensive end, averaging over 70 points per game. It's no coincidence that number has improved thanks to hard work on the offensive glass and cutting down of turnovers. The Bonnies have grabbed 94 offensive rebounds over the past eight games compared to 76 by its opponents. Senior Michael Lee and junior D'Lancy Carter lead the way with 23 and 19 offensive caroms, respectively. St. Bonaventure has turned those extra possessions into points thanks to a +1.2 team assist/turnover ratio. The Bonnies mere 11.3 turnovers per game, including 9.8 over the last five games, has helped lead to 104 (13.0 per) second chance points. St. Bonaventure has had a positive assist/turnover ration in five straight games and three of its four games on the season with 10 or less turnovers.
THAT DOUBLE VISION
The double-double statistic is a figure that most take for granted, but one that senior Michael Lee has become familiar with this season. Lee has a career-best nine of the team's 11 double-doubles this season and 16 for his career. Six of his nine double-doubles have come in A-10 action, putting him in sole possession for second place in the A-10. Lee has missed recording double-doubles in five other contests by one or two rebounds.
SAVING HIS BEST FOR LAST
Senior Michael Lee is having a career year in his final season in the Brown and White. Lee leads the team nearly every statistical category, including scoring (17.4), rebounding (8.0) and steals (42). Lee and Rhode Island's Will Daniels are the only two players in the A-10 that rank in the top 10 in points per game, rebounds per game and field goal percentage. Lee is tied for second in 20-point games with 15. He has also scored in double figures a career-best 23 times and has led the team in scoring on 17 occasions and rebounding 16 times.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
The Atlantic 10 Conference boasts seven scoring tandems that average a combined 30 points per game. Seniors Zarryon Fereti and Michael Lee are vital parts of St. Bonaventure's offense. The duo ranks as fifth-best scoring tandem in the Atlantic 10 at 31.1 points per game. Lee ranks eighth in the conference in scoring (17.4), while Fereti is 18th at 13.7 points per game. Both established new career-high's against Binghamton earlier this season in the team's home opener with Fereti going for 32 and Lee scoring 26. Lee has led the team in scoring 17 times and between them they have led or tied for the team lead in scoring in all but four games.
20/20 VISION
Seniors Michael Lee, Zarryon Fereti and Tyler Relph have made a habit of scoring 20 points in the same game. Fereti and Lee have scored 20 points more in the same game three times this season, while the Lee and Relph combo has done it twice. Lee has reached 20 points on 15 occasions, good for second in the A-10, while Fereti's five 20-point outings are two more than he had last season. Relph has picked up four of his five career 20-point games this season.
JUST AROUND THE CORNER
With three games remaining in the season, some of St. Bonaventure players are approaching some personal and program milestones. Below are some numbers to keep track of.
Michael Lee
1 double figure games away from 70
3 three-pointers shy of 50 for his career
8 steals shy of 50 for the season
8 points away from Glenn Hagan for 17th place
10 field goals short of 550 for his career
12 points shy of becoming 12 player with 1,400 points and 600 rebounds
14 points away from becoming the first player since Marques Green in 2003-04 to score 500 points in a season
20 points short of passing Tim Winn for 16th position
26 rebounds short of the top 10 in school history
Tyler Relph
1 three-pointer away from passing Nii Nelson-Richards (181) for fourth place in career makes
4 points shy of entering the top 50 all-time in scoring
6 points away from moving past both Jim Satalin and Miles Aiken for 49th place
9 field goals short of 100 for the season
Zarryon Fereti
5 trifectas short of entering the top 10 single-season list in made threes
16 points away from 400 for the season
20 free throw attempts shy of becoming eligible for the career record books
24 points short of 700
