February 10, 2012 - 12:25 AM |
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Niagara 58, Siena 54
How Niagara Won: Not easily. The Purple Eagles negated Siena's inside dominance by turning 17 Saint turnovers into 21 points and getting a career-high 24 points from freshman swingman Ameen Tanksley on his birthday. Somehow that helped Niagara overcome being pulverized 40-25 collapsing, double-teaming defense that limited the 6-8 junior to nine points and eight rebounds. He ripped them for 27 and 14 the last time out.
Player of the Game: Tanksley had a birthday game he won't soon forget. He shot 8 of 12 from the field including 6 of 9 from three and exceeded his previous career high by nine points. He also produced three of Niagara's eight steals. On a night when Antoine Mason wasn't himself it was a huge and necessary performance.
Play of the Game: Mason seemed frustrated early when he didn't get a couple foul calls and just meandered his way through the opening 39 minutes and 45 seconds. And then he slashed his way to the basket from near the top of the key to score his only points of the night and put Niagara in front for good with 13.5 seconds on the clock.
Unsung Hero: Marvin Jordan stepped up and key moments and finished with six points, four assists, no turnovers and one very big steal. He stole the inbounds pass and hit a three after two Juan'ya Green free throws to put Niagara on top by two with four minutes left. It was Niagara's first field goal in nine minutes.
Stat of the Game: There were five ties and six lead changes.
Unpredictable: Players on both sides were miffed by what constituted a foul as no-calls prevailed most of the night. And then, just like that, Anosike picked up three quick ones and was disqualified with 2:01 to play. Doubtless the three officials on this one -- Joe Demayo, Brian Dorsey and Tim Attanasi - have had better nights. The trio was inconsistent and then some.
They Said It
Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro: "Tanksley made some huge threes. He really in the first half kept them ahead. And then he made a couple big shots in the second half. But our defense I thought was really sound. I thought we defended them well. I think they shot in the high 30s (38 percent). Anytime you can hold a team like Niagara at home to that shooting percentage I think speaks to our defense."
Antoine Mason on Niagara getting the most out of Tanksley: "Saturday's his birthday, too."
In the House: Just 1,314 at the Taps. The students jumped off the bandwagon after five straight defeats.
What It Means: The Purple Eagles and Saints are tied for sixth at 5-9. One of them will likely finish there and avoid a first-round MAAC Tournament game. The other appears destined to face Canisius in the 7-10 game. Four games remain.
Next Up: Niagara entertains Rider Saturday afternoon while Siena crosses Grand Island and heads for Canisius.
-- Bob DiCesare
February 9, 2012 - 7:09 PM |
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February 9, 2012 - 6:26 PM |
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February 7, 2012 - 1:54 PM |
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February 6, 2012 - 3:18 PM |
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And there was much rejoicing among the St. Bonaventure basketball faithful and the growing number who are following, with a certain amount of passion, the women's program this season. After lingering in the "receiving votes" category, the Bona women cracked the Associated Press Top 25 this afternoon, checking in at No. 25.
It is the first time in Big 4 history that a women's team has cracked the Division I national rankings. And, chew on this: It's the first time since January 1971 that a Big 4 team, men's or women's has been nationally ranked. That was the last time the Bona men were in the rankings, a year before the women's program came into existence by the way. Big 4 history guru Mike Harrington noted the Canisius men had been ranked in the 1950s and Niagara in 1969-70, Calvin Murphy's senior year.
Along with the news, the latest edition of Charlie Creme's bracketology came out on ESPN.com today. It places the Bona women as the No. 6 seed against No. 11 Middle Tennessee.
The Bona women have been building this resume for the past few years. Consider this is now the fourth straight year the Bonnies have won 20 or more games. Consider that for the last three years the team ahs gone to the WNIT.
Two things, however, are particularly interesting:
Bona fans, particularly out in Twitter, have been incredulous about the lack of respect the program had received from the AP voters. When was the last time there was a groundswell of general passion over a Big 4 women's baksetball team? Oh that's right. Never.
With no disrespect to other Big 4 programs, particulalry the impressive 2005 Canisius women's team, women's Division I basketball has produced mostly mediocre results. Give a quick glance in the history section on the official websites. That the Bonnies is a presumptive NCAA team even if they don't win the A-10 tournament is the kind of talk long-time observers of the Big 4 women's scene find fascinating and unfathomable.
--- Amy Moritz
February 4, 2012 - 11:59 PM |
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Canisius 58, Niagara 57
How Canisius Won: The Griffs were down 10 and squandering possessions en masse before righting their wrongs midway through the second half. They turned up the defense, limiting to Niagara to one field goal the rest of the way. They cut down on the turnovers. And they got a highlight film of a drive from Ashley Durham to win it a hair before the buzzer.
Player of the Game: Having chastized herself for missing two FTs (she shoots 90% from the stripe in the MAAC), Durham drove the length of the floor on the final Canisius possession and banked home a wide layup over center Lauren Gatto. That more than offset Durham's five turnovers. She finished with nine points and seven assists.
Best Supporting Role: Jamie Ruttle owned the paint, scoring 17 points in 34 minutes. She also helped limit Gatto to six points. Gatto had 15 in the first meeting.
Stat of the Game: Niagara shot 9 of 19 from three against a team that had limited its last 16 conference foes to a cumulative 24.9%. Freshman Meghan McGuinness had three of them.
What It Means: Canisius improved to 11-12 overall and 5-7 in conference in winning their first conference road game and notching their third victory in the last four starts. Niagara (8-16 5-7) has yet to string together consecutive victories.
They Said It . . .
Niagara coach Kendra Faustin (a former Canisius assistant): "A traditional Canisius-Niagara game. It'll always be a good game."
Canisius Coach Terry Zeh: "I'm not going to lie to you. I hate Kendra coaching here. I hate it. She's a very, very good friend of mine and I think it's the most difficult thing in the world."
In the House: 287 at the Taps.
Next Up: Niagara swings through Manhattan and Iona next weekend. Canisius travels to Rider and Saint Peter's.
Bob DiCesare
February 4, 2012 - 7:04 PM |
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February 4, 2012 - 12:33 PM |
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Final: Bona 80, GW 69. The Bonnies are now 22-2 overall and 9-0 in the A-10. They've won 11 straight.
Second half
3:51 left: Bona leads, 73-59. Jenkins has 32 points and eight three pointers. Bona also raised more than $3,000 for the Play 4 Kay/WBCA Foundation.
7:59 left: Bona leads, 65-51. Jessica Jenkins has seven three pointers. 'Nuff said.
11:49 left: Bona leads, 54-47. Another traditional three-point play from Walker helps the Bonnies, but she missed a layup later and GW got one back. The Colonials will be going to the line out of the break.
14:13 left: Bona leads, 51-42. The Bonnies came out solid heled by two more three-pointers from Jenkins and an aggressive and impressive drive from Alaina Walker for a traditional three-point play. Don't count GW out, though. They're going punch for punch now and look poised to counterpunch.
Halftime: Bona leads, 38-31 as it's offense and defense started to click. Jenkins has 17 points hitting 4 of 8 from three-poitn range. Bona had five turnovers, mostly early in the game, to GW's one. Second half keys include Bona taking better care of the ball, hitting the boards an suring up their defense.
First half
2:56 left: GW leads, 29-28. Jenkins had two more three-pointers, but GW is getting easy looks and now has some confidence in their shots. Bona will ahve the ball out of the time out after getting three straight offensive rebounds. Jenni Ashton has three offesnive rebounds but seems hestitant to go up strong with the putback, chsoing instead to reset the offense.
6:54 left: GW leads, 21-20. The scoring has gone back and forth now. Bona has a bit more energy but needs to get consistent especially on the defensive end. As a bonus, that timeout had the dizzy bat promotion. Haven't seen that one in a while. Good times.
10:47 left: Bona leads, 14-13. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jessica Jenkins sparked the Bona offense, but GW came back, with Myers knocking down a three before the timeout to close the gap to one an stop the Bona run.
15:57 left: GW leads, 6-4. Bona has been a bit flat to start the game espeically on the offesnive end and in rebounding. The Bonnies will get everyone's best game and GW is pretty decent on defense. Myers opened the scoring with a jumper and broke the 1,000-career scoring mark.
OLEAN -- The Reilly Center is decorated in pink as the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team celebrates Play 4 Kay, the annual breast cancer awareness game in conjunctio with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and named for legendary NC State women's coach Kay Yow.
On the court, the Bonnies are looking to extend their 10-game winning streak. Bona is 8-0 in the Atlantic 10, 21-2 overall and just missing the Associated Press Top 25.
The Colonials are 10-11 with a 3-4 record in the A-10. Senior guard Tiana Myers has 999 career points and should break the 1,000-point mark early in the game. Myers has averaged 18 points in the last two games for GW. The Colonials also boast one of the best defenses in the conference, ranking second in sterals (10.6 per game) and turnver over margin (plus-3.81).
Bona has wone three of the last four meetings between.
--- Amy Moritz
February 2, 2012 - 10:19 AM |
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Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is moving back to the college game after a stint with the Indianapolis Colts by accepting an administrative position with Akron of the Mid-American Conference. His duties were expected to be spelled out at a news conference this morning. Tressel has a graduate degree from Akron and was part of the search committee that recently hired Terry Bowden as head coach of the Zips. Akron seems determined to rejuvenate a program's that's grown stagnant despite the presence of one of the best football facilities in the conference.
-- Bob DiCesare
February 2, 2012 - 10:08 AM |
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UB head football coach Jeff Quinn will continue his practice of hiring assistants with previous head coaching experience by bringing in Lou Tepper as defensive coordinator, The News has learned. Tepper has been the head coach at Illinois, Edinboro and most recently Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He also is a former defensive coordinator at LSU under Gerry DiNardo.
Tepper, 66, was a two-time conference coach of the year at Edinboro and was head coach at Illinois for five seasons beginning in 1992. He takes over the UB defensive coordinator position vacated when William Inge left the program to become assistant defensive line coach with the Buffalo Bills.
-- Bob DiCesare
February 2, 2012 - 12:40 AM |
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UB 73, Ball State 57
How UB Won: Its array of scorers tends to obscure UB's defensive prowess. But let's look at the numbers. The Cardinals shot just 36.8 percent in becoming the third straight opponent to fall below 60 points. They were outrebounded by 12. They had nine of their shots blocked. And they attempted just 12 free throws. And the Bulls didn't allow a second-half point by anyone other than Jarrod Jones until 7 1/2 minutes after intermission. Its when UB defends that it's at its best.
Player of the Game: Mitchell Watt played 37 minutes, scored a team-high 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds, blocked five shots and picked up four assists. And did we mention he was 2 of 3 from behind the arc? This might have been the best all-around game of his career. An outstanding senior season continues. He looks like he's on a mission.
Best Supporting Role: Zach Filzen went for 14 points and shot 4 of 6 from three. And those six rebounds matched his career high.
Caution Flag: Sixteen turnovers? Ouch. Most of those belong to the big men, who handle the ball frequently in the motion offense. But still. Twelve would be much more palatable.
Opponent Watch: Jarrod Jones, the Cards 6-9 senior center, has never looked better. His 21 points accounted for more than a third of the Ball State output. Watching him and Watt go at it was a treat.
They Said It . . .
UB Coach Reggie Witherspoon: "We played them last year and they shot the eyes out. I thought defensively and rebounding, well it's always a key but it was a big key here. For a team that rebounds that well I thought we did a pretty good job throughout the game."
Watt: "They have a lot of players that crash the boards and have gotten a lot of offensive rebounds so it kind of started with that on the defensive end to really box them out, get physical there and make sure they only got one shot. And that just kind of carried over to the offensive end."
UB Guard Tony Watson: "We preach a lot about staying together and playing as one unit and when we're able to do that and click on all cylinders we're one of the hardest teams to beat."
Ball State coach Billy Taylor: "We've been up and down. We've had a number of games where we've had guys make shots for us. I thought we got some good looks tonight, some open looks early, and when they didn't go down that's when our guys became hesitant and we stopped taking the good shot, the open shot, and we started forcing shots. And that just led to more problems for us."
What It Means: The Bulls have won five straight and are 6-2 in the MAC and tied with Ohio for second in the overall standing, a game behind Akron. Meanwhile, Ball State, which went 4-1 its first trip through the West, suddenly finds itself 4-4. The West just doesn't measure up.
In the House: Someone isn't doing a very good job marketing this basketball team. There were just 2,112 in the house and student representation was sad. Never mind all the excuses. Bona students show.
Next Up: The Bulls play at Toledo Saturday against a young Rockets team more dangerous than its 2-6 conference record. The road's a different animal.
-- Bob DiCesare
February 1, 2012 - 7:22 PM |
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UB QB recruit Collin Michael (Lexington, Ohio) was the No. 2 choice at Indiana and became available to UB when Gunner Kiel committed to the Hoosiers. When Kiel decommitted (he verbaled to LSU, then Notre Dame) Indiana came back for Michael but he maintained his verbal to the Bulls and signed Wednesday.
-- Bob DiCesare
February 1, 2012 - 7:05 PM |
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February 1, 2012 - 3:28 PM |
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For what it's worth, Scout.com has UB's recruiting class ranked ninth in the MAC. But the site recognizes the Bulls as having just 13 recruits instead of the actual 19.
The site's MAC ranking as of early this afternoon (national ranking included):
Toledo (60)
Temple (68)
Central Michigan (76)
Miami (78)
Eastern Michigan (80)
Bowling Green (83)
Ball State (84)
Kent State (90)
UB (97)
Western Michigan (98)
Northern Illinois (104)
Ohio (113)
Akron (116)
UMass (124)
UMass joins the MAC this year as a football-only member. The Minutemen will play in the East with Bowling Green going to the West . . . Scout.com lists Michael as UB's top get and gives him a three-star rating. Madlock and Riche also received three-star ratings. ... RB Devin Campbell qualified for the nationals in indoor track . . . Collura is the third Dematha player to head to UB, following former Bull Kendric Hawkins and current Bull Kendall Patterson . . . Grossman is ranked the nation's 33rd best kicking prospect by ESPN. He also kicked 32 field goals in high school career . . . Bulls recruited a player at every position. Fifteen of the 19 are from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio or Michigan. Bulls had gone heavier in Florida and Texas in recent past.
-- Bob DiCesare
February 1, 2012 - 2:56 PM |
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UB's 19-player initial recruiting class announced today, the first day of the National Signing period:
OFFENSE
RB Devin Campbell (6-0 220), Youngstown, Ohio.
OL Dan Collura, (6-6, 260) Elkridge, Md.
OL Jaden Cotton (6-5, 300) Depew, NY
QB Jordan Johnson (6-1, 185) Amherst, NY (Sweet Home).
WR Marcus McGill (6-2, 215) Rochester, NY.
QB Collin Michael (6-5, 220) Lexington, Ohio
OL Robert Riche (6-6, 270) Canton, Mich.
WR Malcolm Robinson (6-1, 185) Canton, Ohio
TE Mason Schreck (6-5, 225) Medina, Ohio
DEFENSE
DB Okezie Alozie (6-0, 200) Bethlehem, Pa.
DL Beau Bachtelle (6-5, 260) Tuolumne, Calif.
DB Brandon Berry (6-0, 205) Detroit.
LB Waylon Fink (6-5, 225) Greensburg, Pa.
P Tyler Grassman (6-1, 185) Columbus, Ohio
NT Corey Madlock (6-4, 260), Buffalo, NY (Cleveland Hill)
NT Albert McCoy (6-4, 265), St. Petersburg, Fla.
DL Max Perisse (6-4, 250), Downingtown, Pa.
DB William Rembert (6-1, 175), Detroit
DB C.J. Stancil (5-11, 185), Chesterfield, Va.
Quick Notes: Bachtelle is the only junior college player on the list. He was a team captain and first team all-conference at Modesto JC . . . Michael was rated No. 41 among the nation's QBs by Scout.com. He joins a QB mix that includes Alex Zordich, Joe Licata and Tony Daniel as the Bulls seek a replacement for the graduated Chazz Anderson. ... Perisse was a Philadelphia Inquirer top 50 prospect in Pennsylvania ... McGill was two-time all-Rochester.
-- Bob DiCesare
January 31, 2012 - 1:52 PM |
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January 29, 2012 - 3:39 PM |
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January 29, 2012 - 2:32 PM |
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Final: Loyola 70, Canisius 52
Second half
3:32 left: Loyola leads, 64-49. The Greyhounds should cruise the rest of the way in this one.
7:47 left: Loyola leads, 55-43. The Griffs ahd dut the lead to eight, 51-43, in a steal and fastbreak layup by Belardo, but Loyola responded with back-to-back buckets.
11:35 left: Loyola leads, 44-35. The Griffs have fight. What they don't have is cosnistency.
15:58 left: Loyola leads, 39-24. And the wheels have come off for Canisius as the Greyhound's run now is 23-2 spanning two halves.
17:18 left: Loyola leads, 32-24 and Canisius calls time out. The Greyhounds had a series of offensive rebounds and chances to reboot their offense. Not a good way for the Griffs to keep pace in the game.
Halftime: Loyola leads, 28-22. The Greyhounds used a 12-0 run to lcose out the half and quash the fsat start from the Griffs. Shane Walker has 11 points and nine rebounds for Loyola while Josiah Heath leads teh Grifs with six.
First half
3:12 left: Loyola leads, 23-22. A traditional three-point play by Justin Drummond and a pair of free throws from Shane Walker gave the Greyhounds the lead. Canisius can't get good looks at the other end.
6:30 left: Canisius leads, 22-18. Physial game with lots of whistles. Typical MAAC game. And very much up in the air at the moment.
10:24 left: Canisius leads, 20-14. Freshman forward Josiah Heath has been impressive early in the game, scoring six points on a combination of good control in the low post (and good passes from the guards) and a nice soft shooting touch from 15-feet out.
Double header days mean a late start to the men's blog as Canisius hosts Loyola. The Greyhounds are in a three-way tie for first in the MAAC while the Griffs are in the basement at 1-9.
But with 14 minutes left in the first half Canisius leads, 12-7 as Alshwayn Hymes and Franklin Milian each have five points.
January 29, 2012 - 11:45 AM |
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Final: Canisius 60, Rider 54.
The Griffs imporve to 10-11 overall and 4-6 in the MAAC with Kayla Hoohuli and Ashley Wilkes each scoring 13.
Second half
5:56 left: Canisius leads, 47-37. There's some solid defense by the Griffs and a bit of ball luck, too. On the offensive end Wilkes is having another great game with 13 points.
11:38 left: Canisius leads, 36-35. Three-pointers from Emily Fazzini and Kornelija Valiuskyte have helped the Broncs keep pace with the Grffs.
13:50 left: Canisius leads, 33-29. Wilkes scored seven straight points incluidng a three-pointer which was immediately followed by a three from Ashley Durham to regain the lead for the Griffs. The run forced Rider to call timeout.
15:59 left: Rider leads, 27-25. The Broncs scored the first six points of the half to take the lead. A nice finish in the low post by Ashley Wilkes ended the run and seemed to steady the Griffs.
Halftime: Canisius leads, 23-21. Hoohuli leads all scorers with nine points, all on three-pointers. Neither team shot particularly well as the Griffs hit 26.9 percent (7 of 26) and Rider 26.7 percent (8 of 30).
First half
3:45 left: Canisius leads, 19-15.Courtney VandeBovenkamp will be shooting two free throws out of the time out. Another physical defensive class in the MAAC.
11:01 left: Canisius leads, 11-9. Hoohuli stretched it to three straight three-pointers for an 11-6 Griffs lead but Canisius missed some shots and Rider connected to close the gap.
15:31 left: Canisius leads, 8-6. Three-pointers by freshman Kayla Hoohuli are the difference for the Griffs early on, though Rider's MyNeshia McKenzie has two from outside also, incluidng one that a flat, dead bank in from where the rin and the backboard meet.
Pregame
Today is the last of six doubleheaders at the Koessler Athletic Center and the Canisius women's team is looking to put together back-to-back wins tipping off against Rider at noon. The Golden Griffins defeated Loyola, 65-55, on Friday when junior Ashley Wilkes had a career-high 19 points in 23 minutes.
Team captain, junior Allison Braun, remains out indefinetly with a leg injury. In her last 14 games she was shooting 50.7 percent from the field. Sophomore Jamie Ruttle leads the Griffs in scoring (11.0) and reboudning (5.3). The Griffs are 9-11 overall and 3-6 in the MAAC.
Rider is 10-10 overall and 2-7 in the MAAC and winless on the road in the conference this year. Sophomore MyNeshia McKenzie leads the team with 11.4 points a game.
January 28, 2012 - 10:18 PM |
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St. Bonaventure 62, Richmond 47
How Bona Won: Fifth-year coach Mark Schmidt knew from the start of his Bona tenure that he wanted an exemplary defensive team. He just didn't have the athletes to make it happen. Until now. The Bonnies limited Richmond to 5 second-half field goals and 26.5 percent shooting overall They destroyed the Spiders on the boards, 43-27. Bona bolted out to a 10-0 lead and never was seriously threatened in winning for the ninth time in the last 12 games.
Player of the Game: Fouls put the handcuffs on Andrew Nicholson (how many times have you heard that in his career?). But he still managed 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists -- all in 28 minutes. He fouled out with 3 1/2 minutes left.
Play of the Game: Bona made it 6-0 when Nicholson pivoted from eight feet, took a long step, stumbled and launched an underhanded scoop shot that found the net. And you wonder why NBA scouts are smitten with his athletic ability?
Play of the Game II: Chris Johnson was huge off the Bona bench. Momentum seemed to be slipping away when he produced a steal and finished a three-point play off a Matthew Wright pass a little over four minutes into the second half. That made it 39-30. Johnson finished with 11.
Future Watch: Kendall Anthony, a 5-foot-8 guard, came off the bench to score 21 for Richmond, matching his career high. He's legit. He's lightning. And he's only a freshman.
Stat of the Game: Richmond went 6 of 22 from behind the arc. They were 16 of 33 in their last game, a 102-58 dismantling of Fordham (which beat GW Saturday, by the way).
What It Means: Bona improved to 12-7 overall and 5-2 in the A-10. They're in a three-way tie for first.
In the House: A great crowd of 4,589 savored every minute of it. Well, almost every minute.
Next Up: The next two games probably will determine Bona's chances of taking the A-10 regular-season crown. They visit Saint Louis Wednesday. Then they're at UMass a week from Wednesday. A 1-1 road trip would be a major success.
Bob DiCesare
January 28, 2012 - 6:50 PM |
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January 27, 2012 - 10:13 PM |
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Loyola 69, Niagara 57
How Loyola Won: That was maybe the best "D" anyone's played on Niagara at Taps this season. The Greyhounds were hawking in their man-to-man coverage and were determined not to surrender open looks. And they succeeded. Niagara went just 22 of 56 from the field and their frustration seemed to carry over to the foul line, from where they were 7 of 18. Loyola's talented. I liked them at Bona back in mid-December. The Purple Eagles can be satisfied with the roundabout split.
Player of the Game: Justin Drummond should be the spokesperson for an "I Love NY" campaign. He had a career-high 26 at Bona. He followed up with 21 against Niagara while playing a season-high 34 minutes. He loves taking it to the hoop. And he can shoot free throws (11 of 12). He took over the game.
Stat of the Game: Niagara went 7 of 18 from the free throw line.
Unsung: Joe Thomas gave the Purple Eagles a nice lift off the bench after Scooter Gillette ran into foul trouble early in the second half. Thomas scored six points and grabbed five boards in 19 minutes. Of course he missed all three free throw attempts.
They Said It . . .
Niagara coach Joe Mihalich on Loyola: "I think that' the best team they've had. Chemistry, the whole bit. All the pieces."
Mihalich on Niagara's free throw shooting: "Three of them were one and ones, so really you're 7 for 21. It was a kicker, no doubt about that."
In the House: A mere 1,626 on Beach Night at the Gallagher Center.
What It Means: Loyola retained a share of first in the conference at 8-2. Niagara fell to 4-6.
Next Up: The Purple Eagles welcome Manhattan to Taps at 4 Sunday. Loyola plays at Canisius at 2:15.
Bob DiCesare
January 27, 2012 - 7:20 PM |
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January 27, 2012 - 6:52 PM |
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Crowd should fill out shortly
January 27, 2012 - 6:28 PM |
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January 26, 2012 - 1:25 PM |
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The St. Bonaventure men's basketball team needed overtime to win on the road last night against Rhode Island, the only winless team in Atlantic 10 league play. But a win is a win, and suddenly the Bonnies are tied for first in a tightly packed A-10 race. Bona is in a five-way tie for first at 4-2 with St. Louis, Dayton, UMass and LaSalle. Temple, the highest A-10 team in the RPIs at No. 16, is a half-game back at 3-2. Five other teams have three losses.
That means 11 teams are within a game of first in the A-10, which actually has 13 teams (the Atlantic Baker's Dozen?). The Bonnies are only eighth among A-10 teams in the power rankings at No. 88, however. A home loss to Arkansas State drags down their rating. Too bad they lost close games to Illinois and North Carolina State. The Bonnies host Richmond on Saturday, then play a huge road game at St. Louis, which is currently 16-4 overall.
Meanwhile, the Bona women are ranked 27th in the AP poll and are 28th in the RPIs. They're 19-2 overall and 6-0 in the A-10. The Bonnies' two losses were to teams rated higher in the women's RPIs -- No. 7 Delaware and No. 15 Villanova. Barring a total collapse, Bona should make the NCAA Tournament. They'll have a strong case as an at-large if they don't win the A-10 tourney. No Western New York women's team has ever gotten an at-large berth. Only one team, Canisius, has gone as a conference champ.
--- Jerry Sullivan
January 25, 2012 - 6:45 PM |
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Final: St. Bonaventure 68, Saint Joseph's 61 And the Bonnies find a way to win. Ortega finished with 20 points and the Bonnies improved to 19-2 overall, 6-0 in the A-10.
Second half
3:53 left: Bona leads, 58-54. The Bonnies had a nice run with a pair of buckets from CeCe Dixon combined with defensive stops. Bona got a defensive stop and a steal by Jessica Jenkins who pulled up for a quick three but missed it. The ball went out of bounds and will be Saint Joe's ball out of the time out.
7:54 left: Saint Joe's leads, 52-50. The Bonnies last five points have come from the free throw line. It hasn't been pretty on either end.
11:52 left: Tied, 45-45. The Hawks took a 45-38 lead but the Bonnies found a spark in Doris Ortega who already has her career high with 16 points. Good defense has turned into offensive opporuntities, including a key stop, break led by CeCe Dixon who spotted up Chelsea Bowker for a 3-pointer.
15:49 left: Saint Joe's leads, 37-36. It's been a flat start for the Bonnies.
Halftime: St. Bonaventure leads, 32-31. Admittedly, that was one of the poorer performances I've seen from the Bona women, particularly on the defensive end. The good news, even with the poor performance Bona is still leading.
Doris Ortego leads all scorers with 10 points for Bona while Megan Van Tatenhove has seven and Jessica Jenkins six. The Hawks have balanced scoring and shot 48.3 percent (14 of 29) fromthe floor. The Bonnies have an 18-15 advantange on the boards but need to defend better and do a better job working for shots. The offense has been an individual effort for the most part in the opening 20 minutes with ony three assists on 13 baskets.
First half
3:52 left: Bona leads, 30-26, The Bonnies are doing a good job with the Hawks press but not converting enough. Also, the Bonnies could use some better defense, or at least more consistency on the defensive end. The last part of that segement was a lull. Energy is key for the Bonnies going into halftime.
7:11 left: Bona leads, 23-22. The Hawks came out of the last timeout on a 7-0 run to tkae a 20-14 lead. Ah, but then the Bonnies remembered to play defense and got back in the groove thanks to some aggressive play by Megan Van Tatenhove.
11:57 left: Bona leads, 14-13. Jessica Jenkins gathered a loose ball in traffic, backed up and hit a three-pointer. How she routinely makes those shots with no sense of balance is a mystery. The foul situation, however, could come into play. The Bonnies have been whistled for four already. Saint Joe's? None.
15:33 left: Saint Joe's leads, 9-5. The Hawks got out to a quick start. Bona had some good looks but missed shots.
OLEAN -- The charmed season continues at the Reilly Center tonight as the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team hosts Saint Joseph's. The Bonnies just missed cracking the Associated Press Top 25 this week with 42 points, the second best among those receiving votes. Bona is 5-0 in the Atlantic 10, the only undefeated team in the conference. The Bonnies are 6-0 in January.
Saint Joe's meanwhie is 13-5 overall and 3-1 in the A-10. They needed overtime to beat Fordham at home an barely hung on to defeat Xavier. With four seniors in the starting lineup the Hawks are due for a break out game and would love nothing more than to upset the Bonnies.
--- Amy Moritz
January 25, 2012 - 12:38 AM |
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UB 65, Eastern Michigan 47
How UB Won: Execution. Eastern Michigan's zone and slow-down offense tests a team's patience threshold. The Bulls took a punch in squandering a 10-point first-half lead but got down to business in the second half. Twenty assists on 22 baskets and a second-half shooting percentage of 66.7 shows how effective they were in solving the riddle. They also turned 11 EMU turnovers into 22 points.
Player of the Game: Jarod Oldham had three of his 10 assists in the first 5 minutes of the second half when UB went from up one to up nine. He turned it over just three times. He grabbed four rebounds. Point guard was UB's mystery position coming into the season. It's not a mystery anymore. The 6-3 sophomore from Decatur, Ill., is playing beyond his years.
Stat of the Game: EMU 7-footer Da'Shonte Riley blocked 7 shots. He's a transfer from Syracuse and only a sophomore. Akron's Zeke Marshall plays like the 7-footer that he is. Riley plays 7-3.
Play of the Game: Mitchell Watt's behind-the-back bounce pass that found Javon McCrea for a layup.
Pick Me Up: Zach Filzen loosened up the Eagles' zone by going 5 of 10 from 3. He made one bomb with the shot clock winding down that had guard Darrell Lampley shaking his head in disgust.
They Said It . . .
UB coach Reggie Witherspoon: "That was the biggest team we've played and the tempo of the game was a challenge to us that I think as the game went on we got better at handling. But initially the tempo of the game was difficult. There was no rhythm to it.'
Javon McCrea on going up against Riley: "I don't think it rattled me that much. I think I handled it well." (McCrea made 6 of 10 shots en route to a game-high 17 points).
Witherspoon on the challenges of playing the divisional crossovers: "Guys are a little less familiar with each other. The players are. When you're playing against a team twice a year by the time these guys are seniors . . . they know. When they only see each other once and maybe there are some personnel changes, they're not as familiar."
Filzen on the West: "We don't obviously play them as much. It's a little bit different but I think overall we're just trying to win every game. . . . They're all Division I basketball teams."
What It Means: UB opens its crossover schedule with a conquest of one of the West Division co-leaders. But so did East-leading Akron, a winner at Ball State. The Bulls have won three straight and are 11-6 overall, 4-2 in the MAC.
In the House: Just 2,154 turned out. On a campus with an enrollment of 25,000. The students must work up a healthy hate only for Akron.
Next Up: The second of six straight crossovers is Saturday afternoon at Northern Illinois.
Bob DiCesare
January 24, 2012 - 6:34 PM |
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January 24, 2012 - 1:36 PM |
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