Campus Watch

By Rodney McKissic

Canisius gained some much needed help in their backcourt with the addition of former Stetson guard Chris Perez.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Perez, who also played one season at Liberty, has already graduated from Stetson and will be eligible to play immediately. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Perez is expected to fill the void created by the graduation of Isaac Sosa, the Golden Griffins' third-leading scorer behind Billy Baron and Harold Washington at 11.6 points a game.

Canisius not only loses both Sosa and Washington but reserve guards Alshwan Hymes and Reggie Groves, who had one season of eligibility remaining but has graduated and will not return to the team.

Also not returning are a pair of freshmen: Guard Jermaine Johnson, who will transfer to a junior college, and forward Tyrel Edwards who is seeking to attend an NAIA school.

In 31 games including 30 starts, Perez was Stetson's second-leading scorer at 15.1 points. He shot 48.6 percent from the floor overall and 31.1 percent from 3-point range. He also averaged 4.1 rebounds and led the team in steals with 35.

---St. Bonaventure announced the signing of Denzel Gregg, a 6-foot-7 forward from Syracuse, who played his last two seasons at St. Thomas More Prep School in Connecticut.

Gregg helped St. Thomas to a 24-8 record and a spot in the National Prep School Tournament semifinals this past season. Gregg averaged 12 points and six rebounds a game for a balanced team that featured 10 players who received college scholarships.

“We’re most excited about Denzel's tremendous upside,” Schmidt said in a statement released by the school about the 17-year-old Gregg. “He's a long, athletic forward whose versatility will allow him to guard multiple positions at the defensive end and create mismatches on the offensive side of the ball.”

ESPN College Basketball analysts graded Gregg as one the top-125 class of 2013 forwards in the nation, and the New England Basketball Recruiting Report ranked him as the No. 22 overall prospect in his class.

An ESPN analyst had the following to say about the 195-pound senior:

“Gregg is an explosive athlete with incredible leaping ability. He's as quick off his feet as he is high above the rim, a terrific lob catcher and the type of finisher who can instantly change the momentum of a game.”

Gregg is St. Bonaventure’s first commitment this year.

---Rodney McKissic

Niagara's Juan'ya Green and Antoine Mason, Canisius' Billy Barron and UB's Javon McCrea were all named to the NABC Division I All-District teams which were announced today.

Green and Baron were named to the District 1 first team with Iona's Lamont Jones, Siena's O.D. Anosike and Stony Brook's Tommy Brenton. Mason was on the second team with Loyola's Erik Etherly, Boston University's D.J. Irving, Fairfield's Derek Needham and Stony Brook's Jameel Warney.

McCrea was on the District 14 first team along with Ohio's D.J. Cooper, Akron's Zeke Marshall, Toledo's Rian Pearson and Kent State's Chris Evans.

---Rodney McKissic

Game analysis: UB usually finds a way to lose close games but on Monday in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament it found a way to win. Actually, it was more like an escape. Central Michigan rallied from a seven-point deficit to send the game into overtime and had a chance to win but Kyle Randall's 3-pointer bounced off the backboard and the Bulls won, 74-72, to advance to the tournament's second round against Ball State.

How UB won: Javon McCrea who earned first-team All-MAC honors earlier in the day controlled the paint while Will Regan kept some of the pressure off McCrea inside by hitting 3 of 6 3-pointers. Randall went nuts after halftime, but the Bulls came up with a huge defensive stop to win the game.

Turning Point: McCrea gave the Bulls a four-point advantage in overtime when he drove right and flushed in a left-handed dunk with 2:59 left in the game. Central Michigan pulled within a point on a Randall free throw but Watson made 1 of 2 free throws with 3.4 seconds left.

Player of the Game: Randall had three points at halftime but finished with a game-high 31.

Who is that guy?: Raphell Thomas-Edwards career at UB has been nondescript to say the least but he scored a career best 10 points in the first half, all off the bench. Coming into the game, he made a grand total of 10 field goals this season.

Key stat: Watson was 1 of 10 from downtown.

What It Means: UB advances to Cleveland for the 10th consecutive season.

In the House: 2,309 at Alumni Arena.

He said it: "Partly why we didn't want to play Buffalo was because of Javon McCrea. We don't have anybody that can defend him. We have undersized post guys in there as freshman so we were going to try to be as physical with him as possible and limit his touches he got. As special of a player as he is, he kept working and kept fighting." - Central Michigan coach Keno Davis.

Up next: vs. Ball State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Cleveland

---Rodney McKissic

MAAC Quarterfinals
Niagara 59, Rider 54

How Niagara Won: The Purple Eagles led by 17 early in the second half then held on for dear life down the stretch as Rider's press did its job. Free throw shooting was huge. Niagara went 17 of 19 for the game and 15 of 16 in the second half.

Player of the Game: Sophomore Meghan McGuinness scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds (both team highs) and went 6 of 6 from the line over the final 2:10.

Best Supporting Role: All-conference selection Lauren Gatto was limited to just 24 minutes because of fouls but scored 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Best Performance (Losing Effort): Rider's MyNeshia McKenzie is relentless. She scored 22 points and brought down 13 rebounds.

Stat Check: Niagara got just eight points from its bench but it made a difference. Rider managed a scant two.

Stat Check II: Only once in the last 10 games has Niagara's second-half free throw percentage dipped below 75.

In the House: Attendance for the session totaled 1,855.

Next Up: A semifinal meeting with Marist, which hasn't lost a MAAC tournament game since 2005.

They Said It

Niagara assistant coach Corinne Jones on leading at the half with Gatto playing just 7 minutes: "I think that's a tribute to our team. Players step up. They did their job. They were ready to go. We had some bench players, Jessica Flamm and San Lapszynski, who just did what they were supposed to do. They were solid."

-- Bob DiCesare

Game analysis: D.J. Cooper has broken the hearts of several teams over the years and he did it again against UB on Tuesday. The Bulls cut off Cooper's drive to the basket so he sank a deep 3-pointer with 1:34 left in the game that proved to be the game winner as the Bulls fell to the Bobcats, 72-69.

How UB lost: The Bulls committed 19 turnovers and several came at critical times in the contest. They also failed to convert a field goal after Javon McCrea's basket with 3:51 left in the game.

Turning Point: After McCrea's final basket, UB went 0-4 from the floor with four turnovers.

Player of the Game: Cooper scored a game-high 24 points and was 5 of 10 from downtown.

Mr. 2,000: Cooper went over the 2,000-point mark for his career with his first basket of the night, a 3-pointer which stopped a 14-4 Bulls run.

Nice stat line: in his final game at Alumni Arena, senior guard Tony Watson had 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in 40 minutes. He was also 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Key stat: The Bulls outrebounded the Bulls, 43-22.

What It Means: With a game remaining at Bowling Green, the Bulls are locked in a three-way tie for the No. 4 seed in next week's MAC Tournament with Kent State and Eastern Michigan at 7-7.

In the House: 3,132 at Alumni Arena.

He said it: "We know we're getting better and we know we have the ability to beat every team in this conference. We have to take the mindset everyday that we have a challenge in front of us one game at a time and take our opponents seriously.'' - UB forward Will Regan.

Up next: at Bowling Green at 6 p.m. Friday.

---Rodney McKissic

The NCAA has granted St. Bonaventure forward Marquise Simmons, a fifth-year senior from Washington, D.C., a sixth-year of eligibility according to a source.

The return of the 6-foot-8 Simmons will help ease the blow of losing Demitrius Conger, Michael Davenport, Chris Johnson, and Eric Mosley who are all seniors.

Simmons appeared in just one game last season after tearing his Achilles and made two free throws before leaving the contest. He's appeared in 27 games this season and is averaging 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds as a reserve.

On Saturday, Simmons played 12 minutes and scored two points with five rebounds before fouling out. A few fans in the student section chanted, "One more year'' as Simmons walked to the bench. Motion granted.

---Rodney McKissic

Game analysis: Just like last year, when it captured its first Atlantic 10 Tournament championship, St. Bonaventure is playing its best basketball in March. The Bonnies led by as many as 29 points against Charlotte and after the 49ers made a few token runs in the second half, they managed to put them away, 104-83. It is the Bonnies first three-game win streak of the season.

How St. Bonaventure won: Early 3-point shooting helped Bona to an early 22-5 lead which expanded by 29 by halftime. The second half is when Charlotte stopped sleep-walking and cut into the lead with defense, but the Bonnies never allowed the lead to dip under 16.

Turning Point: The Bonnies led 6-5 with 14:48 left in the first when Demitrius Conger jumped started a run that saw the lead grow to 17 points in a matter of minutes.

Player of the Game: Eric Mosely led the Bonnies with 23 points.

Unsung player of the game: You know when baseball teams make a trade for a left-handed pitcher in the heat of a playoff chase? Well, Mark Schmidt is bringing in Dion Wright off the bench for a late-season push and the freshman responded against Charlotte with a career-high 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting. Wright's point total prior to Saturday was 17.

No sleep 'til Brooklyn. No, really: Conger stuffed the stat sheet again with 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists but lately he's played 444 out of a possible 450 minutes.

Key stat: The Bonnies had 22 assists and 22 turnovers.

What It Means: With two games remaining against Dayton and Fordham in the regular season the Bonnies are currently in a three-way tie for eighth place along with Richmond and Saint Joseph's and hold the ninth seed. Richmond lost at Dayton on Saturday while Saint Joseph's won at home against Fordham.

In the House: 3,760 at the Reilly Center.

He said it: "We talk about curbing and it's an (Irish Republican Army) term about knocking a guy down, open his mouth, step on his throat and knock his teeth out. That what you try to do when you have someone down and we didn't curb 'em. We gave them life." - St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt.

Up next: at Dayton at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

---Rodney McKissic

Game analysis: UB's defense made it a tough night for Toledo's Rian Pearson, the MAC's leading scorer, who was held to 10 points on 3 of 12 shooting in the Bulls' 75-60 victory on Wednesday.

How UB won: Toledo shot just 32.4 percent for the game, including 27.8 percent in the first half while the Bulls were on fire from everywhere. UB hit 51.9 percent of its shots and was 9 of 18 from long range.

Turning Point: The Rockets got within 11 points with 13:42 remaining when the Bulls pushed the lead to 20 with a 12-3 run.

Player of the Game: Coach Reggie Witherspoon says Tony Watson plays better when his mother attends the games. If he has nights like Wednesday (career-high 24 points) perhaps she should come more often.

Unsung player of the game: Javon McCrea had a double-double by halftime and finished with 14 points and a career best 16 rebounds.

Key stat: The Bulls had 16 assists and 11 turnovers.

Key stat II: McCrea led a nice UB block party with four of the team's eight rejections.

What It Means: UB is now 10-15 overall and 5-6 in the MAC.

In the House: 2,338

He said it: "I thought overall it was one of our best team defensive effort. I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping them out of the paint. I thought we kept them from getting easy baskets for the most part." - UB coach Reggie Witherspoon.

Up next: The Bulls play at Miami (Ohio) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

---Rodney McKissic