December 23, 2008 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Rob Garrison scored a career-high 23 points to lead Niagara to an 83-65 victory over Little Three rival St. Bonaventure Tuesday.

Benson Egemonye and Anthony Nelson scored 14 points apiece for the Purple Eagles (9-2, 1-0). Bilal Benn contributed 12 points and had 11 rebounds.

Andrew Nicholson led the Bonnies (7-4, 0-0) with a career-high 23 points and seven rebounds. Ray Blackburn scored 14 points and Maurice Thomas and Jonathan Hall added eight points each.

St. Bonaventure jumped out to an 8-2 lead to start the game, but Niagara kicked off a 20-6 run with 15:18 remaining in the first half and never let up.

The Bonnies, who only hit two 3-pointers on the night, cut the lead to 13 points with 6:58 remaining but would get no closer.

December 20, 2008 | AP Press

YPSILANTI, MI — Andrew Nicholson scored a career-best 19 points Saturday to lead St. Bonaventure to its fourth straight victory, 86-78 over Eastern Michigan.

Maurice Thomas added 16 points and Chris Matthews had 14 for the Bonnies (7-3), who led 50-32 at intermission and turned 18 Eagles turnovers into 27 points. St. Bonaventure made 63 percent of its first-half field goal attempts and finished the game 29-for-50 from the floor (58 percent).

Brandon Bowdry scored 21 points and Justin Dobbins added 15 for Eastern Michigan (2-8), which is 0-8 against Division 1 teams.

December 17, 2008 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Ray Blackburn scored 22 points to lead St. Bonaventure to a 73-66 victory over Saint Francis, Pa. on Wednesday.

Malcolm Eleby scored a season-high 13 points for the St. Bonaventure (6-3, 0-0). Maurice Thomas and Jonathan Hall had 11 points apiece. Thomas pulled down 11 rebounds as well.

For Saint Francis (4-7, 1-1), Mislav Jukic scored 16 points and Kyle Jackson contributed 11. Kurt Hoffman had eight points and eight rebounds.

With 11:24 left in the second half and the score tied 50-50, St. Bonaventure launched a 10-0 run. But St. Francis responded with a 10-2 run of its own, bringing the score to 62-60. St. Francis got no closer, though, and St. Bonaventure scored 11 points over the last three minutes to put the game away.

December 13, 2008 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Chris Matthews scored 16 points and hit five 3-pointers, leading St. Bonaventure to a 75-60 win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday.

Jonathan Hall scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bonnies (5-3). Ray Blackburn scored 11 points, while Maurice Thomas led the Bonnies  defensive effort with 10 rebounds.

Neal Pitt scored a game-high 20 points and had 11 rebounds for the Hawks. Keishawn Mayes scored 12 points, and Chris Conner added 11.

St. Bonaventure controlled the game from tip-off. The only tie of the game came with the score knotted 2-2 to start the first half.

Maryland Eastern Shore (1-6) cut the lead to 23-20 with 7:32 remaining in the first half, but the Bonnies responded with a 10-2 run to retake control of the game.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Ahmad Nivins – Saint Joseph’s
Senior, Forward, 6-9, 235 lbs.
Jersey City, N.J./St. Anthony’s HS

Nivins earns his second career A-10 Player of the Week honor after
averaging 19 points and 14 rebounds over two contests…scored 20
points and pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds in Saint Joseph’s
77-64 win at Lehigh on Dec. 2…had a team-high 18 points and 11 boards
on Dec. 6 versus Creighton…made 12-of-18 field goal attempts in the
two games…leads the A-10 with five double-doubles on the year.

B.J. Raymond – Xavier
Senior, Guard, 6-6, 226 lbs.
Toledo, Ohio/St. John’s Jesuit HS

In Xavier’s lone contest of the week versus Auburn on Dec. 3,
Raymond scored a career-high 32 points on 10-of-13 shooting and added
six boards in the Musketeers’ 81-74 victory…drained a career-best
seven three-pointers in nine attempts…leads XU in scoring (13.7
ppg.).

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Andrew Nicholson – St. Bonaventure
Freshman, Forward, 6-9, 230 lbs.
Mississaugua, Ontario/Father Michael Goetz Secondary HS

Nicholson scored a season-high 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and
tied a program-record with eight blocks on Dec. 6 as St. Bonaventure
downed Princeton, 60-53, in the Bonnies’ lone contest of the
week…made four-of-six shots from the field and 8-for-11 from the
line, including all four of his foul shots in the final two
minutes…is the first SBU student-athlete in program annals to earn
three A-10 Rookie of the Week awards.

December 6, 2008 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Jonathan Hall had 18 points and five rebounds to lead St. Bonaventure to a 60-53 victory over Princeton on Saturday.

Andrew Nicholson led the defensive effort for the Bonnies (4-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10), recording nine rebounds and tying a St. Bonaventure record with eight blocks. He also scored 16 points, and Ray Blackburn added 17.

Jason Briggs and Kareem Maddox scored 10 points apiece for the Tigers (2-4, 0-0 Ivy League). Pawel Buczak and Nick Lake each added nine points.

The Bonnies trailed by 13 points in the first half until starting an 11-4 run with 6:48 remaining. They went into halftime trailing the Tigers 26-20.

The Bonnies scored the first seven points of the second half, and the score remained tight until 1:23 remained. Maddox lost the ball under the basket with St. Bonaventure leading 54-53, and the Bonnies scored the game’s final six points to seal the win.

November 29, 2008 | AP Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Julius Coles sank a three-point field goal with 5.4 seconds remaining to lift Canisius to a 68-66 victory over St. Bonaventure Saturday night.

Coles scored 10 points for Canisius (2-3). Frank Turner led the Golden Griffins with 15 points. Chris Gadley and Greg Logins scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Elton Frazier added 11 points.

St. Bonaventure (3-3) was led by Maurice Thomas, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 5:53 remaining. St. Bonaventure’s Jonathan Hall scored 11 points.

After St. Bonaventure’s Da’Quan Cook made two foul shots with 31.2 seconds left for a 66-61 lead, Turner was fouled on the inbounds play and made one of two free throws. Canisius got the rebound, and Turner hit a 3-pointer with 23.6 seconds to play to make it 66-65.

St. Bonaventure turned the ball over on the resulting possession before Coles’ game-winning shot.

November 25, 2008 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Jarvis Varnado scored 19 points and added 12 rebounds and six blocks as Mississippi St. held on to beat St. Bonaventure 76-71 Tuesday.

Ravern Johnson scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bulldogs (5-0). Twany Beckham added 8 points while four other players scored 6 points.

Ray Blackburn scored a career-high 22 points and had four assists for the Bonnies (3-2). Andrew Nicholson scored 13 points and had nine rebounds, and Chris Matthews and Jonathan Hall added 10 points apiece.

Down by 15 with 9:20 left to play, the Bonnies launched a 23-8 run to tie the game at 71 with 1:51 left to play. The Bonnies failed to score another point after Beckham hit a free throw with 1:21 left to play, and Johnson closed out the victory by scoring the game?s final 4 points.

November 23, 2008 | AP Press

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Jonathan Hall scored 18 points and Chris Matthews’ fast-break layup with 2:35 left proved to be the winning points as St. Bonaventure defeated Rutgers 64-63 in overtime in a Garden State Challenge game Sunday.

The game featured 16 lead changes and 22 ties, and neither side led by more than four. Andrew Nicholson added 15 points for the Bonnies, who are 3-1 for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Rutgers (3-1), which let a four-point overtime lead slip away, got 14 points apiece from freshmen Mike Rosario and Gregory Echenique, who added 14 rebounds.

Rutgers had a chance to win at the end of overtime, but Rosario got trapped in the left corner and threw the ball away as time expired. Hall’s jumper at the end of regulation was blocked by Rutgers’ JR Inman.

November 21, 2008 | AP Press

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Alphonso Dawson scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half to lead Delaware to its first win, 85-81, over St. Bonaventure in a Garden State Challenge game at Rutgers Friday night.

Jawan Carter had 16 points and hit two clinching free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining for the Blue Hens (1-2), who gave the Bonnies (2-1) their first loss. Brian Johnson added 19 points and eight assists for Delaware, which shot 50 percent. Dawson was 9-for-9 in the second half.

St. Bonaventure shot 54 percent and got 24 points from Jonathan Hall, 18 from Chris Matthews and 14 from Andrew Nicholson. The three shot a combined 25-for-36.

St. Bonaventure had a chance to tie down, but Hall committed an offensive foul with under five seconds to play.

Carter hit two free throws to seal the victory.