TEAM ROSTERS
ST. BONAVENTURE BONNIES
0 Chance Moore G, Sr., 6-6/210, Brookhaven, GA
1 Duane Thompson F, R-Fr., 6-8/210, Boston, MA
2 Jaxon Edwards G, Jr., 6-5/195, Indianapolis, IN
3 Miles Rose G, So., 6-4/195, Rochester, NY
4 Ebrahim Kaba G/F, Fr., 6-9/200, East Orange, NJ
5 Dasonte Bowen G, Jr., 6-2/175, Boston, MA
7 Michael Folarin C, R-Jr., 6-11/225, London, ENG
8 Jonah Hinton G, R-So., 6-3/185, Chicago, IL
10 Lajae Jones G, Jr., 6-7/220, Jacksonville, FL
11 Melvin Council Jr. G, Sr., 6-4/180, Rochester, NY
15 Jack DeRose G, So., 6-0/175, Olean, NY
21 Xander Wedlow PF/C, Fr., 6-10/230, Detroit, MI
23 Noah Bolanga G, Fr., 6-8/180, Poitiers, FRA
24 Noel Brown C, Gr., 6-11/255, Leesburg, VA
30 Broek Ostrom G, Jr., 6-2/180, Holley, NY
NIAGARA PURPLE EAGLES
0 Olumide Adelodun W, Sr., 6-5, Calgary, AB
Jaeden Marshall W, Sr., 6-4, Hinesville, GA
2 Samuel Cole G, Fr., 5-11, Sugar Land, TX
5 Justin Page G, So., 6-5, Peoria, IL
6 Damondre McKnight G, So., 6-2, McKinney, TX
8 Justice Smith W, Gr., 6-6, Lyons, NY
10
Williams G, Fr., 6-4, Farmington Hills, MI
32 Will Shortt F, Fr., 6-8, Sydney, AUS
35 AJ McBride W, Fr., 6-5, Cincinnati, OH
Landon
Jhaylon Martinez C, Gr., 6-11, Vallejo, CA
24 Zion Russell G, R-Jr., 6-2, Upper Marlboro, MD
James Henderson Jr. C, Jr., 6-9, Miami, FL
2024-25 St. Bonaventure bonnies
TEAM STATISTICS
2024-25 Niagara Purple eagles
TEAM STATISTICS
GAME NOTES
OPENING TIP
The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team closes its non-conference schedule with a second consecutive rivalry game as the Bonnies welcome Niagara to the Reilly Center.
A win Saturday would match the best start for the program in the past 55 years at 12-1 just as the 1969-70 Final Four squad led by Bob Lanier was. That team opened 12-0 before losing their 13th game at Villanova, 64-62. Those teams would square off again in the Regional Final that year where the Bonnies won, 97-74, to advance to the Final Four.
Speaking of the 1969-70 team, Saturday’s game is the 55th anniversary of the largest crowd in Reilly Center history - a 77-58 Bona win over Duquesne in front of a reported 6,291 fans on Dec. 21, 1969 as part of the Bonnies’ 12-game win streak to begin that memorable campaign.
The hot start for the Bonnies this season has put this year’s team in the conversation with some of the best in program history. Bona has a 11-1 record through 12 games for the fourth time - in the previous three instances, SBU made a national postseason tournament: 1960-61 (opened 21-1, reached the first NCAA Tournament in school history); 1958-59 (opened 15-1, finished 20-3 and reached NIT); 1950-51 (opened 12-1, finished 19-6 and reached NIT). Bona has only had three better starts through 12 games all-time: ‘69-70 (12-0, reached Final Four); ‘67-68 (23-0, NCAA); ‘51-52 (16-0, NIT).
STARTING FIVE
• If the Bonnies win Saturday to improve to 12-1, the program would have had only two better starts in program history through 13 games: 1967-68 (13-0 on the way to 23-0) and 1951-52 (13-0 on the way to 16-0).
• A win on Saturday would also ensure the Bonnies finish with their best nonconference record during the program’s Atlantic 10 era dating to 1979-80.
• By winning 11 of 12 games to begin the year, the Bonnies have had their best stretch of a dozen games since 2018 when the team went on a 13-game winning streak on the way to a 26-win season and NCAA First Four win over UCLA that year.
• Melvin Council Jr. swiped a career-high seven steals in Tuesday’s win at Siena. That represents the most steals in a game by a Bonnies player since Marques Green also had seven at Saint Joseph’s on March 2, 2004. Council was just one off the Bona single-game record of eight steals posted by David Vanterpool at Duquesne Jan. 13, 1995.
• Chance Moore has back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his collegiate career. The senior guard recorded 12 points and 10 boards in last Saturday’s win over Providence, including six offensive rebounds, then went off for 23 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s win at Providence.
RECEIVING VOTES
St. Bonaventure was named in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday, receiving votes for the first time this season after being voted No. 24 by a pollster this week. It is the first time that the Bonnies have garnered AP Top 25 votes since November 2021. St. Bonaventure was last ranked in the AP Top 25 during the 2021-22 season as well, opening the year ranked No. 23 before rising as high as No. 16 in the national poll following a title victory in the 2021 Charleston Classic.
TRENDING NUMBERS
7 - St. Bonaventure is one of seven teams nationally in Division I to have scored 11 victories as of Thursday.
10 – The Bonnies have had 10 or more steals in six games this year. Their average of 9.1 steals per game is 45th in the nation this season.
Continued on Page 9
GAME SCHEDULE
OCTOBER
30 vs. Alfred (Exhibition) W, 63-39
NOVEMBER
4 vs. CSUN ........................ W, 70-56 9 at Canisius W, 87-78 13 at FGCU W, 74-65 16 vs. Le Moyne ................ W, 71-52
20 vs. Mansfield W, 76-54 24 vs. Bryant .........................W, 85-70
vs. Utah State L, 67–72
vs. Northern Iowa W, 68-56
game start times are listed in Eastern Time and are subject to change. Home games in bold
decEMBER
at Bucknell ...................... W, 64-47 7 vs. Buffalo W, 65-55
HALL OF FAME SHOWCASE 14 vs. Providence W, 74-70
at Siena W, 65-48
january
february
at Loyola Chicago 9:00
GAME NOTES
Continued from Page 6
35 – St. Bonaventure has dominated for much of the non-conference slate. Bona has held the lead in at least 35 minutes nine times this year including four straight games. 42% - Lajae Jones is the Bonnies’ best shooter beyond the arc so far this season, hitting nearly 42 percent of his attempts from long range (13-31). 91.7% - St. Bonaventure owns a winning percentage of 91.7%. Only four undefeated teams remaining in Division I (Drake, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida) have a higher win percentage.
ABOUT NIAGARA
• Niagara enters the weekend at 5-6 overall and has been idle since winning over Saint Francis (PA) at home last Saturday, 69-66. The weekend prior to that, the Purple Eagles split their first weekend of MAAC competition by beating Siena at home, 69-68, and losing to Merrimack on home floor, 80-62.
• The Purple Eagles are still seeking their first road win (0-5).
• Niagara ranks 311th in the nation in offense at 68.3 ppg and has struggled mightily on the boards with a -3.3 rebounding margin that stands 314th in the country.
• Two NU players average in double figures – Jahari Williamson (11.5 ppg) and Olumide Adelodun (10.9 ppg).
• Head coach Greg Paulus is in his sixth season and leads a group that was one of six programs in the country to have zero returning minutes from last year, taking on 13 newcomers including 10 transfers and three freshmen. NU was selected
eighth in the MAAC Preseason Poll out of 13 squads.
• Paulus put together a storied collegiate career as a player at Duke. After receiving scholarship offers to play football at Miami and Notre Dame, he opted to play basketball at Duke where he scored 1,193 career points and ranks among the program’s top 10 in assists with 468. He finished his college career in football, playing quarterback for Syracuse in 2009. In high school, he was New York State’s Mr. Basketball following his senior season at Christian Brothers Academy outside Syracuse.
SERIES NOTES
• The Bonnies’ history has been intertwined with Niagara throughout over a century of basketball in Western New York. SBU first played Niagara during the 1920-21 season, Bona’s second as an intercollegiate program, and has built an 90-71 advantage over the years.
• Prior to last year when the Bonnies scored a dominating 94-60 win on the doorstep to Canada, the programs had gone nearly four calendar years between games. That was the longest gap between contests ever for the two squads.
• Recent history has seen dominant stretches by both teams: St. Bonaventure won six straight between 2011-16, following an eight-game win streak by Niagara from 2003-10. Prior to that, Bona’s won 11 in a row from 1993-2001.
• The longest winning streak in the series: 16 straight Bonnies triumphs between 1962-71.
• When the Bonnies put up 94 in last year’s win, it marked the most points for the program in a game against Niagara since a 95-63 win at The RC Jan. 16, 1995.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
The GoBonnies.com Student-Athletes of the Week presented by CPL are women’s basketball freshman Caitlin Frost and men’s basketball senior Melvin Council Jr.
Caitlin Frost
Frost, a 6-1 forward, registered a career-high 16 points in the Bonnies' contest against UAlbany last Saturday. She finished the contest shooting an efficient 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from the floor.
She added a pair of rebounds to go along with a steal and a block in 31 minutes.
A native of Les Coteaux, Quebec, Frost missed the first four games of the season with an injury and since returning is averaging 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She has started three contests and is shooting 58.4 percent from the floor.
Frost was selected as the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Monday afternoon. She is the first Bonnies freshman to earn A-10 Rookie of the Week honors since Olivia Brown garnered the accolades Dec. 16, 2019.
Council was named the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase MVP after posting a game-high 24 points in a win over Providence last Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Council certainly earned his accolades, scoring a game-high 24 points including 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the second half, and he was seemingly everywhere down the stretch.
While some of his production came courtesy of his "Rochester Euro moves" as head coach Mark Schmidt coined it, he was just as important on the defensive end with three key steals after halftime.
Tuesday at Siena, he scored 14 points while his seven steals were the most by a Bonnies player in over 20 years and just one off the school’s single-game school record.
melvin council jr.
2024-25 St. Bonaventure athletic
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BEHIND THE BONNIES
Welcome to "Behind The Bonnies," a new GoBonnies.com series where we get to know the student-athletes at St. Bonaventure University. In this edition, we meet Bonnies sophomore MILES ROSE.
Miles Rose joined the Bonnies prior to the 2023-24 season. Rose played in one contest as a true freshman last winter. He recorded two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench vs. Siena.
He recorded his first career assist and a career-high in points with five vs. Mansfield last month. Before the sophomore’s commitment to Bonaventure, Rose served as a starting guard for the prep national champions, Putnam Science Academy. The guard averaged seven points and two assists a game and shot 43 percent from the floor in 2022-23, helping lead PSA to a 39-3 record and a 21game winning streak to end the season as champs.
Rose is a native of Rochester, N.Y. He started his high school career at Bishop Kearney where he earned First Team All-League honors in 2020 and also played football.
What is your favorite thing about basketball? The competition with one another
Where is your favorite place on campus? The Reilly Center
What is your favorite pump-up song before games? In Control by NBA YoungBoy
What is your favorite food? Anything my mom cooks
Who is your favorite NBA player? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Who is your favorite athlete that is not an NBA player? Patrick Mahomes
What do you like to do outside of basketball? I like playing Madden, Fortnite, and 2K
What is your favorite location that basketball has taken you? Either Los Angeles or Dallas
What is your favorite emoji? The Ninja
What is your go to road trip snack? Some sort of chips and Skittles
