St. Bonaventure Preview
November 30, 2005 10:02 AM | General
November 30, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The St. Bonaventure basketball team West Virginia is playing Wednesday night in Blue Cross Arena (11,650) in Rochester, N.Y., is not the same one that won just two of 28 games last year and had one of the lowest RPIs in college basketball.
 |
||
| Joe Herber scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds last Saturday against LSU, but the senior is shooting just 34.7 percent in his first five games.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
This year the Bonnies are a much improved team having already matched its win total of a year ago. St. Bonaventure opened the season with a 19-point win over Robert Morris and also downed Canisius by 22 on Saturday.
St. Bonaventure’s lone loss was a 101-88 decision at Niagara.
It has taken third-year coach Anthony Solomon (11-48) a while to overcome St. Bonaventure’s devastating situation in which the school was placed on probation for using an ineligible player, but it looks like the former Notre Dame assistant is finally turning the corner.
Six-five, 210-pound senior guard Ahmad Smith has been a handful, averaging a team-best 21.3 points per game including scoring a season-high 30 points in the Canisius win. The Alexandria, Va., resident is shooting 46 percent from the floor and has made 7 of 15 3s. Smith is also hauling down a team best 8.7 rebounds per game.
Six-seven, 225-pound senior forward Patrick Lottin gives the Bonnies instant productivity off the bench, averaging 19.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Lottin is the team’s best long-distance shooter, hitting an impressive 13 of 21 from 3-point range.
“The new players they have right now seem to have added a lot to their team and they’ve improved their shooting tremendously,” said West Virginia coach John Beilein. “Both Patrick Lottin and Ahmad Smith -- they’re shooting it as well as anybody in the country right now. You put those two things together and the chemistry looks to be very good right now.”
Six-eight, 195-pound sophomore forward Michael Lee (10.0 ppg., 4.7 rpg.) and 6-foot-5-inch, 195-pound freshman guard A.J. Hawkins (10.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg.) are also averaging double figures. Six-foot, 180-pound, junior Terron Diggs (4.3 ppg., 2.6 rpg.) is expected to start at point guard.
It was expected that Wednesday’s game was going to pit former New York state player of the year and one-time Mountaineer guard Tyler Relph against his former team. But a stress fracture to Relph’s left foot has sidelined the 6-foot guard indefinitely.
Former St. Bonaventure standout Mike Gansey will get another opportunity to play against the Bonnies. Last year Gansey scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in West Virginia’s 70-55 win over St. Bonaventure in Charleston.
Gansey has been West Virginia’s best player through five games, averaging 18.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-4-inch senior forward hit 7 3s and against LSU and finished with a team-high 25 points in a 71-68 overtime loss to the Tigers. Gansey had a season-high 28 points in a near upset of No. 2 Texas, and poured in 22 in the season opener against Louisiana Monroe.
Senior center Kevin Pittsnogle is the only other WVU player averaging double figures at 16.2 points per game. The Martinsburg native’s best game so far this year was a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double against Kentucky.
After starting the season 2-0 after a pair of wins over Louisiana Monroe and Wofford, West Virginia has dropped three straight to Texas, Kentucky and LSU to fall out of the Top 25. The Mountaineers were 13th in both polls a week ago.
Wednesday night’s game will be the 40th time these two former Atlantic 10 combatants have met on the hardwood. West Virginia leads the series 33-6.
Tip off is set for 7 pm and the game will be carried by the Mountaineer Sports Network. Fans can access the broadcast through CSTV’s All-Access.
Notebook:
