This week's stories:
SBU extends losing streak at Boston in OT
By Tracy Nelson
Another career game for junior guard Marques Green, a breakout game for junior guard Patricio Prato and a buzzer-beater for sophomore swingman Mike Gansey werenıt enough for the Bonnies to come out with a win at Boston College. Instead, a 105-96 overtime defeat drops the Bonnies to 2-3 on the season. Trailing 54-40 with 17:29 remaining in regulation, the Bonnies battled back and cut the lead to eight, 83-75, with 3:17 left. Over the next two minutes they controlled the game, scoring six of the next seven and pulling within one point. Despite tight defense from the Bonnies, BCıs Andre Bryant nailed a bank shot, putting the Eagles up 86-83 with 29 seconds to play. Head coach Jan van Breda Kolff said Bryant hit a ³nearly impossible² shot. Down to ten seconds remaining, sophomore swingman Patrick Methot-Lottin, who started the game in Ganseyıs place, missed a chance to pull the Bonnies within one. ³Mike told us he felt more comfortable coming off the bench and he found his groove again,² van Breda Kolff said. After BCıs Ryan Sydney rebounded his own shot, the Eagles got another chance to put the game away. It looked like Bryant would strike again, as he drove the lane, but the ball hit nothing but iron. Green grabbed the rebound. Sprinting up the court, he found Gansey in the right corner, who nailed the three as the buzzer echoed in the Conte Forum gymnasium. Green struck first in overtime, giving the Bonnies their first lead of the game. The Eagles enjoyed three of the last four points at the charity stripe, as the Bonnies committed two fouls back-to-back. For van Breda Kolff, a defensive stop rather than the fouls would have changed the flow of the game. ³If we could have gotten another defensive stand right then, we'd have had a chance to build on the lead and probably would have been in great shape,² van Breda Kolff said. BC then returned the favor, sending senior forward Robert Cheeks to the free-throw line with 1:32 remaining. He tied the game at 94. It would be the closest the Bonnies would come. The Eagles took a four-point lead on free throws from Troy Bell and Craig Smith. Unable to stop BCıs offense, Louis Hinnant put the game away with a breakaway dunk, putting his Eagles ahead 100-94. Despite the loss, the Bonnies had four players score in double figures. Green led the Bonnies with a double-double, recording 31 points and 11 assists, both career highs. Green hit perfection at the line, shooting 6-6, and he was also credited with five rebounds and four steals. Prato, who fouled out early in the game, got out of his recent slump in convincing fashion with 20 points and three assists in just 21 minutes, including 4-10 from three-point land. ³Patricio really stepped up tonight and it was unfortunate he fouled out so quickly,² van Breda Kolff said. Ganseyıs buzzer-beater three will stick in the minds of himself and others, including a solid 16-point effort in his other 34 minutes on the floor. Gansey also grabbed seven rebounds. Getting his first-career start, Methot-Lottin netted 11 points. He also dished out four assists, and was credited with three rebounds and two steals. Junior center Jamil Terrell led the Bonnies with nine rebounds, and he dropped nine points on the Eagles to match. Senior guard Joe Shepherd continued to spark to the Bonnies offense, scoring six off the bench. He added three rebounds in 25 minutes of play. Rounding out the scoring for the Bonnies was Cheeks, chipping in three points. He added four rebounds and one block in 20 minutes. The Bonnies shot 32-79 for 41 percent from the field, including 13-42 from three-point range for 31 percent. Both teams finished the game even with 44 rebounds apiece. ³We competed hard and fought back after being down, so I guess you have to look at all the positives from this game,² van Breda Kolff evaluated. ³One play here or there and we could have won, similar to each of the last two games.² The team continues its road trip with a game at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Alabama, who garnered a third-place ranking in the latest AP poll.
By Nate Dougherty
The magic the Bonnies felt on their first trip to Rochester was absent when they returned on Nov. 30. The last time they played at the Blue Cross Arena in 2000 they defeated Charlotte on a last-second layup. They suffered the opposite fate on Saturday, as the St. Louis Billikens triumphed over the Bonnies. A last second surge gave St. Louis the 56-54 victory. After junior guard Marques Green split the St. Louis defense and nailed a layup to tie the score at 54, the Billikens threw a long outlet pass to Chris Sloan. As Sloan drove to the basket he was met by sophomore forward Mike Gansey, who fouled Sloan to prevent him from making the easy basket. Sloan nailed both free throws to put St. Louis up by two, and the Bonnies inbounded the ball but were unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded. The Bonnies went into halftime nursing a 29-26 lead, and held the lead for nearly the entire second half. With 28 seconds remaining, senior forward Joe Shepherd fouled St. Louis guard Marque Perry, who sank two free throws to give the Bilikens the lead. St. Louis controlled the tempo of the game, forcing the Bonnieı to slow their offense and keeping their scoring well below their average. Green led the Bonnies with 14 points, four assists, and three steals. Shepherd was the only other St. Bonaventure player to score in double figures. He finished with 10 points, along with four steals. Although the loss was tough on the team, head coach Jan van Breda Kolff believes that the game is a stepping stone. "There is a lot of growth and a lot of potential on this team. We think weıre going to be a better team in January or February where last year we were a better team in November or December," van Breda Kolff said. The Bonnies kicked off their season in St. Thomas, far from the bitter weather of Upstate New York. They participated in the Paradise Jam Tournament over Thanksgiving break. On Nov. 25, the Bonniesı lost in the Championship game of the tournament against BYU, 66-57. Despite shooting 28 percent from the field, the Bonnies stayed in the game, pulling even at 57 with 3:45 remaining. BYU held them scoreless for the rest of the contest though, and the Bonnies watched their championship hopes slip away. Green led the Bonnies with 19 points, and earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors. On Nov. 23 the Bonnies defeated Michigan 89-68 to advance to the tournament championship. After starting the game 5-0, the Bonnies slowly began to seize control in the first half of the game. They took a 12 point lead with just over 7:10 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Sophomore guard Mike Gansey scored a career-high 27 points for the Bonnies. ³It seemed like we couldnıt do anything wrong,² Gansey said. The Bonniesı regular season began on Nov. 22 against Virginia Tech, a contest that St. Bonaventure won 91-78. Despite spotting the Hokies 11 points to start the game, the Bonnies began to fight back. They tied the game at 31 with 5:29 remaining. After opening the second half on a 9-0 run the Bonnies held the lead for the rest of the game. Green scored a career-high 28 points, leading five players scoring in double-digits. Van Breda Kolff said he believes the team is still struggling to find its identity, especially after the departure of last seasonıs star, J.R. Bremer. ³For two and a half games I thought we played excellent. For one half we didnıt, and what kind of team are you? Are you the team that played well for two and a half, or are you the team that played poorly for a half? I think that that half a game that we didnıt play well was just an identity situation,² van Breda Kolff said. ³J.R. Bremer was a guy who down the stretch we knew would come up and make some big plays. Well, J.R.ıs not here, and we know thereıs going to be some moments where we miss him more than others,² van Breda Kolff said.
Web forum gives fans opportunity to chat
By Nate Dougherty
Itıs 6 p.m. and gametime quickly approaches. In a little under an hour the Bonnies will tip off against the Boston College Eagles. In Olean, 475 miles from the game, mild-mannered postal employee John Firkel assumes his alter ego, Fox. Fox is the driver of the fanatic Web site BonniesBandwagon.org, a site dedicated to all things Bonnies basketball. Fox took over the duties of webmaster in 1999, two years after the site was founded by then-St. Bonaventure student Scott Rucinski. When he graduated in 1999 and took a job out of the area, Rucinski asked Firkel, a friend of the family, to take over as the leader of basketball afficianados who frequent the Bandwagon. ³When they asked me, I said, Sure. Why not?ı It sounded like fun, and it has been,² he said. As part of becoming webmaster, Firkel adopted the moniker Fox. ³I work for the post office, and I was a fan of The X Filesı so I naturally picked the name Fox, as heıs one of my co-government workers, sort of,² Fox joked. For about an hour every morning before and after work, Fox logs on to the Bandwagon to update the scores, check the links and read over the new messages. Despite the hours he puts into it, Fox wouldnıt want it any other way. ³I make no money off this Web site, and I donıt want to,² Fox said. ³Iıve been a Bona fan my whole life. Always.² Since Fox took over, the Bandwagon has gone on an impressive run. From its birth, over 1.7 million fans have jumped on the Bandwagon. Fox says that currently the site receives about 1,000 to 1,200 daily hits. Although Fox says most of the hits are from the East Coast, there are also hits from the Midwest, California and from points around the globe. Fans who frequent the Bandwagon range from students to alumni and even former Bonnies players. ³Peter van Paassen is on every morning from Belgium. We have quite a few from Argentina that are regular visitors and some from Lithuania, I assume theyıre friends with Saulis Dumblauskis. Theyıre pretty diverse,² Fox said. The Bandwagonıs message board is not limited to just Bonnies basketball talk. Discussions range from talk of the strength of the Atlantic 10 conference, to political discussions, to banter about who was the best athlete ever to come from the Olean area. The Bonniesı recruits are one of many hot topics discussed. Long before the menıs basketball team signed Dan Cage and Patrick Tatham for next season, they were the topic of rumors and speculation on the Bandwagon. On Wednesday, a fan posted Tathamıs stats from his latest high school basketball game. The Bandwagon is also a sponsor of the St. Bonaventure Pep Band. After hearing that the band was in need of sponsorship, Fox put a request on the message board asking for help in earning the $1,000 needed to sponsor the band. Within two weeks Fox received $1,200 in donations from alumni and fans. Aside from the cyber sports bar of conversation on the message board, the Bandwagon also offers links to sites related to the Bonnies and Atlantic 10 basketball as well as links to local newspapers. There is no television coverage for the Boston College game, so soon the Bandwagonıs chatroom fills up with fans from throughout the United States and the world. Dunga, an alumnus who comes to the chat room to talk about the game, hails from Libson, Portugal. Fans from Atlanta, Ga.; Jackson, Miss.; and Midland, Mo., also meet in the chat room to discuss the Bonniesı game plan and senior guard Joe Shepherdıs improvement over the past year. At halftime, they take a break from the basketball banter to talk about each otherıs families and catch up on old times. ³For those that canıt get the game on the radio or listen on the Internet, they can just check back on the Bandwagon, on the message board and you have someone putting updates on every couple minutes,² Fox said. The patrons of the chat room profess their devotion to the Web site. When asked what the Bandwagon mean to them, Bonadona, a fan, responded, ³You mean the Web site that I canıt live without?² After each game, Fox posts the box scores as the board becomes flooded with many fans who come to put in their two cents on the Bonniesı performance. The loss to Boston College has the fans lamenting the Bonniesı poor shooting and looking ahead to their upcoming battle against Alabama with wariness. Despite the loss, Fox quells growing fears and offers a message of optimism. ³Now let's build on this and knock off the No. 3 team in the country on Saturday afternoon,² Fox posts.
A mess of a BCS
I turn on the television to ESPN and Iım shocked. I canıt believe my eyes and ears. Whatıs this talk about the Bowl Championship Series possibly bumping 11-1 Iowa from the Orange Bowl in favor of 10-2 Notre Dame? I donıt understand it. Iıve never been a fan of the BCS, but I started to think that they were getting it right this year. If and when Miami beats Virginia Tech two undefeated teams will play one another for the national championship, in Miami and Ohio State. Then I see this. I know there are a lot of Notre Dame fans out there, and rightfully so, but even they have to be scratching their heads on this one. Notre Dame has had a tough schedule, but they lost to Boston College, one of the easier teams. There was huge hype over the Notre Dame vs. USC game last weekend. People called me and asked if I was going to watch it. I watched it. USC beat them 44-13. Why would Notre Dame deserve a BCS bid? If the Fighting Irish get a bid, what does USC get for beating them? Perhaps their star quarterback, Carson Palmer, should get the Heisman Trophy based on that game alone. Thereıs speculation that Notre Dameıs consideration is based on the television ratings that comes along with its name. No, that canıt be it. What else would it be? I even heard Kansas State being thrown around in the Orange Bowl mix, because they guarantee ticket sales to whatever bowl theyıre in. The whole thing is just stupid. Iowa may or may not get its bid, and it would be a shame if it didnıt, but you have to take a look at the bigger picture. The BCS has crippled college football the last few years and only the programs suffer. What if Colorado played Miami? And Iım sure we all remember that fiasco in which Miami and Florida State had the same record two years ago, and yet somehow Florida State went to the National Title game even though Miami beat them. Yeah, that made sense. Iım not even in favor of a tournament thatıs similar to March Madness. I donıt want to see that. Itıs not that meaningful to my life. I just want to enjoy one college football season without having to hear anyone cry about not getting their just due. Iım just tired of the whole thing. College football should just fix itself. Itıs not the only game in town. Whoıs playing in the NFL this weekend? They have playoffs, donıt they?
Bonnies face a tough test at Akron
By Rachel George
The menıs swim team travels to Akron, Ohio, today for the Akron Invitational. The Bonnies currently stand at 3-2 on the season and head coach Sean McNamee considers this meet a preview of the type of competition the team will face at the Atlantic 10 Championships in February. ³The Akron Invite is kind of a meet that we use as a dress rehearsal for championship — the A-10s in February,² McNamee said. McNamee said the goal of this meet is to get swimmers to advance to the finals. ³Our main goal of Akron is to get individuals second swims. Itıs a trials-finals format and for individuals to make it back at night, where the point scoring is taking place, is our sole goal,² McNamee said. The Bonnies have been strained by the flu that is spreading through the team. In preparation for this invitational, the team has been resting after having a few days off for Thanksgiving break. ³Itıs kind of a natural taper that takes place coming into this meet so hopefully some people will be able to post some season-best times,² he said. McNamee looks to senior Borut Poje, freshman Adrian Blazczak, junior Morgan Hagerman, sophomore Seth Johnson and senior Lucas Kneeland to lead the Bonnies. ³Our leaders, as far as point getters, are going to be our focal points,² McNamee said. Poje set the record for the 100-fly at the Akron Invitational last year, and Adrian Blazczak is currently ranked in the top 30 in the country in the 200-breast. McNamee said the Bonnies will face tough competition in Cleveland State, Clarion and Ball State.
Seattle spells defeat for SBU in tourney
By Tracy Nelson
The St. Bonaventure womenıs basketball teamıs hot 3-0 start to the season turned cold in a hurry at the Seattle Times Husky Classic hosted by the University of Washington last weekend. The Bonnies went 0-2 for the tournament, capped by a 61-42 loss to Pacific University on Saturday in the tournamentıs consolation game. On Friday, Washington handed the Bonnies a 105-48 loss. The Huskies captured the title in an 88-56 victory over Kentucky. Head coach Jim Crowley said he felt the cross-country trip, which included their fifth game in eight days, contributed to the disappointing finish. ³It was a tough stretch plus traveling across the country, but we allowed that to affect our details with our concentration and our effort,² he said. ³I think we allowed ourselves to think we were more tired than we were.² For the fifth game in a row the Bonnies allowed an opponent to jump out to an early lead, but in Seattle, the brown and white never bounced back. ³One of the things that we were so good at in those first few games was that we didnıt panic or get down on ourselves,² Crowley said. ³In Washington it happened and we got down on ourselves and we werenıt recovering well.² Pacific started with an early 7-2 run in the first two minutes, and later used a 10-2 run to extend their lead going into the half. The Tigers led 29-20 after 20 minutes of play. Pacific opened the second half with a second 10-2 run. A three-pointer at the 12:11 mark from senior guard Courtney Mattingly brought the Bonnies within six, but the Bonnies went dry during the final 12 minutes, scoring only nine points. Mattingly finished the game with eight points, four rebounds and two assists. ³Pacific is a decent ball club, but itıs one that we let get away,² Crowley said. Sophomore guard Lyndsey Maurer led the Bonniesı offense with 10 points and two boards. Sophomore forward Tory Vyborny led the team with eight rebounds, while chipping in five points. Junior center Eva Kadlecova was credited with a team-high three blocks. She also netted eight points and grabbed four rebounds. ³We didnıt have the energy, and we didnıt execute our offense like we needed to,² Kadlecova said. The loss to Pacific came after a devastating 105-48 loss to Washington. The Huskies used a 31-6 run late in the first half, jumping out to a 51-23 lead at half time. The Bonnies continued to struggle into the second half and found themselves down by 64 points at the 3:55 mark. The Huskies pounced on the Bonniesı 31 turnovers, converting them into 35 points. ³Weıve been turning it over 20 times a game, and thatıs just too much,² Crowley said. ³Theyıre not aggressive or forced, weıre just lax in our confidence with the ball. It will be corrected.² Sophomore guard Caitlin Crist led the Bonnies and tied her career high with 11 points. She also recorded one block, one steal and one assist. Mattingly grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while she adding six points. Crist earned All-Tournament Team honors based on her two-game performance. ³It was a big surprise that I wasnıt expecting, because really nobody played the way that we can,² Crist said. Despite the disappointing defeats, Crowley remains focused on the games ahead. ³Itıs over. You canıt let yesterday take up too much of today,² Crowley said. The Bonnies hosted an athletic Syracuse team last night at the Reilly Center with results unavailable at press time. The team will continue their three-game home stand when they host St. Francis, Pa., at 2 p.m. on Sunday and Niagara at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Reilly Center.
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