St. Bonaventure's annual men's basketball game at Rochester's Blue Cross Arena will feature a return to an Atlantic 10 Conference opponent this season.



The Alesco Advisors Roc City Hoops Classic will pit the Bonnies and the Fordham Rams on Saturday, Jan. 12. The game will tipoff at 4:30 p.m.



Alesco Advisors is an independent, employee-owned investment advisory firm which serves institutional and individual investors from its offices in Rochester and Buffalo, N.Y., and San Francisco, Calif. In addition to Alesco Advisors' presenting sponsorship of the game, they remain a season-long sponsor for St. Bonaventure Athletics.



"Alesco Advisors is proud to partner with Blue Cross Arena and St. Bonaventure University to bring big-time, Division-I college basketball to downtown Rochester," said Alesco Advisors President Jim Gould. "This is a great sports town and our community deserves to have quality athletic events like this to embrace. We are honored to serve as the lead sponsor for the Roc City Hoops Classic."

"We are so thankful to Jim Gould and the entire Alesco Advisors team for their support again this year," said St. Bonaventure Athletics Director Tim Kenney. "Their sponsorship enables us to continue bringing St. Bonaventure basketball to the great sports fans of the Rochester region. We've had a great run in Rochester the past few years and we're really excited about this year's game."

The Bonnies have become regulars at Blue Cross Arena, hosting 12 games there since 2000 including three Atlantic 10 Conference games over the past four seasons. In January 2017, the Bonnies topped Fordham 73-53. In 2016, Marcus Posley scored 47 points to lead St. Bonaventure to an 89-83 win over Saint Joseph's. On Jan. 14, 2015, St. Bonaventure defeated George Mason 75-55. The average attendance at those three games was 5,717 and two of them drew crowds of over 6,000.



Last season at Blue Cross Arena on Dec. 16, St. Bonaventure defeated Vermont 81-79 on a last-second three-point shot by Matt Mobley.



St. Bonaventure, which finished 26-8 last season and defeated UCLA in the NCAA Tournament, will return starters Courtney Stockard and LaDarien Griffin, both senior forwards. Stockard is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 13.3 points per game last season. Griffin was co-winner of the Atlantic 10 most improved player award. The Bonnies will also welcome a talented group of six new players. St. Bonaventure is led by head coach Mark Schmidt, who enters his 12th season. Over the past four seasons, St. Bonaventure has won 86 games and advanced to the postseason twice.



Tickets for the Alesco Advisors Roc City Hoops Classic will go on sale in October via Ticketmaster and the Blue Cross Arena box office. Tickets will not be sold through St. Bonaventure's ticket office.



About Alesco Advisors

Alesco Advisors is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm in Pittsford, N.Y. (a suburb of Rochester). Independent and employee-owned, Alesco serves the needs of institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Our expertise centers on developing and managing index-centric investment portfolios that are designed to meet the unique and specific needs of each client. Founded in 2000, Alesco advises on over $4 billion in assets for foundations, endowments and retirement plans, as well as trusts, IRAs and individual taxable accounts. To learn more, visit www.alescoadvisors.com.

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