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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
ST. BONAVENTURE (8-8, 1-2 A-10) AT UMASS (7-10, 1-3 A-10)
DATE: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010
SITE: Mullins Center (9,493)
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
TALENT: Gary Nease (Play-by-Play)
WEB AUDIO: www.GOBONNIES.com
WEB VIDEO: www.UMASSATHLETICS.com
SERIES: Massachusetts leads, 37-18
LAST MEETING: February 14, 2009
St. Bona 83, Massachusetts 75 (Box Score - Pg. 2)
UP NEXT: at Duquesne
Saturday, January 23, 2010 @ 7 p.m.

AT A GLANCE
St. Bonaventure will begin its string of four road games over its next five contests by taking on Massachusetts at the Mullins Center on Wednesday night. The Bonnies are still in search of their first true road win of the season, while the Minutemen have picked up five of their seven wins on the season at home. The Brown and White broke into the win column in A-10 play last Saturday as they overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to snap a 15-game losing streak against Saint Joseph's.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Bonnies snapped a six-game losing streak against UMass last season with its 83-75 win at the Reilly Center in the 55th meeting between the two schools. The Minutemen own a 37-18 edge in the all-time series. St. Bonaventure will now look to put an end to a four-game losing streak at the Mullins Center where the Minutemen own an 11-4 record vs. the Brown and White since the arena opened in 1993. The home team is 35-17 all-time in the series, while the series is tied 13-13 in games decided by 10 points or less. St. Bonaventure won three consecutive games at the Mullins Center from 2000-02 prior to its current four-game skid.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 3-2 all-time when playing on January 20, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. The Bonnies haven't played on this date since 1996 at Xavier. St. Bonaventure's lone road win on this date came in 1983 at West Virginia in the form of a 64-63 triumph. The Bonnies went on to win 20 games under first-year head coach Jim O'Brien and finish in a tie for first in the A-10 West Division. O'Brien was named the A-10 Co-Coach of the Year and U.S. Coach of the Year by Basketball Times Magazine.

SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN
One of just six Atlantic 10 teams to play four conference games through the opening two weeks of league play, UMass enters Wednesday night with a 7-10 overall record and a 1-3 conference mark. The Minutemen are 5-2 at the Mullins Center this season, while three of their four games in A-10 action have been decided by 10 points or less. Senior guard Ricky Harris leads a young UMass squad in scoring at 17 points per game - a figure that ranks fifth in the A-10. Harris, an A-10 Preseason All-Conference first team choice, has reached double figures in every game this season and 27 straight contests. Junior Anthony Gurley's has picked up his scoring in his second season at UMass after transferring from Wake Forest. Gurley has made 12 straight starts and averages15.4 points per game. The promising freshman duo of Freddie Riley and Terrell Vinson are turning in 10.9 points and 9.2 points per game, respectively. Riley has come off the bench in all 13 games he's played in and is second in the A-10 with 37 three-pointers. Riley has a pair of 20-point outings in league play. Vinson, the A-10 Rookie of the Week on Dec. 19, is also second on the team in rebounding at 5.2 per game. Eight different players have reached double figures in a game this season.

HEAD COACHING MATCHUP
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 31-45 (3rd Season)
Overall: 113-135 (9th Season)
Atlantic 10: 9-26 (3rd Season)
vs. Massachusetts: 1-1

MASSACHUSETTS HEAD COACH
Derek Kellogg
@ Saint Joseph's: 19-28 (2nd Season)
Overall: same
Atlantic 10: 8-12 (2nd Season)
vs. St. Bonaventure: 0-1

SUPER SOPHS
Sophomores DA'QUAN COOK, MICHAEL DAVENPORT and ANDREW NICHOLSON were all in the starting five together for the first time last Saturday in St. Bonaventure's 68-65 win over Saint Joseph's. The trio combined for 41 points and 24 of the team's 32 rebounds, while all three played over 30 minutes against the Hawks. The trio has accounted for 40 percent of the team's scoring and 41 percent of the rebounding this season while shooting a combined 54 percent from the floor. Davenport and Nicholson have scored in double figures in the same game six times, leading the Bonnies to a 5-1 mark.

THE CN TOWER
Sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON is the center of attention for opposing teams. That hasn't stopped the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year from avoiding a sophomore slump, as the Canadian big man leads the team in both scoring (15.3) and rebounding (7.9). Nicholson leads the A-10 with a 62.2 percent (102-164) field goal percentage and is one of three players to rank in top 15 in the conference in both scoring (13th) and rebounding (8th). Nicholson poured in a game-high 26 points on 11-of-15 from the field against St. John's and then equaled a career-high with 29 points and a career-best 14 boards against Norfolk State. He has a team-high three 20-point games this season, three double-doubles and five double-digit rebound games. Nicholson has led the team in scoring eight times and rebounding nine times this season, including both in the same game on five occasions.

THE CINCINNATI KID
After a freshman season in which he averaged 3.3 points and played sparingly, MICHAEL DAVENPORT has shown major progress in his sophomore campaign. After scoring in double figures one time in 2008-09, the Cincinnati, Ohio product has already produced seven double-digit efforts this season. The Bonnies are 6-1 when the 6-foot-3 guard reaches double figures. Davenport is fourth on the team in scoring (8.9), third in assists (43) and third in rebounding (4.0). After coming off the bench over the first seven contests, Davenport made seven consecutive starts before having that streak ended last game at Charlotte.

DO IT ALL HALL
After becoming just the second player in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists in the same year, senior JONATHAN HALL is quietly putting together another solid season. Hall ranks second on the club in nearly every statistical category; points (12.1), rebounds (4.9), assists (3.5), blocks (10) and field goal percentage (.556). The Miami, Fla. native has scored in double figures a team-best 13 times, grabbed five or more rebounds seven times and passed out at least five assists on four occasions. Both of Hall's double-doubles this season have come on the road. Hall ranks third in the A-10 in field goal percentage and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (+1.5).

BOMBS AWAY
Senior CHRIS MATTHEWS has continued to display the shooting stroke that helped him sink 81 three-pointers a year ago. Matthews equaled the school record of eight three-pointers against Illinois State, while also tying his own career-best of 28 points. The Washington, D.C. product's 3.2 three-pointers per game currently lead the A-10 and rank eighth in the country. He is one of just 24 players with at least 50 three-pointers this season. Matthews has made three or more treys in a game nine times already this season helping him rank third on the team in scoring at 11.6 per game. In just 46 games as a Bonnie, Matthews has moved into ninth place on the all-time three-pointer list with 132.

BOARD WORK
Sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON has picked up his play on the glass with the start of A-10 action. Through the first three conference games, Nicholson is averaging 11 boards - good for fifth-best in league play. Nicholson posted his third double-double of the year last game against Saint Joseph's with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Mississauga native is also scoring a team-best 13.3 points in A-10 action to average a double-double.

DUNK YOU VERY MUCH
Blessed with a 7-foot-4 wingspan and plenty of bounce, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON'S career 61 percent shoot clip is aided by his ability to dunk the basketball. Through 46 career games, Nicholson has thrown down 67 dunks out of his 256 field goals. In 2008-09, Nicholson had 37 dunks and has followed with 30 already this season. Nicholson set a career-high with seven slams at Niagara on Dec. 22. The Mississauga, Ontario product has a dunk in 29 career games, including 20 multi-dunk performances and 11 games of three or more dunks.

SOFT TOUCH
Who says big men can't shoot? According to the most recent NCAA statistics, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON is just a few percentage points away at the charity stripe from being one of two players in the nation shooting 60 percent or better from the field and at least 80 percent from the free throw line. To be eligible for the rankings, the player has to make five field goals per game and an average of 2.5 free throws per contest. The 6-foot-9 second-year forward is ninth in the A-10 in free throw percentage (.774) . He also leads the conference and ranks fourth in the country in field goal percentage (.622). Nicholson is looking to join Lafayette's Jared Mintz on the exclusive list.

GET READY, GET SET, GO!
The Bonnies have taken the lead into the locker room in 10 of 16 games, including six leads of 13 points or more. St. Bonaventure out-scored those 10 opponents 377-263, good for a +11.4 margin. As a team, the Bonnies are shooting 48.5 percent in the first stanza this season. Sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON is averaging team bests of 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds over the opening 20 minutes. St. Bonaventure trailed at the half against Saint Joseph's, but erased the nine-point deficit to pick up their first comeback win.

PAINTING THE TOWN BROWN
St. Bonaventure has been extremely efficient on offense this season. The Bonnies have shot 50 percent or better in eight of the 16 games and are shooting at an impressive 48 percent clip for the year - tops in the A-10 and 33rd in the nation. The easy buckets around the rim have led to a 580-510 edge in points in the paint. The 580 points in the paint account for 51 percent of the team's offense and 36.2 points per game.

RACE TO 100
With the advantage of entering his career in the Brown and White as a junior, CHRIS MATTHEWS became the fastest player in program history to sink 100 career three-pointers. The Washington, D.C. native accomplished the feat in just his 36th game, nine games better than Tim Winn's previous record of 45. Matthews' 100th trifecta as a Bonnies came during a career night at Illinois State where he equaled the single-game record of eight three-pointers and tied a personal-best of 28 points.