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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
ST. BONAVENTURE (9-9, 2-3 A-10) vs. DAYTON (14-6, 3-3 A-10)
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010
SITE: Reilly Center (5,780)
COURT: Bob Lanier Court
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
TALENT: Gary Nease (Play-by-Play)
Dr. John Watson (Analyst)
LIVE VIDEO & AUDIO: GOBONNIES.com
SERIES: Dayton leads, 13-8
LAST MEETING: January 25, 2009
Dayton 80, St. Bona 68 (Box Score - Pg. 2)
UP NEXT: at Saint Louis
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 @ 8 p.m. ET

AT A GLANCE
Separated by just a half game in the Atlantic 10 standings, St. Bonaventure and Dayton will close out the opening month of conference action on Saturday night at the Reilly Center. The game is part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend through the NABC. Both teams have had dramatic one-point finishes over their last two games, with the Bonnies splitting a pair of road games, while the Flyers have been the tough-luck loser in two straight contests. Oddly enough, both were sunk by last second three-point shots in their last outings.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Dayton has taken seven in a row and nine of the last 12 meetings in the series. St. Bonaventure is 3-3 all-time at the Reilly Center against the Flyers, but has lost three straight. St. Bonaventure's last win in the series came in 2002 at UD Arena when J.R. BREMER scored a game-high 30 points in the 81-75 win in front of over 13,000 fans. Since the Flyers joined the A-10 in 1996, the two teams have met 18 times, but never twice in the regular season. Dayton holds a slight 8-6 edge in the 14 games decided by 10 points or less. Current senior CHRIS MATTHEWS set a UD Arena record for three-pointers by an opponent with eight trifectas against the Flyers last season en route to a career-high 28 points.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 5-7 all-time when playing on January 30, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. On this date in 1999, ISAAC KING drilled a program record eight three-pointers during a Bona shooting barrage in a 74-59 win over Temple. The Bonnies sank a season-best 14-of-31 from long range, as TIM WINN connected on five threes and had 20 points.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Loaded with athleticism, depth and upperclassmen leadership, Dayton sits at 14-6 on the season and in seventh place in the A-10 at 3-3. Like the Bonnies, the Flyers have been dealt some tough losses, including back-to-back one-point defeats at Saint Joseph's and Tuesday against Rhode Island. Dayton's six losses on the season have come by a combined 22 points, including three league games by six points. Head coach Brian Gregory has used the team's athleticism and depth on the defensive end, as Dayton ranks fourth in the league in scoring defense (62.2). The Flyers have held nine opponents under 60 points this season - third-most in the A-10 behind Temple (11) and Saint Louis (10). A pair of ultra-athletic small forwards in junior Chris Wright and sophomore Chris Johnson rank one and two on the team in scoring and rebounding, respectively. The high-flying Wright leads the team in scoring (14.4) and is second in rebounding (7.6), while Johnson is second scoring (12.2) and first on the boards (7.8). The duo has combined for a staggering 111 offensive rebounds, including 47 (7.8 per game) in A-10 play.

HEAD COACHING MATCHUP
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 32-46 (3rd Season)
Overall: 114-136 (9th Season)
Atlantic 10: 10-27 (3rd Season)
vs. Dayton: 0-2

DAYTON HEAD COACH
Brian Gregory
@ Dayton: 139-74 (7th Season)
Overall: Same
Atlantic 10: 58-44 (7th Season)
vs. St. Bonaventure: 6-0

OLEAN AIR SHOW
With a combined 122 dunks between them this season, St. Bonaventure and Dayton are sure to put on a high-flying show at the Reilly Center on Saturday night. Dayton junior Chris Wright owns the school record with 109 career dunks and has 39 this season. St. Bonaventure sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON has 67 career dunks in 48 games, including 30 this year. Wright set a school record with five dunks against Boston U. earlier this year, while Nicholson had a career-high seven at Niagara.

ROCKIN' THE REILLY
With its 6-1 mark this season, St. Bonaventure is 19-15 at the Reilly Center under third-year head coach MARK SCHMIDT, including 14-7 over the last season and a half. The Bonnies opened this season with five straight wins at home after concluding 2008-09 with four straight A-10 home wins for a nine-game streak at home - the longest since a 10-game streak that stretched from the end of 2000-01 and the start of the 2001-02. The Bonnies have been even better in front of the weekend crowd, going 14-6 on Friday and Saturday at home under Schmidt. The trio of senior JONATHAN HALL (13.9), sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON (13.0) and senior CHRIS MATTHEWS (10.5) are all averaging double figure points at the RC during their careers. Between them they have reached double-digits in 45 out of a combined 62 games. At least two members of the trio have reached double figures in the same game 16 times and all three on eight occasions out of a possible 20 home contests played together.

20/20 VISION
Sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON'S back-to-back 20-point games mark the first time since 2008 that a Bonnie has accomplished the feat in league play. TYLER RELPH was the last player to score 20 points in three straight A-10 games, as he did so over the final three games of his career.

WEEKLY HONOR
After averaging 27.5 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 blocks over a pair of road games last week, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON was named the A-10 Player of the Week. Nicholson went for 26 points, seven boards and five blocks in a win at UMass and followed with a career high-tying 29 points, including 20 in the second half at Duquesne. The weekly award is the second of the year for Nicholson.

TOUGH PILLS TO SWALLOW
St. Bonaventure's five Atlantic 10 games this season have all been decided by 10 points or less, while its three losses have come by a combined 11 points. The Brown and White's most recent heartbreaking one-point loss at Duquesne, 70-69, last Saturday was their second one-point defeat of the season (St. John's) and their sixth loss by seven points or less. Those six losses have come by a total of 21 points. St. Bonaventure's nine losses have come against teams that have a combined 121-54 (.691) record this season.

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 (16.7) and rebounding (7.8). Nicholson leads the A-10 with a 61.2 percent (123-201) field goal percentage and is one of just two players to rank in top 10 in the conference in both scoring (7th) and rebounding (8th). Nicholson has produced five 20-point games: vs. St. John's (26), vs. Norfolk State (29), at Niagara (24), at UMass (26) and at Duquesne (29). Nicholson also has a team-best three double-doubles and five double-digit rebound games. Nicholson has led the team in both scoring and rebounding 10 times this season, including both in the same game on six occasions.

CONFERENCE BOOST
Sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON has elevated his play on both ends of the court with the start of A-10 action. Among conference only leaders, Nicholson is second in scoring (19.0), sixth in rebounding (9.4), second in field goal percentage (.551), second in blocks (3.6) and fifth in minutes (37.6). Nicholson posted his third double-double of the year against Saint Joseph's and is one of 11 players with multiple 20-point games in league play.

GOOD OLE ST. NICH
Sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON'S 20 second half points at Duquesne marked the second time this season the 6-foot-9 forward has scored 20 or more points in a half. Nicholson torched Norfolk State for 23 points and nine rebounds in the first half earlier this season. Out of a possible 36 halves of basketball this season, Nicholson has reached double figures in 14 of them and even posted a double-double by halftime against Southeast Missouri State (11 pts., 10 reb.).

NOTABLE HALVES
- 17 points vs. St. John's (2nd Half)
- 23 points vs. Norfolk State (1st Half)
- 11 points, 10 rebounds vs. Southeast Missouri (1st Half)
- 15 points, 5 rebounds at UMass (1st Half)
- 20 points at Duquesne (2nd Half)

MR. OPPORTUNISTIC
With the team's best all-around player in senior JONATHAN HALL out of the lineup due to injury, sophomore MICHAEL DAVENPORT has taken full advantage of the extra minutes and starting role over the last three games. Despite a tough game at Duquesne, Davenport has posted averages of 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds over 30.0 minutes during the three games. The Cincinnati, Ohio product equaled a career-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds against Saint Joseph's and followed with his first career double-double at UMass (16 points & 10 rebounds).

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 - both of which he set at Dayton in 2008-09. The Washington, D.C. product's 3.1 three-pointers per game currently lead the A-10 and rank 13th in the country. Matthews has made three or more treys in a game 10 times already this season helping him rank third on the team in scoring at 11.6 per game. In just 48 games as a Bonnie, Matthews has moved into ninth place on the all-time three-pointer list with 137.