GAME NOTES | STATISTICS | LIVE AUDIO

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
ST. BONAVENTURE (7-7, 0-1) at CHARLOTTE (10-4)
DATE: Saturday, January 9, 2010
SITE: Halton Arena (9,105)
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.CHARLOTTE49ERS.com
SERIES: Charlotte leads, 6-3
LAST MEETING: March 7, 2009
St. Bona 74, Charlotte 68 (Box Score - Pg. 2)
UP NEXT: vs. Saint Joseph's
Saturday, January 16, 2010 @ 7 p.m.

AT A GLANCE
Still in search of its first true road win of the season, St. Bonaventure will look to bounce back from a tough A-10 opening loss when it heads south to take on Charlotte. The Bonnies lost for the first time this season (7-1) when leading with five minutes to play during its 78-71 setback to George Washington on Wednesday. St. Bonaventure is 0-5 on the road this season, while Charlotte sports a 5-1 record at Halton Arena. A win would give St. Bonaventure back-to-back victories in A-10 road openers for the first time since the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons.

ALL-TIME SERIES
St. Bonaventure put an end to a three-game losing streak against Charlotte last season with a 74-68 win in the regular season finale at the Reilly Center. The win clinched the Brown and White's first A-10 postseason berth since 2005 and moved the all-time series to 6-3 in favor of the 49ers. The two teams have met twice at Halton Arena with Charlotte taking both games. The last meeting in Charlotte came in 2007 when the 49ers knocked the Bonnies out of postseason contention with a 74-53 victory. Saturday's meeting is the first in the month of January between the two teams.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 4-5 all-time when playing on January 9, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. Eight of the nine games were against Eastern 8 or Atlantic 10 foes. As a member of the Eastern 8 in 1980, the Bonnies defeated Penn State 89-74 at the Reilly Center. Then-junior Earl Belcher scored a game-high 34 points and hauled down nine rebounds in the win. Belcher went on to lead the eight-team league in scoring at 26.9 points per game.

SCOUTING THE 49ERS
Led by 12th-year head coach Bobby Lutz, Charlotte finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 10-4 mark after falling at Tennessee on Wednesday night. The 49ers have produced a 5-1 record at Halton Arena this season with their only loss coming against Georgia Tech in their last home game. The third-highest scoring team in the Atlantic 10 at 77 points per contest, Charlotte also leads the league in three-pointers per game at 7.3 per game. Aiding the team's turnaround from 11 wins last season to 10 already this year has been the play of a trio of newcomers and the leadership of senior point guard Dijuan Harris. Just two assists shy of 400 for his career, Harris ranks second in the A-10 in assists per game (4.8), while averaging 9.9 points. Headlining the group of newcomers is Boston College transfer Shamari Spears, who ranks seventh in the A-10 in scoring at 16.6 per game. Spears began the season with four consecutive 20-point games and has gotten to the free throw line a team-best 70 times this year. Junior college transfer Derrio Green is second on the team in scoring (11.6) and second in the A-10 behind St. Bonaventure senior Chris Matthews in three-pointers with 35. Freshman Chris Braswell has teamed with Spears to revamp the 49er frontcourt. A two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week, Braswell has five double-doubles to his credit en route to averaging 8.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

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 (12.4), rebounds (4.9), assists (3.1), blocks (9) and field goal percentage (.571). The Miami, Fla. native has scored in double figures a team-best 13 times, while leading the way on the backboard seven times Both of Hall's double-doubles this season have come on the road where he is averaging a team-best 6.2 caroms per game. Hall ranks third in the A-10 in field goal percentage and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (+1.5).

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 (15.8) and rebounding (7.4). Nicholson leads the A-10 with a 63.2 percent (91-144) field goal percentage and is one of four players to rank in top 15 in the conference in both scoring (11th) and rebounding (7th). 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. Nicholson has led the team in scoring eight times and rebounding six times this season, including both in the same game on five occasions.

DUNK YOU VERY MUCH
Blessed with a 7-foot-4 wingspan and plenty of bounce, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON'S career 61.6 percent shoot clip is aided by his ability to dunk the basketball. Through 44 career games, Nicholson has thrown down 65 dunks out of his 245 field goals. In 2008-09, Nicholson had 37 dunks and has followed with 28 already this season. Nicholson set a career-high with seven slams at Niagara on Dec. 22, besting his previous record of five at Duquesne last season. The Mississauga, Ontario product has a dunk in 28 career games, including 19 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 two 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 ranks 10th in the A-10 in free throw percentage (.780). He also leads the conference and ranks third in the country in field goal percentage (.632). 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 14 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 9.9 points and 4.6 rebounds over the opening 20 minutes.

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 as a freshman, the Cincinnati, Ohio product has already produced six double-digit efforts this season. The Bonnies are 5-1 when the 6-foot-3 guard reaches double figures. Davenport is fourth on the team in scoring (8.9), second in assists (40) and third in rebounding (3.9). After coming off the bench over the first seven contests, Davenport has made seven consecutive starts.