GAME NOTES | SEASON STATS | LIVE AUDIO & VIDEO | A-10 GAME NOTES

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
ST. BONAVENTURE (9-12, 2-6) vs. FORDHAM (2-19, 0-9)
DATE: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
SITE: Reilly Center (5,780)
COURT: Bob Lanier Court
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. ET
RADIO: WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
TALENT: Gary Nease (Play-by-Play)
Dr. John Watson (Analyst)
LIVE AUDIO & VIDEO: GOBONNIES.com
SERIES: Fordham leads, 16-12
LAST MEETING: January 28, 2009
Fordham 67, St. Bona 65 (Box Score - Pg. 2)
UP NEXT: vs. Richmond
Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. (CBS College Regional)

AT A GLANCE
After playing five of its first eight Atlantic 10 games on the road, St. Bonaventure returns to the Reilly Center for a three-game homestand that begins with the first of two meetings this season against Fordham. The Bonnies are hoping Bob Lanier Court helps put an end to a season-long four-game losing streak, while the Rams have dropped 14 in a row and all 11 games on the road. St. Bonaventure is 6-2 at the RC this season. The two teams will meet again two weeks from tonight at historic Rose Hill Gym.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Fordham has enjoyed some recent success at the Reilly Center, taking four straight on the Bonnies' home court. The Rams' four-game win streak at the RC has helped it take eight of the last nine meetings from St. Bonaventure for a 16-12 lead in the all-time series. The two teams have met twice a season for 13 out of the 14 years they've been in the Atlantic 10 together. Fordham has swept the season series four times, while the Bonnies have taken both games three times with the last sweep coming in 1998. St. Bonaventure sports an 8-6 record at the RC against the Hawks. Of the 28 meetings between the two teams, 18 have been decided by 10 points or less.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 4-5 all-time when playing on February 10, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. The last win on this date came in 2000 when the Bonnies defeated Virginia Tech 61-54 at the Reilly Center in the Hokies last season in the A-10. Senior CASWELL CYRUS' team-high 17 points put him over the 1,000-point mark for his career. Junior PETER VAN PAASSEN grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Bonnies hold a 36-28 edge on the glass.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
Despite its 2-19 record, Fordham has made progress under interim head coach Jared Grasso. In their most recent home game against first place Charlotte, the Rams led by eight points with seven minutes remaining before falling by a 77-72 outcome. The five-point loss against the 49ers was Fordham's third by seven points or less in A-10 action. The Rams average a league-worst 63 points per game and give up a league-high 77.1 points. Fordham is led by the inside-out tandem of senior Brenton Butler and freshman Chris Gaston, who account for 54 percent (34 ppg) of the team's scoring. Butler has reached 20 or more points in seven contests this season and has upped his scoring average to 16.9 in A-10 action. Butler needs just three points to become the 33rd player in program history to reach 1,000 points. A double-double machine, Gaston leads all freshmen nationally in rebounding at 10.6 per contest and is third in the A-10 in scoring at 18.4 per contest. The 6-foot-7 St. Anthony's product has 13 double-doubles, 14 double-digit rebounding efforts and has reached double figure points in 18 of 21 contests. A four-time and reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week, Gaston has gone to the free throw line a league-best 149 times and is one of two players in the A-10 to score 30 points twice this season.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
Three of St. Bonaventure's final five games in the month of February will be televised by CBS College Sports. This Saturday's game against Richmond, the Feb. 21st contest at La Salle and the Feb. 27th home game against Rhode Island will all be shown regionally by CBS College Sports and on Time Warner SportsNet in the local regions. CBS College is channel 613 on DirecTV.

SOFT TOUCH
Who says big men can't shoot? According to the most recent NCAA statistics, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON is less than two percentage points away at the charity stripe from being the only player 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. Nicholson is second in the nation in field goal percentage (.602) and seventh in the Atlantic 10 in free throw percentage (.789).

HEARTBREAK HOTEL
Seven out of St. Bonaventure's eight A-10 games this season have been decided by 10 points or less, including five losses by seven points or less. Even worse, the Bonnies have been beaten in the final seconds in two A-10 road games (Duquesne & St. Louis) and their five conference road games have been decided by a combined 15 points. St. Bonaventure's first six losses of the season came by a total of 21 points.

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 (16.6) and rebounding (7.8). Nicholson leads the A-10 with a 60.2 percent (136-226) field goal percentage and joins Fordham's Chris Gaston as one of two players to rank in top 10 in the conference in both scoring (7th) and rebounding (7th). 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. He has led the team in scoring 11 times and rebounding 10 times, including both in the same game on six occasions.

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 putting together another solid season. Hall ranks second on the club in nearly every statistical category; points (12.6), rebounds (5.1), assists (3.4), blocks (11) and field goal percentage (.547). The Miami, Fla. native has scored in double figures 15 times, grabbed five or more rebounds nine times and passed out at least five assists on four occasions. Hall ranks second in the A-10 in field goal percentage and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (+1.6). Hall put together his best game of the season at Saint Joseph's, finishing with game-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

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 fourth in scoring (18.1), fifth in rebounding (8.6), second in field goal percentage (.543), second in blocks (3.0) and ninth in minutes (35.1). Nicholson has scored in double figures in five straight games, averaging 20.6 points.

ON THE OFFENSIVE
Despite its recent two-game slide, St. Bonaventure has done a much-better job attacking the offensive glass as of late. The Bonnies grabbed a combined 29 offensive rebounds over its two-game road trip last weekend, leading to 37 second chance points, including a season-best 22 at Saint Louis. As a team, the Bonnies have gathered 10 or more offensive caroms in a game 12 times, including a season-high 20 against Canisius. Sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON leads the team with 54 offensive boards, good for seventh-best in the A-10. Senior JONATHAN HALL has grabbed an offensive rebound in 40 of 48 career games.

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 40 halves, Nicholson has reached double figures 15 times and even posted a double-double by intermission 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)

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 3.0 three-pointers per game currently lead the A-10 and rank 21st in the country. Matthews has made three or more treys in a game 11 times this season and at least one in 24 straight games dating back to last season. During his career as a Bonnie, Matthews has made a three in 48 of 51 games, helping him rank eighth on the all-time list with 144. Matthews accounts for 60 percent of the team's three-point makes and is third on the team at 11.2 points per game.

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 nine double-digit efforts this season. The Bonnies are 8-1 when the 6-foot-3 guard reaches double figures. Davenport is fourth on the team in scoring (8.4), third in assists (48) and third in rebounding (4.0). 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).

PAINTING THE TOWN BROWN
St. Bonaventure has been extremely efficient on offense this season. The Bonnies have shot 50 percent or better in eight games and are shooting at an impressive 47 percent clip for the year - tops in the A-10 and 39th in the nation. The easy buckets around the rim have led to a 729 in points in the paint. The 729 points in the paint account for 50 percent of the team's offense and 34.7 points per game. The Bonnies have scored 40 or more points in the paint eight times this season.

BLOCK PARTY
After producing the third-best blocked shot total in school history as a freshman, ANDREW NICHOLSON became just the third player in program history to reach 100 career blocks after his four-rejection game against Canisius in his 42nd career game. Nicholson currently stands at 124 rejections, good for third in the Bona record books. Nicholson is currently sixth in the Atlantic 10 at 2.2 blocks per game, but has put together eight multi-block games in A-10 play this season.