GAME NOTES | SEASON STATS | A-10 ONLY STATS | LIVE AUDIO | PREGAME CHAT

GAMEDAYCENTRAL
ST. BONAVENTURE (9-10, 2-4) at SAINT LOUIS (12-8, 3-3)
DATE: Wednesday, February 3, 2010
SITE: Chaifetz Arena (10,600)
TIP-OFF: 8:00 p.m. ET
RADIO: WPIG (95.7 FM) & WHDL (1450 AM) - Olean
TALENT: Gary Nease (Play-by-Play)
Dr. John Watson (Analyst)
AUDIO & PREGAME CHAT: GOBONNIES.com
LIVE VIDEO: SLUBillikens.com
SERIES: Saint Louis leads, 6-3
LAST MEETING: February 25, 2009
St. Bona 72, Saint Louis 55 (Box Score - Pg. 2)
UP NEXT: at Saint Joseph's
Saturday, February 6, 2010 @ 4 p.m. ET

AT A GLANCE
St. Bonaventure will open the month of February with a five-day road trip that begins with its first-ever visit to Chaifetz Arena to take on Saint Louis. The Brown and White's three A-10 road contests this season have been decided by a combined five points, as they've gone 1-2. The Billikens, on the other hand, have won four straight at their two-year old arena and have posted an 11-1 record at home this season. Even better, SLU is 26-8 all-time in A-10 home games. The two teams are separated by a game in the A-10 standings and will meet just this one time in the regular season.

ALL-TIME SERIES
This is just the 10th meeting all-time between the two teams and the fifth since Saint Louis joined the Atlantic 10 in 2005. St. Bonaventure has won the last three games in the series, marking the first time it has taken three consecutive games against an A-10 opponent since it did so against Duquesne over the 2002 and 2003 seasons. St. Bonaventure's last two wins in the series have come by an average of 18.5 points, including a convincing 70-50 win at the Scottrade Center in 2008. Prior to the last two games, five of the first seven meetings in the series were been decided by 10 points or less.

THIS DAY IN BONA BASKETBALL
St. Bonaventure is 4-4 all-time when playing on February 3, dating back to the 1975-76 season in the Bona record books - the final season that has actual dates recorded. On this date in 2002, the Bonnies picked up their first-ever win over Dayton with an 81-75 triumph at the Reilly Center. Senior J.R. BREMER scored 20 of his game-high 30 points in the first half, while sophomore MARQUES GREEN chipped in 17 points and nine assists.

SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS
The youngest team in the nation, Saint Louis dropped both games of its recent five-day road trip to slip to 12-8 on the season and sole possession of seventh place in the Atlantic 10 at 3-3. The youthful Billikens rank second-to-last in the A-10 in scoring average (63.2), but have overcome that by ranking second in the league in scoring defense (58.8). Led by legendary head coach Rick Majerus, Saint Louis has held 10 opponents under 60 points this season, including four under 50 and are 30-4 under Majerus when limiting opponents to under 60 points. With a roster full of 12 underclassmen and no seniors, the Billikens are led by a pair of sophomore sensations in Kwamain Mitchell and Willie Reed. Mitchell leads the club in scoring at 15.7 points per game and has reached double figures in 14 straight contests. Reed has made big strides in his second season, ranking sixth in the A-10 and tops on the team in rebounding (8.1), while scoring 12.1 points per game. Reed limited Andrew Nicholson to just four points and four rebounds a year ago. Freshman big man Cody Ellis has hit the ground running since joining the team in January. A threat inside and outside, the 6-foot-8 Ellis is averaging 11.8 points and has 15 three-pointers over six games played.

HEAD COACHING MATCHUP
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Mark Schmidt
@ St. Bonaventure: 32-47 (3rd Season)
Overall: 114-137 (9th Season)
Atlantic 10: 10-28 (3rd Season)
vs. Saint Louis: 2-0

SAINT LOUIS HEAD COACH
Rick Majerus
@ Saint Louis: 46-37 (3rd Season)
Overall: 469-184 (23rd Season)
Atlantic 10: 18-20 (3rd Season)
vs. St. Bonaventure: 0-2

LEADER OF THE PACK
With the ability to score in a variety of ways, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON has used his versatile offensive ability to lead the nation with a 61.2 field goal percentage. Nicholson finished 12th in the country as a freshman in 2008-09, but has responded by knocking down 50 percent of his shots in 14 of 18 games played, including double-digit field goals in five contests.

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, sophomore ANDREW NICHOLSON was named the A-10 Player of the Week on Jan. 24. 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 was the second of the year for Nicholson and his eighth overall (6 - ROW) as a Bonnie.

TOUGH PILLS TO SWALLOW
Five out of St. Bonaventure's six A-10 games this season have been decided by 10 points or less, while its first three losses came 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. All three of the Brown and White's A-10 road games have been decided by a total of five points (1-2). St. Bonaventure's first six losses of the season came by a total of 21 points. St. Bonaventure's 10 losses have come against teams that have a combined 145-65 (.690) 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 (6th) 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. 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), fifth in rebounding (9.4), second in field goal percentage (.551), second in blocks (3.6) and fourth 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, Nicholson has reached double figures 14 times and even posted a double-double by intermission against Southeast Missouri State (11 pts., 10 reb.). Below is a breakdown of Nicholson's double figure outings by half.

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)

NEW ROLE, BIG DIVIDENDS
After starting 42 straight games at point guard, junior MALCOLM ELEBY has adapted well to coming off the bench over the last six games and is turning in some of the most productive minutes of his career. Over the last six games, Eleby is averaging 8.2 points over 20 minutes per contests. Eleby has scored in double figures twice off the bench despite not playing over 28 minutes in a game. He is also shooting 46 percent (15-33) from the floor and 17-of-24 from the foul line - the second most attempts by any Bonnie in league play. Last game against Dayton, Eleby became the second player this season to lead the team in points (13), rebounds (8) and assists (3) in the same game.

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 four games. Davenport has posted averages of 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds over 29.8 minutes during the four 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 20th in the country. Matthews has made three or more treys in a game 10 times this season helping him rank third on the team in scoring at 11.3 per game. In just 49 games as a Bonnie, Matthews has moved into ninth place on the all-time three-pointer list with 139.

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 eight double-digit efforts this season. The Bonnies are 7-1 when the 6-foot-3 guard reaches double figures. Davenport is fourth on the team in scoring (9.1), third in assists (45) and third in rebounding (4.3).

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. The 6-foot-9 second-year forward is eighth in the A-10 in free throw percentage (.783) and leads the league and ranks third in the country in field goal percentage (.612).

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 47.5 percent clip for the year - tops in the A-10 and 35th in the nation. The easy buckets around the rim have led to a 670-604 edge in points in the paint. The 670 points in the paint account for 51 percent of the team's offense and 35.3 points per game.