Opening Tip: Down to its final three games of the regular season, St. Bonaventure looks to bounce back from last weekend's loss to Rhode Island when it visits La Salle for the completion of the teams' home-and-home series. St. Bonaventure is in eighth place in the Atlantic 10 while LaSalle is ninth. Last month at the Reilly Center, the Bonnies topped the Explorers 66-51. 

The Series: La Salle leads, 14-12. Under Mark Schmidt, the Bonnies are 4-5 against La Salle.

La Salle Scouting Report:
• The Explorers have lost five straight and eight of their last nine games. Last Saturday, LaSalle lost 62-49 at Richmond, shooting 32 percent for the game. Tyreek Duren led the Explorers with 26 points.
• La Salle features the inside-outside combination of forwards Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack and guards Duren and Tyrone Garland. Zack is close to averages 9.2 points and an A-10 best 9.8 rebounds per contest while Wright is at 12.7 points and 6.4 rebounds. Dureen leads the Explorers in scoring at 14.9 points per game while Garland is at 13.2. Swingman Sam Mills (6.8 ppg, 39 three-pointers) completes the starting five.
• La Salle is 8-4 at Gola Arena -- 3-3 in A-10 games.
• All five of La Salle's starters were on last year's club that won 24 games and made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Last Time Out: Bonnies Fall to Rhode Island: Saturday at the Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure lost to Rhode Island 87-78. Rhode Island made 50 percent of its shots for the day including 57 percent (16-28) in the second half when it scored 54 points to overcome the Bonnies' 43-33 halftime lead. The Bonnies were outrebounded 40-26. Youssou Ndoye led St. Bonaventure with a career high 21 points while Matthew Wright totalled 20 points -- his third straight game of 20 points or more. Charlon Kloof had 12 points while freshman Denzel Gregg scored seven off the bench. 

The Wright Way: Senior Matthew Wright has been a key to the Bonnies' success all season but even moreso over the past month. Over the last eight games, Wright averaged 18.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 40 percent from the field and 95 percent (48-52) at the free throw line. For the year, the senior shooting guard ranks seventh in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 16.1 points per game and has scored in double figures 19 times. He leads the A-10 in free throw shooting percentage at .883. Wright also has been an effective distributor, handing out 86 assists (3.3 per game, 11th in the A-10). Known for his three-point shooting, Wright has made 50 threes (50-150/.333), which is the eighth-best total among A-10 players. He has scored 20 points or more each of the last three games and has 971 points for his career.

Ndoye's Progression: While he is in just his fifth season playing the game, junior center Youssou Ndoye has shown growth in all facets. His freshman season, playing behind A10 Player of the Year Andrew Nicholson, Ndoye averaged 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds. Last season, the 7-footer improved to 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. This season, he's up to 9.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, with three of his four career double-doubles. In A-10 games, he has been even better, averaging 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. Feb. 22 against Rhode Island, he set a career high with 21 points. Ndoye's 62 blocks rank fifth in Bona's single-season records; he stands fourth on Bona's career blocks list with 120. Ndoye came to St. Bonaventure weighing about 200 pounds and now, after almost three years working with Director of Strength and Conditioning Darryn Fiske, Ndoye weighs around 240 pounds.

Kloof Leads The Pack: Senior point guard Charlon Kloof certainly has to be in the conversation about the most improved players in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Last season, Kloof lost his starting spot midway through the year, and his playing time and production dropped. This season, as a team captain, he has been a completely different player. Kloof's scoring has more than doubled from last season (5.3 to 11.8 points per game). Kloof averages 4.8 assists per game average (third best in the A-10) compared to 2.0 per game last season, and he has 130 assists against 60 turnovers -- the second-best assist-to-TO ratio in the A-10. Kloof also helps key the Bonnies' improved defense, regularly taking on the defensive assignment against other top guards.  A statistical capsule of Kloof's improvement from last year to this season:

CHARLON KLOOF      '12-13       '13-14    Current A-10 Rank
Points Per Game             5.3              11.8          27th
Assists                            2.0                4.8          3rd
Assist-to-TO Ratio           1.2                2.2          2nd
Free Throw Pct.             .667              .754         13th
Minutes Played Avg.      20.8              32.8         10th 

RPI Watch: St. Bonaventure stands 86th in the NCAA's RPI rankings this week. The RPI is a measurement of all 349 Division I teams that factors in home and away records as well as strength of schedule. The Bonnies are one of eight A-10 teams in the top 100 of the RPI.

Quick Hitters on the Bonnies

• The Bonnies are 86 in this week's RPI (from the NCAA).
• St. Bonaventure won its last two A-10 road games.
• St. Bonaventure has six wins over teams currently in the top 100 of the RPI (NCAA) -- #15 UMass, #47 Richmond, #71 Iona, #74 Delaware, #96 LaSalle and #99 Canisius. The win over UMass marked the Bonnies' first win over a nationally-ranked team since 2000.
• Matthew Wright ranks seventh in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (16.1); he has increased his average by almost 9.0 ppg from last year and is 29 points away from 1,000 for his career.
• Charlon Kloof is one of the most improved players in the A-10; he has increased his scoring average by seven points over last year (5.3 to 11.8), ramks third in the A-10 in assists (4.8) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• The Bonnies' seven A-10 losses were by a combined 33 points.
• Seventh-year head coach Mark Schmidt leads a program that is consistently competitive; he now has 104 wins for his SBU tenure (104-106). In 2012, Schmidt led St. Bonaventure to the A-10 Championship and NCAA Tournament.

Dion Wright - Sixth Man Extraordinaire: After a year spent in a role typical for most freshmen, Dion Wright has emerged as a candidate for the Atlantic 10's Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player awards. The 6'7" swingman from Carson, Calif., played in only 13 games and averaged 2.3 ppg last year, but this season he has played in every game and is averaging 9.4 points per game. Wright, who is not related to teammate Matthew Wright, also ranks third on the team in rebounding at 5.3 per game. He has been equally effective against A-10 opponents as he was prior to conference play, averaging 9.5 points and 5.8 boards in the A-10.

Bench Press: St. Bonaventure's bench has outscored opponents in 20 of 27 games this season, including 11 of 13 conference games. The four main players off the bench contribute 21 points per game: Dion Wright (9.4), Jordan Gathers (8.5), Denzel Gregg (2.0) and Chris Dees (1.9). 

Simmons Fourth All-Time: Senior power forward Marquise Simmons may not have overly impressive statistics, but he has been an integral part of the Bonnies' success. One number that is eye-catching: his .553 career field goal percentage, which ranks fourth in school history behind only Bob Lanier (.576), Andrew Nicholson (.575) and Delmar Harrod (.554).