Nicholson named A-10 Co-Player of the Week

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — After posting back-to-back double-doubles to help St. Bonaventure advance to Sunday’s championship game of the Basketball Travelers Classic, sophomore Andrew Nicholson was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Co-Player of the Week just hours before tip.

The Player of the Week accolade is the first of Nicholson’s career, but not his first weekly citation from the A-10. Last year as a freshman, Nicholson set a program record by winning the conference Rookie of the Week honor six times.

Nicholson opened play at the tournament with 15 points and a then career-high 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season in a win over Southeast Missouri State. Nicholson had his first double-double of the season against the Redhawks by the end of the first half.

The Mississauga, Ontario product continued his dominance the very next night against Norfolk State, posting his second consecutive double-double by equaling a career-high with 29 points and a career-best 14 boards. Nicholson connected on 11-of-13 from the field and did most of his damage in the first half with 23 points.

Nicholson averaged 22 points and 13 rebounds over the two games, while connecting on 16-of-19 from the field. Even more impressive, he was one rebound shy against Norfolk State from posting back-to-back double-doubles by the end of the first half.

Through five games this season, Nicholson leads the team in both scoring (19.2) and rebounding (9.6), figures that rank second and sixth in the A-10, respectively. He also leads the conference with a .717 field goal percentage (38-53) and 2.8 blocks per game. Nicholson heads into Sunday’s game with three consecutive double-digit rebounding efforts and two 20-point games to his credit.

The Bonnies (4-1) will conclude the tournament by taking on host Illinois State on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Redbirds ran their record to 5-0 with a convincing 93-53 win over Southeast Missouri State in the opening game of the evening. The game can be heard live on GoBonnies.com, while a video feed of the contest can be found on www.GoRedBirds.com.