GAME NOTES: The Dayton Flyers play their first game of the 39th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament on Friday night, as they battle the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals at Barclays Center.

The second seed in the tournament, Dayton has a record of 21-18 in this event and won the championship back in 2003 with a 79-72 victory against Temple. More recently, the Flyers appeared in the finals in 2011, but that time the squad was defeated by Richmond, 67-54.

During the regular season the Flyers produced an overall record of 23-7 and were an impressive 13-5 in league action, although they had a three-game win streak snapped by La Salle in the finale, 55-53, in Philadelphia last weekend.

As for the seventh-seeded Bonnies, they were in action in the second round of the tourney on Thursday night against 10th-seeded Saint Joseph's and came away with a 60-49 victory. St. Bonaventure, which defeated Xavier in the title game of this event just three years ago, is now 19-29 in the tournament all-time.

The Flyers won both regular-season meetings between the programs, the first coming on the road in New York back in early January, 78-61, and the other being a 75-61 triumph at UD Arena on Valentine's Day.

The winner of this game will go up against the survivor of the George Washington/Rhode Island matchup in the semifinals on Saturday.

The Bonnies showed great resolve on Thursday as they battled back from a 10- point deficit in the first half, trailed by five at the break, and then dialed up the defense in the second stanza to secure the double-digit win. The team shot only 2-of-14 behind the 3-point line and turned the ball over 15 times, which should have spelled disaster, but the Bonnies managed to hold the Hawks to a mere 25.5 percent from the field, which included a 3-of-16 showing beyond the arc.

At the offensive end of the floor, Youssou Ndoye posted 18 points and eight rebounds, but was also charged with six turnovers without the benefit of a single assist before fouling out. Dion Wright tacked on 15 points and nine boards, Marcus Posley 13 points and six assists, followed by Andell Cumberbatch with 12 points on a mere 3-of-12 from the floor. Denzel Gregg, who was limited to just two points, logged 15 rebounds which was the difference between the two teams (48-33).

Dayton was again one of the better defensive units in the nation, limiting opponents to 60.5 ppg, as foes shot a collective 41.7 percent from the field and 30.2 percent behind the 3-point line. From an offensive standpoint, Jordan Sibert led the charge with 16.6 ppg as he converted 71-of-200 (.355) out on the perimeter, easily making him the most feared outside shooter on the roster. Dyshawn Pierre added 13.0 ppg and Kendall Pollard another 12.5 ppg, the former being responsible for 8.1 rpg and the latter handing out a team- best 95 assists.

After a tough fight on Thursday, the Bonnies showed that they have the ability to come from behind in a pressure situation, but now they must prove that they can compete after getting limited rest, against a well-prepared Dayton squad.