GAME NOTES: The Massachusetts Minutemen try to continue their home success when they take on the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon.

UMass has been exceptionally strong at the Mullins Center this year with a 5-0 record. That includes an 87-82 home win over Iona on Tuesday.

The Bonnies suffered their second straight loss by falling in an 82-77 final at Delaware on Tuesday.

The Minutemen hold a 40-22 lead against the Bonnies in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1980-81 season. UMass has won six of the last seven at home. In the last encounter in Amherst, the Minutemen erased a 13-point deficit and earned a 73-68 win on Jan. 11, 2014. That included a 10-1 burst over the final three minutes of play.

The Minutemen open their 18-game conference slate with just two victories in their last seven contests. On Tuesday, Trey Davis netted 25 points and dished out seven assists to lead UMass to victory. Derrick Gordon scored 19 points with seven rebounds. Maxie Esho registered 11 points, and both Cady Lalanne and Jabarie Hinds added 10 points apiece. Lalanne grabbed eight rebounds.

UMass is opening the 39th season of Atlantic 10 play and amazingly is 294-294 in the conference. The Minutemen have four players averaging double figures in the scoring column, led by 6-foot-8 senior forward Esho, who comes in at 13.9 ppg and is shooting 54.7 percent from the field. Lalanne (13.1 ppg), paces the team in rebounding (9.2 rpg) and already has 29 blocks. Gordon (12.1 ppg) and Davis (10.9 ppg) area also part of the starting lineup for a team that is averaging 74.7 ppg, but is allowing 74.2 ppg. Donte Clark (9.4 ppg) is a force off the bench. Hinds, a junior transfer from West Virginia, has averaged 7.7 points in 22.2 minutes through 12 games. Hinds has started the last five games due to an injury Seth Berger sustained to his left foot.

Marcus Posley scored 22 points to lead St. Bonaventure in the loss against Delaware. Dion Wright netted 16 points with eight rebounds, and Andell Cumberbatch tallied 13 points. Youssou Ndoye grabbed a team-best 12 boards.

Posley, in his first year with the Bonnies, has scored 20 points or more in each of the last three contests and is second in the A-10 in scoring at 17.7 ppg. It's a potent lineup, as all five St. Bonaventure starters average double figures. Wright (13.5 ppg), freshman guard Jay Adams (11.8 ppg), Cumberbatch (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and Ndoye (10.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg) are the other starters. Ndoye, a 7-foot senior center, paces the A-10 in both rebounding and blocked shots (3.0 bpg). He has 10 or more rebounds in nine consecutive games. The Bonnies are giving up 65.4 ppg, while scoring 71.9 ppg.

The Minutemen are 5-1 in A-10 openers under Derek Kellogg, with the only loss coming at Saint Louis two years ago. Conversely, the Bonnies have struggled on the road in A-10 lid-lifters. They are 5-14 in conference openers on the road. Under head coach Mark Schmidt, the Bonnies are 4-3 in A-10 openers.

Expect this to be a tight contest, especially with both teams having multiple players who can lead the way offensively. The Minutemen, though, have the edge playing at the Mullins Center, where they are 34-7 in regular-season games over the last four-plus seasons.