St. Bonaventure 67, Xavier 56: Andrew Nicholson scored 26 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked eight shots as St. Bonaventure took a big lead in the first half and never looked back in a 67-56 victory over Xavier to win the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Nicholson, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, tallied his ninth double-double of the season as the Bonnies (20-11) reached the NCAA tournament for the sixth time and their first since 2000.

Xavier (21-12) cut a 17-point deficit to 45-41 with 10:03 remaining, but could not get closer. St. Bonaventure, which has won seven of its last eight, was 22-for-25 at the free-throw line. Nicholson hit all 10 of his free throws.

Tu Holloway had 17 points and Mark Lyons scored 16 for Xavier, which lost for the first time in five Atlantic 10 tournament finals.

St. Bonaventure made five of its first seven 3-point attempts to build a 16-point lead in the first half. Nicholson had two of those 3-pointers and 12 points as the Bonnies took a 37-24 halftime lead.

Xavier missed all seven of its shots from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half and was just two-of-13 for the game.

GAME NOTEBOOK: St. Bonaventure had 13 assists on 14 first-half field goals… The Bonnies were the fourth seed and Xavier the third… Nicholson was the lone Bonnie in double figures... Xavier’s last Atlantic 10 tournament title was in 2006… The Bonnies had lost both of its previous appearances in the Atlantic 10 final, losing in 1984 and 2000.