QU Men's Basketball Entertains Iona For Saturday Matinee (ESPN3)

Saturday, January 14

Hamden, CT

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Iona College

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QU Men's Basketball Entertains Iona For Saturday Matinee (ESPN3)

1/13/2017 10:22:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (6-11, 3-4 MAAC) vs.
Iona College Gaels (10-7, 3-3 MAAC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 (2 p.m.)
Location: TD Bank Sports Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Iona: Iona leads 5-2
Current Streak: Iona 5 straight
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DIXON WINS SECOND MAAC ROOKIE OF WEEK
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon earned the MAAC Rookie of the Week Award for the second time on Monday, following a week in which he averaged 20.7 points and 5.0 assists over three games. He matched his personal high of 23 points twice, including a road win over Niagara, when he made two go-ahead baskets in the final minute, including the eventual game-winner with 22.4 seconds left. Dixon earlier won the award on Dec. 5 after averaging 16.0 points over two games, one week after teammate Peter Kiss earned the honor after the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, where he averaged 16.0 points over three contests.

LAST GAME RECAP (SIENA 81, QUINNIPIAC 74)
Quinnipiac almost dug itself out of a 20-point hole with less than 10 minutes to go but came up just short in an 81-74 loss to Siena on Thursday. The Saints led by 20 in the first half and matched their largest lead at 67-47 with 8:40 to go. However, the Bobcats stormed back on a 14-0 run to close the deficit to six, with freshman guard Peter Kiss accounting for eight of the 14 points during the run. Quinnipiac got as close as five on three occasions in the final two minutes, the last coming on a Reggie Oliver three-pointer with 44 seconds left, but Siena made enough of its foul shots down the stretch to hold on. Kiss led the Bobcats with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half, while Mikey Dixon had 14, Chaise Daniels 12 and Abdulai Bundu 10.

Inside the Box Score vs. Siena
• Mikey Dixon was 2-2 at the foul line, extending his streak of consecutive made foul shots to 34, dating back to a miss against Holy Cross on Dec. 11. It is the longest active streak in the country.
• Quinnipiac had 13 steals as a team, the highest total in the last seven years. The Bobcats had 13 steals in the 2010 Northeast Conference title game against Robert Morris, but not more than 10 in any game since (including earlier this season vs. Hartford). Peter Kiss had five steals, the high total for any Bobcat this season.
• Siena outrebounded Quinnipiac 48-37, only the sixth time in Head Coach Tom Moore's 10-year career that the Bobcats have been outrebounded by double figures (three of which have been this season, including Vermont and Gonzaga). Quinnipiac has been +10 or better on the boards 112 times in that same time span.

PROMISING FUTURE FOR BOBCATS
Freshman guards Mikey Dixon (15.2) and Peter Kiss (12.0) are the top two scorers for the Bobcats and the top two freshman scorers in the MAAC, with Stevie Jordan (Rider) just behind Kiss at 11.6. In league games only (see bottom left), Dixon ranks 10th in scoring (16.6 ppg) and Kiss is 13th (15.4 ppg).

MAAC - Freshman Scoring Leaders (thru 1/12)
1. Mikey Dixon, Quinnipiac 15.2 ppg
2. Peter Kiss, Quinnipiac 12.0 ppg
3. Stevie Jordan, Rider 11.6 ppg
4. E.J. Crawford, Iona  9.0 ppg
5. Aaron Walker Jr., Manhattan  8.9 ppg

FRESHMEN BACKCOURTS
There are very few teams in the country with a pair of freshman guards as productive as Peter Kiss and Mikey Dixon. In fact, there are only six schools nationally that have two freshman guards averaging at least 10 ppg entering through Thursday's games:

Teams with Two Fr. Guards at 10+ PPG (thru 1/12)
Quinnipiac: Mikey Dixon (15.2), Peter Kiss (12.0)
Kentucky: Malik Monk (21.7), De'Aron Fox (16.7)
Saint John's: Marcus LoVett (17.6), Shamorie Ponds (17.5)
Arizona: Rawle Alkins (11.9), Kobi Simmons (11.8)
Citadel: Preston Parks (14.6), Kaelon Harris (11.6)
Auburn: Mustapha Heron (16.2), Jared Harper (13.5)

DIXON FREE THROW STREAK AT 34
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon has made 34 straight free throws, dating back to a miss against Holy Cross on Dec. 11, which is the longest active streak in the country. Iona's Schadrac Casimir had a streak of 44 straight made free throws two years ago, which is the longest known MAAC streak on record.

MILESTONE SEASONS FOR MOORE
Head Coach Tom Moore is in a pair of milestone seasons in his coaching career - his 10th as the head coach at Quinnipiac and his 30th in collegiate coaching (as both an assistant and a head coach), including 23 years at the Division I level (13 as a UConn assistant, 10 at Quinnipiac). As a head coach, he has earned 234 wins (158 at Quinnipiac and 76 in five years at Division III Worcester State). As an assistant coach, he was a part of 365 wins (340 at UConn, 25 in two years at DIII).

DOUBLING UP
Quinnipiac has had seven double-doubles this season from four different players. Chaise Daniels has two, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds against Seton Hall on Nov. 25 and 13 points and 10 rebounds against Monmouth on Dec. 1. Abdulai Bundu had 15 points and 12 rebounds against Indiana State on Nov. 27 and then had his second with 12 points and 10 rebounds at Maine on Dec. 18. Donovan Smith picked up his first one of the year against Hartford on Dec. 7 with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and then added his second against Niagara with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Peter Kiss joined the double-double club last Saturday vs. Manhattan with 20 points and 10 boards.

Quinnipiac Double-Doubles
Nov. 25: Chaise Daniels vs. Seton Hall (14 pts, 11 rebs)
Nov. 27: Abdulai Bundu vs. Indiana State (15 pts, 12 rebs)
Dec. 1: Chaise Daniels vs. Monmouth (13 pts, 10 rebs)
Dec. 7: Donovan Smith vs. Hartford (15 pts, 10 rebs)
Dec. 18: Abdulai Bundu vs. Maine (12 pts, 10 rebs)
Jan. 2: Donovan Smith vs. Niagara (13 pts, 13 rebs)
Jan. 7: Peter Kiss vs. Manhattan (20 pts, 10 rebs)

THREE-FOR-ALL
Senior guard Daniel Harris and freshman guard Peter Kiss are both in the Quinnipiac record books for making all of their three point shots in a DI game (minimum four attempts). Harris was 5-5 at Manhattan last season, tying for the second best single-game effort in school history at the Division I level, while Kiss has had two games of 4-4 this season (Seton Hall, Manhattan), which ties him for fifth place.

Quinnipiac Top 5 Single-Game 3-pt Pct. (DI Era)
6-6   Rashaun Banjo vs. St. Francis (Pa.)   2/4/02
5-5   Daniel Harris vs. Manhattan   2/11/16
5-5   Jared Grasso vs. UMBC       2/3/00
5-5   Kason Mims vs. Monmouth   2/7/04
4-4   6 times (including Peter Kiss twice)

SMITH LEADS BLOCK PARTY
Donovan Smith had a big game on defense in Quinnipiac's 81-72 win over Manhattan on Jan. 7, finishing with seven blocked shots. Not only was that a personal best, breaking his old mark of four, it tied Quinnipiac's school record for most blocks in a Division I game, matching the standard set four times by Ousmane Drame ('15 - see chart at left). Quinnipiac's high total for blocked shots as a team this season was just seven heading into the game (at Niagara on Jan. 2) and Smith matched that total by himself. The 11 blocks Quinnipiac had as a team against Manhattan was the most since tallying 13 against Albany on Dec. 1, 2015.

SMITH THIRD ON QU SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS CHART
Senior forward Donovan Smith had 53 blocks in 2015-16 (1.8 per game, ranking him second in the MAAC), which is third on the single-season blocks mark at Quinnipiac during its Division I era (since 1998-99). Ousmane Drame has the top two totals (88 as a senior in 2014-15, 64 as a junior in 2013-14), while C.J. Vick is now fourth with 43 (2002-03). Junior Chaise Daniels finished with 39 blocks last season (fifth place), ranking him fourth in the MAAC.

INCREASED SCORING
Quinnipiac has had a much improved offense so far this season, averaging 74.2 points per game, up almost 10 points from a year ago (65.6 ppg). The Bobcats have also reached 70 points 13times in 17 games this year, which is already more times than they reached that plateau during all of last year (10 times in 30 games).

REBOUNDING DOMINANCE
Quinnipiac has a streak of six straight seasons leading the nation in at least one rebounding category, including offensive rebounds in five of the last six. In 2014-15, Quinnipiac ranked second in offensive rebounds (16.4) to West Virginia, but still led the nation in total rebounds (45.4), defensive rebounds (29.0) and rebounding margin (12.4). In 2013-14, the Bobcats led the nation in all four major rebounding categories (total rebounds, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and rebounding margin), the only school to do that since Quinnipiac joined the Division I ranks in 1998-99.

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS
With Tom Moore at the helm, Quinnipiac has outrebounded its opponent in 255 of 298 games (85.6 percent). In 112 of those 297 games, QU has posted a plus-10 or better rebounding margin, as well as 31 games with plus-20 or better. The Bobcats have an 88-24 (.786) mark when holding a plus-10 edge under Moore, and 23-8 (.741) with plus-20. Remarkably, Quinnipiac has held a +10 margin or better on the boards 112 times in the last 10 years, and suffered a -10 margin or worse only six times in that same span. Quinnipiac is now 122-14-4 in the rebounding department in the 140 games since the 2012-13 season, including two entire years without being outrebounded once (2012-13, 2014-15).

BOARD SCORES
Over the 10-year Tom Moore Era, Quinnipiac is outrebounding its opponents by a spread of 2,522 (12,494-9,972). To put that total in perspective, if all of the Bobcats vacated the floor against Iona and the Gaels did a tip drill on the glass and recorded exactly one rebound per second, Quinnipiac's rebounding margin under Moore would not level off at an even zero until 2:58 was left in overtime.

CAN WE POOL OUR POINTS?
The TD Bank Sports Center has banners with the 1000-point scorers in Quinnipiac basketball history, but the closest current Bobcat is junior forward Chaise Daniels with 502, who has a chance to reach 1,000 as a senior at his 10.6 ppg pace. Freshmen Mikey Dixon (15.2 ppg) and Peter Kiss (12.0 ppg) are on an early pace to reach that milestone as juniors. Collectively, the entire team's 2,406 points is behind all-time leading scorer Frank Vieira (2,649).

QU Career Scoring Leaders
   Player   Total
   Chaise Daniels   502
   Daniel Harris   435
   Donovan Smith   334
   Abdulai Bundu   322
   Mikey Dixon   269
   Peter Kiss   204
   Reggie Oliver   151
   Andrew Robinson   90
   Alain Chigha   64
   Phil Winston    47
   Greg Tarca   4
   Aaron Robinson   3
   Ja'Kwan Jones   1
       Total   2,406

BOBCATS SIGN TWO IN FALL PERIOD
Quinnipiac earned a pair of commitments in the fall signing period, landing 6-3 shooting guard Ezekiel Charles of Barton Community College and 6-9 forward Milos Supica of Freedom Christian Academy in Fayetteville, N.C. Charles played scholastically at prestigious Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, while Supica is originally from Belgrade, Serbia.

BOBCATS OVERSEAS
Quinnipiac has had a total of 13 players have played professionally in Europe since Head Coach Tom Moore took over the job in 2007-08, including four from the Class of 2015. Ousmane Drame (Turkey) and Zaid Hearst (Spain) are starters on their teams in 2016-17, while James Feldeine (Greece) helped his team to a 25-1 record in 2015-16. Justin Rutty (Uruguay) is also back playing again after a strong season in France last year.

NEXT UP
Quinnipiac will earn a much-needed break after a stretch of six games in 13 days, returning to action on Friday, Jan. 20 for a home game against Canisius at 7 p.m.