QU Men's Basketball Hosts Canisius Friday (7 PM) At TD Bank Sports Center

Friday, January 20

Hamden, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Canisius College

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QU Men's Basketball Hosts Canisius Friday (7 PM) At TD Bank Sports Center

1/19/2017 9:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (7-11, 4-4 MAAC) vs.
Canisius College Golden Griffins (12-7, 5-3 MAAC)
Date: Friday, January 20, 2017 (7 p.m.)
Location: TD Bank Sports Center | Hamden, Conn.)
All-Time Series vs. Canisius: Canisius leads 5-2
Current Streak: Canisius - 2 straight
Earlier Meeting: Canisius 83-77 (Jan. 4 at Canisius)

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DIXON REPEATS AS MAAC ROOKIE OF WEEK
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon won his second straight MAAC Rookie of the Week Award on Monday and third this season. He earned his latest honor after scoring 27 points in a 97-91 win over Iona on Saturday. He won the award on Jan. 9 after averaging 20.7 points in a 2-1 week, including 23 points twice, the first of which came at Niagara when he had the game-winning basket with 22.4 seconds left. He won his first honor on Dec. 5 after averaging 16.0 points in two games on Quinnipiac's MAAC opening week. Peter Kiss also was the MAAC Rookie of the Week honor on Nov. 28 after averaging 16.0 points at the AdvoCare Invitational, including 18 against No. 11 Gonzaga and 19 against Seton Hall.

Quinnipiac - MAAC Weekly Honors
Jan. 16   Mikey Dixon (Rookie of the Week)
Jan. 9   Mikey Dixon (Rookie of the Week)
Dec. 5   Mikey Dixon (Rookie of the Week)
Nov. 28   Peter Kiss (Rookie of the Week)

DIXON TIES QUINNIPIAC DI RECORD FOR FRESHMEN
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon had 27 points in a 97-91 overtime win over Iona on Saturday (scoring all 27 points in regulation). That matched the Quinnipiac record at the Division I level for most points in a game by a freshman, first set by Kason Mims in 2000-01 and matched a year later by Rob Monroe. Dixon had scored 23 points on three occasions, a figure that current sophomore Abdulai Bundu also had last year at Maine, which had been the highest total in Head Coach Tom Moore's 10 seasons.

Most Points In A Game For A QU Freshman (DI Level)
27 Mikey Dixon   1/14/17 vs. Iona
27 Kason Mims   1/29/01 vs. LIU
27 Rob Monroe   3/1/02 vs. Wagner
25 Bill Romano   1/21/99 vs. LIU
25 Rob Monroe   2/14/02 vs. Sacred Heart

DIXON ON HISTORIC PACE
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon is on pace to easily break the Quinnipiac Division I record for highest scoring average as a freshman at his 15.9 ppg pace (Rob Monroe holds it at 13.0 ppg). Since becoming a starter against Brown on Dec. 29, he is averaging 19.1 ppg, and if he continues that pace, he has a chance to break the Quinnipiac all-divisions record for freshman, set by Frank Berretta in 1979-80.

All-Time QU Freshman Scoring Leaders (All Levels)
1. 16.7 Frank Berretta, 1979-80
2. 16.5 Troy Adams, 1986-87
3. 16.4 Harold Driver, 1974-75
4. 15.9 Mikey Dixon, 2016-17 (as of now)
5. 14.4 Rick Barry, 1991-92
6. 13.5 Lester Ayala, 1987-88
7. 13.0 Rob Monroe, 2001-02 - DI record

FRESHMEN BACKCOURTS
There are very few teams in the country with a pair of freshman guards as productive as Mikey Dixon (15.9 ppg) and Peter Kiss (12.2 ppg), who currently rank 1-2 on the Bobcats in scoring and in the top 15 in the MAAC in scoring in conference games. Dixon is currently leading all MAAC freshmen in scoring, while Kiss is in third, a fraction of a percentage point behind Stevie Jordan of Rider (12.2). Nationally, 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 1/18)
Quinnipiac: Mikey Dixon (15.9), Peter Kiss (12.2)
Kentucky: Malik Monk (21.4), De'Aron Fox (16.7)
Saint John's: Shamorie Ponds (17.1), Marcus LoVett (16.4)
Arizona: Rawle Alkins (11.9), Kobi Simmons (11.8)
Citadel: Preston Parks (14.8), Kaelon Harris (10.2)
Auburn: Mustapha Heron (15.7), Jared Harper (12.9)

LAST GAME RECAP (QUINNIPIAC 97, IONA 91 - OT)
Quinnipiac used a late 8-0 run to take a two-point lead with a minute to play, and after Iona tied it to force overtime, the Bobcats dominated the extra session to earn a 97-91 home win over Iona on Saturday. Mikey Dixon had 27 points and Chaise Daniels (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Donovan Smith (15 points, 11 rebounds) each had double-doubles. Trailing 75-69 with less than four minutes left, Dixon made two foul shots and Daniels hit three straight shots to give the Bobcats a 77-75 lead. Jordan Washington (25 points, 14 rebounds) tied it with 23 seconds left and the Bobcats missed two chances for the win in the final seconds. However, Quinnipiac raced out to an 11-point lead in overtime, as Peter Kiss hit a jumper to put Quinnipiac up by four and a dagger three-pointer to make the score 91-80.

Inside the Box Score vs. Iona
• Mikey Dixon had his free throw streak snapped at 34 straight makes, which was the longest streak in the country at the time, but bounced back to make his last six.
• Chaise Daniels and Donovan Smith became the first QU teammates to have double-doubles in the same game since Smith and Abdulai Bundu did it last year at Maine.
• Mikey Dixon made five straight three-point attempts in a span of eight minutes, counting 4-4 in the final six minutes of the first half and his first attempt less than two minutes into the second half.
• Peter Kiss had six points at the end of regulation and then scored nine in overtime
• Quinnipiac had only eight turnovers against Iona's trapping defenses, including none in 39 minutes from Mikey Dixon.
• Donovan Smith had five blocks, making it back-to-back home games with at least five (he had a DI-record tying seven in the last home game vs. Manhattan on Jan. 7).

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. 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. So far this year, Smith has 27 blocks and Daniels has 25.

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.

DOUBLING UP
Quinnipiac has had nine double-doubles this season from four different players. Chaise Daniels and Donovan Smith each have three, after they both tallied them in the overtime win over Iona on Saturday. Abdulai Bundu has two double-doubles this season, while Peter Kiss picked up the first of his career against Manhattan on Jan. 7.

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)
Jan. 14; Donovan Smith vs. Iona (15 pts, 11 rebs)
Jan. 14: Chaise Daniels vs. Iona (22 pts, 11 rebs)

INCREASED SCORING
Quinnipiac has had a much improved offense so far this season, averaging 75.4 points per game, up almost 10 points from a year ago (65.6 ppg). The Bobcats have also reached 70 points 14 times in 18 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. The streak will likely end this year, due to the Bobcats fielding a smaller lineup than usual and playing multiple defenses, as they currently rank 14th nationally in offensive rebounding (13.8 per game).

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS
With Tom Moore at the helm, Quinnipiac has outrebounded its opponent in 255 of 299 games (85.4 percent). In 112 of those 299 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 122-15-4 in the rebounding department in the 141 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 2,521 (12,542-10,023). To put that total in perspective, if all of the Bobcats vacated the floor against Canisius and the Golden Griffins 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 2:59 was left in overtime.

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 235 wins (159 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), which adds up to 600 total in 30 years of coaching (499 at Division I). Canisius will mark his 300th game as Quinnipiac's head coach.

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 has two tough road tests next week, traveling to face defending league champion Iona on Monday and then to meet defending regular season league champion (and preseason favorite) Monmouth on Friday.