QU Men's Basketball Travels To Iona Monday For Rematch Of Overtime Thriller

Monday, January 23

New Rochelle, NY

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Iona College

QU Men's Basketball Travels To Iona Monday For Rematch Of Overtime Thriller

1/22/2017 10:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (8-11, 5-4 MAAC) at
Iona College Gaels (12-8, 5-4 MAAC)
Date: Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 (7 p.m.)
Location: Hynes Athletic Center | New Rochelle, N.Y.
All-Time Series vs. Iona: Iona leads 5-3
Current Streak: QU - 1 straight
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LAST GAME RECAP (QUINNIPIAC 95, CANISIUS 90)
Quinnipiac built a 19-point lead in the first half and held off several Canisius rallies in the second half to come away with a 95-90 home win on Friday. The Bobcats were up 15 at the half and led by as many as 18 early in the second half before the Golden Griffins came all the way back to within two points at 75-73 with 5;21 left. Chaise Daniels converted a lay-up and Donovan Smith had a dunk off a feed from Reggie Oliver to get the lead back to six, but the Golden Griffins were still within a one-possession game at 83-80 after a Jermaine Crumpton three with 1:39 left. Mikey Dixon, though, answered back with threes on two straight possessions for the Bobcats to push the lead to seven with 45 seconds left and Quinnipiac was able to hold on. Dixon set a new Quinnipiac DI scoring record for freshmen with 29 points.

Inside the Box Score vs. Canisius
• Mikey Dixon was 12-15 at the foul line, the most makes and attempts for a Quinnipiac player since Ousmane Drame was 13-16 against Vermont on Nov. 30, 2014.
• Mikey Dixon had his 29 points on only nine field goal attempts, for a true shooting percentage of 92.9 percent.
• In addition to breaking the freshman scoring record at the DI level, Mikey Dixon's 29 points were the most for any Bobcat in the last two years, passing Chaise Daniels' 28 last year against Fairfield. Zaid Hearst (34 vs. Yale) and Ousmane Drame (33 vs. Vermont) were the last to score 30 or more, both early (during November) in the 2014-15 season.
• Reggie Oliver was 4-4 on threes, joining teammates Daniel Harris (5-5 last year at Manhattan) and Peter Kiss (4-4 twice this year) on the list of players who have shot perfect from three in four or more attempts at the DI level (11 times).
• Quinnipiac won the jump ball, which has it has done in all eight of its wins this season. It is 0-7 when opponents win the opening tap.

DIXON REPEATS AS MAAC ROOKIE OF WEEK
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon won his second straight MAAC Rookie of the Week Award on Jan. 16 and third this season after scoring 27 points in a 97-91 win over Iona on Jan. 14. 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. (This week's awards are pending after Dixon had 29 against Canisius on Friday).

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 BREAKS QUINNIPIAC DI SCORING RECORD FOR FRESHMEN
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon had 29 points in Quinnipiac's last outing, a 95-90 win over Canisius on Friday. That established a new program record for most points in a DI game by a freshman, passing the previous mark of 27, which he tied last week against Iona. The 27-point record was first set by Kason Mims in 2000-01 and matched a year later by Rob Monroe

Most Points In A Game For A QU Freshman (DI Level)
29 Mikey Dixon   1/20/17 vs. Canisius
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 16.6 ppg pace (Rob Monroe holds it at 13.0 ppg) and has a good chance to break the all-divisions record of 16.7, set by Frank Berretta at the Division II level in 1979-80. Since becoming a starter against Brown on Dec. 29, Dixon is averaging 20.4 ppg over his last eight games.

All-Time QU Freshman Scoring Leaders (All Levels)
1. 16.7 Frank Berretta, 1979-80
2. 16.6 Mikey Dixon, 2016-17 (as of now)
3. 16.5 Troy Adams, 1986-87
4. 16.4 Harold Driver, 1974-75
5. 14.4 Rick Barry, 1991-92
6. 13.5 Lester Ayala, 1987-88
7. 13.0 Rob Monroe, 2001-02 - DI record

DIXON IN TOP 10 NATIONALLY IN FRESHMAN SCORING
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon has averaged 28.0 points over the last two games to move his scoring average up to 16.6 points per contest, which ranks him eighth nationally in scoring average for freshmen (through Saturday. Markelle Fultz of Washington (23.4 ppg) and Malik Monk of Kentucky (21.7) lead the way, but only one-half point separates Dixon from fifth place (Shamorie Ponds of Saint John's at 17.1).

National Freshman Scoring Leaders (through 1/21)
1. 23.4 Markelle Fultz, Washington
2. 21.7 Malik Monk, Kentucky
3. 18.9 Dennis Smith, Jr., N.C. State
4. 18.2 Michael Weathers, Miami (Ohio)
5. 17.1 Shamorie Ponds, Saint John's
6. 17.1 Lauri Markkanen, Arizona
7. 16.7 T.J. Leaf, UCLA
8. 16.6 Mikey Dixon, Quinnipiac
9. 16.5 Christian Keeling, Charleston Southern
10. 16.4 Marcus LoVett, Saint John's

FRESHMEN BACKCOURTS
There are very few teams in the country with a pair of freshman guards as productive as Mikey Dixon (16.6 ppg) and Peter Kiss (12.3 ppg), who currently rank 1-2 on the Bobcats in scoring, as well as in the top 15 in the MAAC in scoring in conference games. Dixon and Kiss are also currently 1-2 in the MAAC among freshman in scoring, with Stevie Jordan of Rider close behind Kiss at 12.2 ppg On a national level, there are only five schools nationally that have two freshman guards averaging at least 10 ppg entering through Saturday's games:

Teams with Two Freshman Guards at 10+ PPG (thru 1/21)
Quinnipiac: Mikey Dixon (16.6), Peter Kiss (12.3)
Kentucky: Malik Monk (21.7), De'Aron Fox (16.2)
Saint John's: Shamorie Ponds (17.1), Marcus LoVett (16.4)
Arizona: Kobi Simmons (12.1), Rawle Alkins (11.9)
Auburn: Mustapha Heron (15.6), Jared Harper (12.4)

MAAC UPDATE
There is a big logjam in the middle of the conference standings as Iona and Quinnipiac are two of five teams tied for third place at 5-4 in the MAAC (along with Siena, Canisius and Rider) through Saturday's games. Monmouth is in first place at 7-2, while Saint Peter's is a game behind at 6-3.

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 28 blocks, ranking third in the MAAC at 1.6 per game, and Daniels has 25.

INCREASED SCORING
Quinnipiac has had a much improved offense so far this season, averaging 76.5 points per game, up over 10 points from a year ago (65.6 ppg). The Bobcats have also reached 70 points 15 times in 19 games this year, which is already more than they reached that plateau 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. 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 256 of 300 games (85.5 percent). In 112 of those 300 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.

BOARD SCORES
Over the 10-year Tom Moore Era, Quinnipiac is outrebounding its opponents by a spread of 2,526 (12,575-10,049). 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 2:54 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).

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 with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

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)

THREE-FOR-ALL
Three current Quinnipiac guards are in the school 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 (along with Iona associate head coach Jared Grasso), behind only a 6-6 effort from Rashaun Banjo in 2001-02. Peter Kiss has had two games of 4-4 this season (Seton Hall, Manhattan), which ties him for fifth place, while Reggie Oliver joined that tie by shooting 4-4 on threes against Canisius on Friday.

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 plays the second game of its tough two-game road trip when it travels to Monmouth on Friday night for a 7 p.m. contest, which will be televised live on ESPNU. The Bobcats will be back home on Monday, Jan. 30 to take on Siena, which will be shown on SNY.