QU Men's Basketball Returns To TD Bank To Face Manhattan Saturday (2 PM)

Saturday, January 7

Hamden, CT

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Manhattan College

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QU Men's Basketball Returns To TD Bank To Face Manhattan Saturday (2 PM)

1/6/2017 9:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (5-9, 2-2 MAAC) vs.
Manhattan Jaspers (5-10, 0-4 MAAC)
Date: Saturday, January 7, 2017 (2 p.m.)
Location: TD Bank Sports Center | Hamden, Conn.)
All-Time Series vs. Manhattan: Manhattan leads 4-3
Current Streak: Manhattan - 3 straight
Last Meeting: Manhattan 63-59 (2/21/16 at TD Bank Sports Center)
Gameday Promotion: First 100 fans receive free sunglasses
Halftime Entertainment: Air Elite Dunkers

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LAST GAME RECAP (CANISIUS 83, QUINNIPIAC 77)
Freshman guards Peter Kiss (18 points) and Mikey Dixon (16) combined to score 34 points, but Canisius used a late push in the second half to earn its seventh straight win 83-77 over the Bobcats on Wednesday. Quinnipiac led by one at the half (36-35) and maintained its lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half, before Canisius used a 9-0 run to take a 63-59 lead. The Golden Griffins led by as many as 11 late before Quinnipiac nearly had a frantic comeback. Alain Chigha hit a three-pointer with 23 seconds left to cut the lead to 81-77, and after forcing a turnover, Daniel Harris had a three in the corner that would have cut it to one, but it hit off the front rim and Canisius was able to seal the win at the foul line.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE vs CANISIUS
• Mikey Dixon's 16 points marked his tenth straight game of 14 or more points (since being held scoreless by Seton Hall).
• Mikey Dixon was 2-2 at the foul line, making him 21-21 at the charity stripe over the last five games. His streak is at 22 straight, since making the second of two at Holy Cross.
• Canisius had only two turnovers in the first 38 minutes, but committed three in the final 1:15 as the Bobcats press almost led them to a comeback.
• Donovan Smith had a strong all-around stat line with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals off the Bobcat bench. The four assists marked a career high.
• Canisius came in ranked No. 16 in the nation in three-point percentage (40.4 percent), but the Bobcats were able to hold them to 33.3 percent on the night (8-24).
• Peter Kiss' 18 points were one shy of his personal high.

KISS, DIXON WIN BACK TO BACK MAAC ROOKIE HONORS
Freshman guard Peter Kiss and freshman guard Mikey Dixon won two straight MAAC Rookie of the Week honors. Kiss earned the distinction after a strong showing at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando from Nov. 24-27, averaging 16.0 points over three games, including 18 against No. 11 Gonzaga and 19 against Seton Hall. Dixon followed suit by averaging 16.0 points in a 1-1 MAAC opening weekend, tallying 18 points in a loss against Monmouth on Dec. 1 and 14 on 6-10 shooting in only 19 minutes in a win over Marist on Dec. 4.

PROMISING FUTURE FOR BOBCATS
Freshman guards Mikey Dixon (15.3) and Peter Kiss (11.4) are the top two scorers for the Bobcats this season. Dixon and Kiss are also ranked first and third in the MAAC among freshmen in scoring, with Stevie Jordan (Rider) just ahead off Kiss at 11.5. In league games only, Dixon ranks seventh overall (all classes) in scoring (17.8 ppg) and Kiss is 15th (16.0 ppg).

MAAC - Freshman Scoring Leaders (thru 1/5)
1. Mikey Dixon, Quinnipiac   15.3 ppg
2. Stevie Jordan, Rider   11.5 ppg
3. Peter Kiss, Quinnipiac   11.4 ppg
4. E.J. Crawford, Iona   9.4 ppg
5. Aaron Walker Jr., Manhattan   9.3 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 1/5)
Quinnipiac: Mikey Dixon (15.3), Peter Kiss (11.4)
Kentucky: Malik Monk (22.6), De'Aron Fox (15.6)
Saint John's: Shamorie Ponds (17.6), Marcus LoVett (17.1)
Arizona: Rawle Alkins (12.4), Kobi Simmons (12.2)
Citadel: Preston Parks (14.6), Kaelon Harris (11.6)
Auburn: Mustapha Heron (15.9), Jared Harper (13.0)

DOUBLING UP
Quinnipiac has had six double-doubles this season, with three different players tallying two each. Chaise Daniels was the first to get his 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 (after tallying 23 points and 15 rebounds at Maine last year). 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 on Monday against Niagara with 13 points and 13 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)

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 was 4-4 earlier this season vs. Seton Hall at the AdvoCare Invitational, which ties for fifth.

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   5 players (incl. Peter Kiss v Seton Hall, 11/25/16)

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. With a smaller lineup than usual this year, the Bobcats will likely see the streak end, as they are currently 18th in offensive rebounding (14.0 per game).

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS
With Tom Moore at the helm, Quinnipiac has outrebounded its opponent in 254 of 295 games (86.1 percent). In 111 of those 295 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 88-23 (.793) 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 111 times in the last 10 years, and suffered a -10 margin or worse only five times in that same span (including Vermont and Gonzaga in the first three games this season). Quinnipiac is now 121-12-4 in the rebounding department in the 137 games since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, including two entire seasons 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 2,529 (12,381-9,852). To put that total in perspective, if all of the Bobcats vacated the floor against Manhattan and the Jaspers 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 2:51 was left in overtime (of presumably a rather bizarre 0-0 contest).

MILESTONE YEARS 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). He currently has been a part of 598 wins, two shy of 600, including 497 at the Division I level in 23 years

INCREASED SCORING
Quinnipiac has had a much improved offense so far this season, averaging 75.1 points per game, up almost 10 points from a year ago (65.6 ppg). The Bobcats have also reached 70 points 11 times in 14 games this year,, already more times than it reached that plateau all of last year (10 times in 30 games).

PLENTY IN RESERVE
Led by freshman guards Mikey Dixon and Peter Kiss, who played their first 11 games off the bench, Quinnipiac has averaged 31.4 bench points per game so far this year, including a stretch of four straight games of 40 or more (41 vs. Indiana State, 44 vs. Monmouth, 40 vs. Marist, 50 vs. Hartford). The bench accounted for over half of QU's points in each of those four contests. In the three games with Dixon and Kiss starting, senior forward Donovan Smith has been the big contributor off the bench, tallying 14 points against Brown, 13 against Niagara and 10 against Canisius.

SMITH THIRD ON QU 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.

CAN WE POOL OUR POINTS?
The TD Bank Sports Center has banners with the 1000-point scorers in Quinnipiac basketball history, but nobody on the 2016-17 team is halfway there. The closest is junior forward Chaise Daniels with 476, who has a good chance to reach 1,000 as a senior at his 11.1 ppg pace. Freshmen Mikey Dixon (15.3 ppg) and Peter Kiss (11.4 ppg) are on an early pace to reach that milestone as juniors.

QU Career Scoring Leaders
   Player   Total
   Chaise Daniels   476
   Daniel Harris   423
   Donovan Smith   307
   Abdulai Bundu   305
   Mikey Dixon   224
   Peter Kiss   160
   Reggie Oliver   118
   Andrew Robinson   89
   Alain Chigha   62
   Phil Winston    45
   Greg Tarca   4
   Aaron Robinson   3
   Ja'Kwan Jones   1
       Total   2,197

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
Under Head Coach Tom Moore, Quinnipiac has had great success sending its players on to professional careers overseas. A total of 13 players have played professionally in Europe since 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
The Bobcats have a quick turnaround after the Manhattan game, traveling to face Saint Peter's on Monday night for a 7 p.m. contest. Quinnipiac will then travel to Siena on Thursday and return home to face Iona next Saturday (ESPN3).