QU Men's Basketball Back in Action at Drexel on Monday Night

Monday, December 18

Philadelphia, PA

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Drexel University

QU Men's Basketball Back in Action at Drexel on Monday Night

12/15/2017 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Monday, Dec. 18, 2017 | 7 PM | Daskalakis Athletic Center (Philadelphia, Pa.)
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS at DREXEL UNIVERSITY DRAGONS
Watch It Live: DrexelDragons.com
Follow Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Listen Live: AM 1220 WQUN
Updates: @QU_MBB

Game Notes: Quinnipiac

All-Time Series vs. Drexel: Drexel leads 3-1
Current Streak: Drexel - 3 straight
Last Year's Meeting: Drexel 91-74 (12/21/16 at TD Bank Sports Center)

HAMDEN, Conn. - After an 11-day layoff for final exams, the Quinnipiac men's basketball team will be back in action on Monday night when it travels to Philadelphia for a 7 p.m. contest with Drexel.

LAST GAME (HARTFORD 77, QUINNIPIAC 75)
Hartford's John Carroll caught an air ball with 22 seconds left and the Hawks down by one, and turned it into the winning three-point play in a 77-75 win over the Bobcats on Dec. 7. Quinnipiac had one final chance to win on an end-to-end push after a missed Hartford foul shot, but a three-pointer hit off the rim as time expired. The loss spoiled a sensational effort from senior guard Cameron Young, who had a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

CARDIAC KIDS
The Quinnipiac men's basketball team has been in five games decided by two points or less in its first 10 contests. The team's three wins this year have come by a combined five points, including 78-77 over Dartmouth on opening day, 68-66 over UMass on Nov. 29 and 89-87 over Columbia on Monday. The Bobcats also lost 70-69 to Colorado, when the Buffaloes made a three-pointer at the buzzer that hit off the front rim, bounced high in the air, and fell through the net, and fell 77-75 at Hartford when a Hawks airball turned into an offensive rebound and a three-point play to provide the winning margin. Quinnipiac still had a three-pointer at the buzzer to win, the fourth game the Bobcats have played in already with a winning buzzer-beater attempt (Dartmouth, Colorado, Columbia, Hartford). The Bobcats secured the UMass win when Cameron Young was able to split a trap and dribble out the final six seconds.

KELLY NAMED MAAC ROOKIE OF WEEK
Freshman guard Rich Kelly became the first Quinnipiac player to be honored by the MAAC this season when he captured the Rookie of the Week Award on Dec. 11. Kelly averaged 15 points and seven assists in a two-game split, including 22 points and 10 assists in an 89-87 win over Columbia, when he scored Quinnipiac's final eight points, including the tiebreaking layup with 4.8 seconds left.

KELLY NOT LOOKING GREEN
The first commitment that Baker Dunleavy had after being named to the head coaching position was local point guard Rich Kelly, a Shelton, Connecticut native. Kelly originally signed on to a crowded backcourt and projected to be an understudy, but after four of last year's guards transferred out, Kelly quickly ascended into a major starting role. Despite his freshman status, he has performed like a veteran in the clutch. Twice already this season, he has contributed the winning points in tie games with less than five seconds left, beating Dartmouth off the dribble and drawing a foul with 4.3 seconds left and making the winning lay-up with 4.8 seconds left against Columbia. He finished the Columbia game with 22 points and 10 assists, the first 20-point, 10-assist game for a Bobcat since Rob Monroe had 25 points and 12 assists against FDU in 2004-05:

Bobcats Points-Assists Double-Doubles Since 2004-05
Rich Kelly vs. Columbia (12/4/17)   22 pts, 10 ast
Dave Johnson vs. Niagara (12/22/11)   13 pts, 10 ast
Deontay Twyman vs. Buffalo (3/14/11)   14 pts, 10 ast
James Feldeine vs. Monmouth (2/25/10)   19 pts, 11 ast
James Johnson vs. Monmouth (12/6/08)   12 pts, 10 ast
Rob Monroe vs. FDU (1/12/05)   25 pts, 12 ast
Rob Monroe vs. UConn (12/30/04)   16 pts, 10 ast
Rob Monroe vs. Longwood (11/27/04(   15 pts, 14 ast

DUNLEAVY ERA BEGINS WITH WIN
Quinnipiac's 78-77 win over Dartmouth on Nov. 11 in the season opener marked the debut of Head Coach Baker Dunleavy, who was hired in March. Dunleavy had a very successful career at Villanova as both a player and a coach under Jay Wright. During his playing days, the Wildcats were an Elite Eight team in 2005-06, behind future NBA guards Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry. During his four seasons as an associate head coach from 2013-17, Villanova compiled an overall record of 129-17, including a national title in 2016 and four straight BIG EAST regular season titles. His father Mike is a long time NBA coach who is currently the head coach at Tulane, making the Dunleavys one of two father-son coaching combinations in Division I, along with Tubby Smith (Texas Tech) and G.G. Smith (Loyola-Maryland).

BREAKOUT SEASON FROM YOUNG
Senior guard Cameron Young, a traditional three-man at 6-6, 205, was the odd man out in the Quinnipiac rotation last year when the Bobcats relied on a three-guard lineup. With a new roster and a new coaching staff this season, Young has seized his new chance, emerging as Quinnipiac's leading scorer (14.9 ppg) and leading rebounder (6.3 rpg) through the first 10 games. Young set career highs in everything in the Bobcats' near-upset over Colorado with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists on Nov. 17 at the Paradise Jam, and broke his best point total with 27 points against Hartford on Dec. 7. He ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (13th), rebounding (8th), steals (11th), and three-pointers (12th), and has the three-highest scoring games for the Bobcats this season:

Quinnipiac's 20-Point Games
Cameron Young vs. Hartford 27
Cameron Young vs. Colorado 26
Cameron Young vs. Liberty 26
Chaise Daniels vs. Maine 24
Rich Kelly vs. Columbia 22
Jacob Rigoni vs. Columbia 20

A GRADUATE JUNIOR?
Transfer shooting guard Isaiah Washington has started every game in the Quinnipiac backcourt this season as a rare graduate transfer with junior eligibility. Washington graduated in only three years from Penn State, including one redshirt season. Washington is pursuing his MBA at Quinnipiac while playing his final two years with the Bobcats, and he made his debut a special one, scoring 18 points in a 78-77 win over Dartmouth (his previous career high at Penn State was nine points).

THE ELDER STATESMAN
Fifth-year senior Alain Chigha is back for his final campaign with the Bobcats. Chigha graduated in May with a degree in sociology and is currently joining Isaiah Washington (see above) in pursuing an MBA at Quinnipiac. Chigha is a native of Cameroon, but came over to the United States to attend prep school in Florida at age 15, knowing only the words "yes" and "no" in English. He has only been home to see his family in Cameroon three times in the eight years since. He and senior guard Greg Tarca were named team co-captains. Chigha had seven steals in a loss to Maine on Nov. 26, one shy of the school record.

BROTHERLY LOVE
Quinnipiac is the only Division I team in the nation with two sets of brothers on the roster. Junior twins Aaron Robinson and Andrew Robinson (the first twins in Quinnipiac men's basketball history) are in their third seasons with the Bobcats, while graduate student Sam Donahue and his younger brother Matt, a freshman, both joined the Quinnipiac roster this season. Andrew (11) and Aaron (8) combined for 19 points in a Nov. 29 win over UMass, as Aaron (who did not play in his first three games after redshirting last year) has continued to see his minutes increase as the season has progressed.

A LONG ROAD TO HAMDEN
Many athletes have overcome obstacles to reach the college level, but few have beaten as long odds as junior forward Abdulai Bundu. Bundu was born in 1996 in Sierra Leone in the middle of a civil war. His parents won an immigration lottery to come to the United States, but could not secure visas for Abdulai (11 months) and his brother (7)and had to make the agonizing decision to leave them behind with family and try to bring them over later. He survived four refugee camps before he was finally reunited with his parents in Maryland in 2003 when he was seven years old. Bundu had a season-high 13 points and eight rebounds in Quinnipiac's last outing against Hartford on Dec. 7.

A WINNING STAFF
All four coaches on the current Quinnipiac staff have been a part of helping prior schools to their winningest seasons in program history. Head Coach Baker Dunleavy was part of a 35-win season at Villanova (the national title year of 2015-16). Tom Pecora helped Hofstra to a Division I record 26 wins as an assistant in 2000-01 and matched it as a head coach in 2005-06, Shaun Morris was part of a Boston University staff that won a school-record 24 games in 2013-14, and Anthony Goins helped Yale set a new program high with 23 wins in 2015-16.

BOBCATS INK FOUR IN FALL SIGNING PERIOD
Quinnipiac earned four commitments from guards in the fall signing period. Tyree Pickron, a 6-2 guard from Philadelphia (Archbishop Wood HS), Tyrese Williams, a 6-1 guard from New York City (Cardinal Hayes HS), Matthew Balanc, a 6-3 guard out of Silver Spring, Maryland (Springbrook HS), and Savion Lewis, a 5-11 point guard out of Huntington Station, New York (Half Hollow Hills East HS) will represent the QU Class of 2022.

WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR
Quinnipiac has two transfers sitting out this year who are expected to fill big roles over the next three seasons. Big man Kevin Marfo (George Washington) and wing Travis Atson (Tulsa) will sit out this season per NCAA regulations. Martin is projected to step into the role Chaise Daniels will leave vacated after graduation, while Atson will help fill the void left open by senior wings Cameron Young and Alain Chigha.

NEXT UP
The Bobcats will return to action on Thursday night for a road game at defending America East Champion Vermont before starting MAAC play with a home game against Monmouth on Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m.