Thursday, December 21
Burlington, VT
7:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
at
University of Vermont
QU Men's Basketball Plays Final Non-Conference Game at Vermont Thursday Night
12/20/2017 9:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 | 7 PM | Patrick Gymnasium (Burlington, Vt.)
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS at UNIVERSITY of VERMONT CATAMOUNTS
Watch It Live: ESPN3
Follow Live Stats: UVMAthletics.com
Listen Live: AM 1220 WQUN
Updates: @QU_MBB
Game Notes: Quinnipiac
All-Time Series vs. Vermont: Vermont leads 8-3
Current Streak: Vermont - 2 straight
Last Year's Meeting: Vermont 94-70 (11/12/16 at TD Bank Sports Center)
HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's basketball team will close out its non-conference slate with a difficult road challenge at Vermont, which went 29-6 last year (including 16-1 at home). Both teams are coming off narrow losses, with the Bobcats falling 72-71 on Monday night at Drexel on a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left, and the Catamounts falling 81-79 at Saint Bonaventure on a three-pointer at the buzzer on Saturday.
LAST GAME (DREXEL 72, QUINNIPIAC 71)
Kurk Lee hit a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to give Drexel a 72-71 home win over the Bobcats on Monday night. Quinnipiac trailed most of the way down the stretch, but Cameron Young kept it close with 10 straight Bobcat points, capped off with two foul shots with 34 seconds left to cut Drexel's lead to 69-68. After a timeout, Quinnipiac executed a full court press with Isaiah Washington getting a steal and lay-up to give the Bobcats a 70-69 lead. After the Bobcats earned a stop and made one of two at the line, Lee hit his winning basket from the left wing. Quinnipiac got a good look at a winning shot in the corner off a fullcourt inbounds pass, but freshman guard Rich Kelly's winning bid hit off the front rim.
RUNNING OUT OF FINGERNAILS
Remarkably, Quinnipiac has been in six games decided by two points or less in its first 11 contests (going 3-3). 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 Dec. 4. The Bobcats also lost at the buzzer to Colorado 70-69 on Nov. 17 and have lost their last two games to Hartford (77-75) and Drexel (72-71) when their winning three-point attempts have missed at the buzzer. The only one of the six games that did not feature a winning shot attempt at the buzzer came in the UMass win, when Cameron Young was able to split a trap in the backcourt up by two 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 tie-breaking layup with 4.8 seconds left.
KELLY NOT LOOKING GREEN
Freshman guard Rich Kelly signed with Quinnipiac in April, at the time projecting to be an understudy in a crowded backcourt, But after four of last year's guards transferred out, Kelly quickly ascended into a starting role. He currently ranks second in the MAAC in assists (5.5 per game) and 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 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).
YOUNG NO LONGER RESTLESS
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, playing only eight minutes all season and not scoring a point. With a new roster and a new coaching staff this season, Young has seized his new chance, emerging as Quinnipiac's leading scorer (15.7 ppg) and leading rebounder (6.1 rpg) through the first 11 games. Young set career highs in the Bobcats' near-upset over Colorado on Nov. 17 with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and broke his best point total with 27 points against Hartford on Dec. 7. He ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (10th), rebounding (8th), steals (8th), and three-pointers (13th), and has the four 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
Cameron Young vs. Drexel 24
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.
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 in grad school at Quinnipiac, joining graduate transfer Isaiah Washington (see above) in the MBA program. Chigha is a native of Cameroon, but came over to the United States to attend prep school in Florida at age 15 knowing only two words in English ("yes" and "no").
TARCA EARNS SCHOLARSHIP
Fourth-year walk-on senior Greg Tarca was named a team co-captain along with fifth-year senior Alain Chigha (see above). Tarca was able to drop the "walk-on" from his title on Saturday, though, when the program surprised him with a full scholarship at the team's Secret Santa party.
A LONG ROAD TO HAMDEN
Few college athletes have overcome such significant odds as junior forward Abdulai Bundu. Bundu was born in 1996 in Sierra Leone in the middle of a civil war, just before his parents won an immigration lottery to come to the United States. They could not secure visas for Abdulai and his brother and had to make the agonizing decision to leave them behind with family and try to bring them over later. They survived four refugee camps before they were finally reunited with their parents in Maryland in 2003 when Abdulai was 7. Bundu made his first start on Monday at Drexel and had a season-high 17 points.
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 (although Aaron redshirted last year), 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.
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.
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.
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 when they begin conference lay with a home game against Monmouth on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS at UNIVERSITY of VERMONT CATAMOUNTS
Watch It Live: ESPN3
Follow Live Stats: UVMAthletics.com
Listen Live: AM 1220 WQUN
Updates: @QU_MBB
Game Notes: Quinnipiac
All-Time Series vs. Vermont: Vermont leads 8-3
Current Streak: Vermont - 2 straight
Last Year's Meeting: Vermont 94-70 (11/12/16 at TD Bank Sports Center)
HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's basketball team will close out its non-conference slate with a difficult road challenge at Vermont, which went 29-6 last year (including 16-1 at home). Both teams are coming off narrow losses, with the Bobcats falling 72-71 on Monday night at Drexel on a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left, and the Catamounts falling 81-79 at Saint Bonaventure on a three-pointer at the buzzer on Saturday.
LAST GAME (DREXEL 72, QUINNIPIAC 71)
Kurk Lee hit a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to give Drexel a 72-71 home win over the Bobcats on Monday night. Quinnipiac trailed most of the way down the stretch, but Cameron Young kept it close with 10 straight Bobcat points, capped off with two foul shots with 34 seconds left to cut Drexel's lead to 69-68. After a timeout, Quinnipiac executed a full court press with Isaiah Washington getting a steal and lay-up to give the Bobcats a 70-69 lead. After the Bobcats earned a stop and made one of two at the line, Lee hit his winning basket from the left wing. Quinnipiac got a good look at a winning shot in the corner off a fullcourt inbounds pass, but freshman guard Rich Kelly's winning bid hit off the front rim.
RUNNING OUT OF FINGERNAILS
Remarkably, Quinnipiac has been in six games decided by two points or less in its first 11 contests (going 3-3). 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 Dec. 4. The Bobcats also lost at the buzzer to Colorado 70-69 on Nov. 17 and have lost their last two games to Hartford (77-75) and Drexel (72-71) when their winning three-point attempts have missed at the buzzer. The only one of the six games that did not feature a winning shot attempt at the buzzer came in the UMass win, when Cameron Young was able to split a trap in the backcourt up by two 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 tie-breaking layup with 4.8 seconds left.
KELLY NOT LOOKING GREEN
Freshman guard Rich Kelly signed with Quinnipiac in April, at the time projecting to be an understudy in a crowded backcourt, But after four of last year's guards transferred out, Kelly quickly ascended into a starting role. He currently ranks second in the MAAC in assists (5.5 per game) and 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 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).
YOUNG NO LONGER RESTLESS
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, playing only eight minutes all season and not scoring a point. With a new roster and a new coaching staff this season, Young has seized his new chance, emerging as Quinnipiac's leading scorer (15.7 ppg) and leading rebounder (6.1 rpg) through the first 11 games. Young set career highs in the Bobcats' near-upset over Colorado on Nov. 17 with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and broke his best point total with 27 points against Hartford on Dec. 7. He ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (10th), rebounding (8th), steals (8th), and three-pointers (13th), and has the four 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
Cameron Young vs. Drexel 24
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.
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 in grad school at Quinnipiac, joining graduate transfer Isaiah Washington (see above) in the MBA program. Chigha is a native of Cameroon, but came over to the United States to attend prep school in Florida at age 15 knowing only two words in English ("yes" and "no").
TARCA EARNS SCHOLARSHIP
Fourth-year walk-on senior Greg Tarca was named a team co-captain along with fifth-year senior Alain Chigha (see above). Tarca was able to drop the "walk-on" from his title on Saturday, though, when the program surprised him with a full scholarship at the team's Secret Santa party.
A LONG ROAD TO HAMDEN
Few college athletes have overcome such significant odds as junior forward Abdulai Bundu. Bundu was born in 1996 in Sierra Leone in the middle of a civil war, just before his parents won an immigration lottery to come to the United States. They could not secure visas for Abdulai and his brother and had to make the agonizing decision to leave them behind with family and try to bring them over later. They survived four refugee camps before they were finally reunited with their parents in Maryland in 2003 when Abdulai was 7. Bundu made his first start on Monday at Drexel and had a season-high 17 points.
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 (although Aaron redshirted last year), 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.
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.
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.
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 when they begin conference lay with a home game against Monmouth on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
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