Rich Kelly Earns Second MAAC Rookie of the Week Award for QU Men's Basketball
12/26/2017 3:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HAMDEN, Conn. - For the second time this season, freshman guard Rich Kelly (Shelton Conn. / Fairfield Prep) was named the Rookie of the Week by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, it was announced today by the conference office.
Kelly earned the honor after averaging 10.5 points and 8.0 assists in a pair of narrow road losses, while compiling 16 assists and only one turnover. He began the week with a seven-assist, zero-turnover effort in a one-point loss at Drexel on Dec. 18, his first game this season without a turnover. He then followed that up with a 12-point, nine-assist, one-turnover performance in an 80-73 loss at Vermont, which is 19-1 at home over the last two seasons.
Kelly won his first MAAC Rookie of the Week honor on Dec. 11, on the heels of a 22-point, 10-assist effort in a two-point win at Columbia on Dec. 4, which included the game-winning driving lay-up with 4.8 seconds left. It was the first 20-point, 10-assist game for a Bobcat since Rob Monroe had 25 points and 12 assists against Fairliegh Dickinson as a senior in 2004-05.
For the season, Kelly now ranks second in the MAAC in assists per game at 5.8, while also ranking second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2). With Kelly quarterbacking the offense, the Bobcats compiled only 16 turnovers combined last week (eight in each game) and are averaging only 10.3 turnovers per game over their last six contests (after averaging 14.7 over their first six games).
Kelly and the Bobcats will be in action at home on Thursday night at 7:30 when they begin conference play with a home contest against Monmouth. It will be the second half of a doubleheader with the Quinnipiac women's basketball team, which takes on Siena at 5 p.m. For ticket information, contact the Quinnipiac box office at 203-582-3905 (or tickets@quinnipiac.edu) or go to the tickets page at QuinnipiacBobcats.com.
Kelly earned the honor after averaging 10.5 points and 8.0 assists in a pair of narrow road losses, while compiling 16 assists and only one turnover. He began the week with a seven-assist, zero-turnover effort in a one-point loss at Drexel on Dec. 18, his first game this season without a turnover. He then followed that up with a 12-point, nine-assist, one-turnover performance in an 80-73 loss at Vermont, which is 19-1 at home over the last two seasons.
Kelly won his first MAAC Rookie of the Week honor on Dec. 11, on the heels of a 22-point, 10-assist effort in a two-point win at Columbia on Dec. 4, which included the game-winning driving lay-up with 4.8 seconds left. It was the first 20-point, 10-assist game for a Bobcat since Rob Monroe had 25 points and 12 assists against Fairliegh Dickinson as a senior in 2004-05.
For the season, Kelly now ranks second in the MAAC in assists per game at 5.8, while also ranking second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2). With Kelly quarterbacking the offense, the Bobcats compiled only 16 turnovers combined last week (eight in each game) and are averaging only 10.3 turnovers per game over their last six contests (after averaging 14.7 over their first six games).
Kelly and the Bobcats will be in action at home on Thursday night at 7:30 when they begin conference play with a home contest against Monmouth. It will be the second half of a doubleheader with the Quinnipiac women's basketball team, which takes on Siena at 5 p.m. For ticket information, contact the Quinnipiac box office at 203-582-3905 (or tickets@quinnipiac.edu) or go to the tickets page at QuinnipiacBobcats.com.
Players Mentioned
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