QU Men's Basketball Travels To Face Local Rival Hartford Thursday Night

Thursday, December 7

West Hartford, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

University of Hartford

QU Men's Basketball Travels To Face Local Rival Hartford Thursday Night

12/6/2017 9:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017 | 7 PM | Chase Arena, West Hartford, Conn.
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS at UNIVERSITY of HARTFORD HAWKS
Watch It Live: ESPN3
Follow Live Stats: HartfordHawks.com
Listen Live: AM 1220 WQUN
Updates: @QU_MBB

Game Notes: Quinnipiac

All-Time Series vs. Hartford: Quinnipiac leads 19-6
Last Year's Meeting: Quinnipiac 99-79 (12/7/16 at TD Bank Sports Center)

HAMDEN, Conn. - Fresh off a dramatic 89-87 win over Columbia on Monday night, the Quinnipiac men's basketball team will try to keep the momentum going when it travels up I-91 to face local rival Hartford on Thursday evening for a 7 p.m. contest.  Freshmen Rich Kelly (22 points, 10 assists) and Jacob Rigoni (20 points - pictured) are coming off big days in the Columbia win.

LAST GAME (QUINNIPIAC 89, COLUMBIA 87)
Freshman guard Rich Kelly scored the final eight Quinnipiac points, including the tying three-pointer with 1:27 to go and the winning drive with 4.8 seconds left, as the Bobcats came away with a thrilling 89-87 road win over Columbia on Monday night. Kelly set career highs with 22 points and 10 assists, while fellow freshman Jacob Rigoni had a career-high 20 points off the bench, shattering his previous high-water mark of eight points. Columbia led 79-74 with six minutes left, when Rigoni beat the shot clock with a long three-pointer. After the Lions went ahead 85-81, Kelly knocked down a big three-pointer to cut to to one, then tied the score with another one at 87-87 to set up his winning basket. Five players were in double figures in scoring for the Bobcats, including Andrew Robinson (14), Chaise Daniels (12) and Cameron Young (12).

CARDIAC KIDS
The Quinnipiac men's basketball team has been in four down to the wire games this season and is an unlucky bounce away from being a perfect 4-0. The team's three wins 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 one loss was 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. The Bobcats got a stop at the buzzer against Dartmouth, when Cameron Young forced a double-clutch shot in the paint that was blocked by Chaise Daniels. Against UMass, Cameron Young split a double team in the backcourt with six seconds left and was able to dribble out the clock without being fouled. Against Columbia, Rich Kelly had the game-winning drive with 4.8 seconds left and an end to end rush by Columbia resulted in a three-pointer off the rim -- and out this time.

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 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).

MILESTONE WATCH
Senior forward Chaise Daniels enters the Columbia game with 856 points, on pace to become the 39th member of Quinnipiac's 1000-point club and 13th at the Division I level. The last players to do it were Zaid Hearst and Ousmane Drame in 2014-15. Daniels could finish in the top 10 in Quinnipiac's Division I history in scoring, in the top five in rebounding, and in second place in blocks (see charts at left).

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 second-leading scorer (13.6 ppg) and leading rebounder (5.9 rpg) through the first nine 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 (he matched the 26 points two days later against Liberty). He ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (16th), rebounding (10th), and steals (10th).

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 high scoring total in college while at Penn State was nine). He also had 16 points in a narrow loss to Colorado on Nov. 17 and a team-high 14 in a Nov. 29 win over UMass.

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 become college athletes, but few have beaten such 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 escape the war and come to the United States, but could not secure visas for Abdulai (11 months) and his older 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.

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. Freshman 6-7 wing Nathan Davis (Denver, Colo.) also missed most of preseason with an injury and is a likely redshirt candidate.

NEXT UP
The Bobcats will have an 11-day break for final exams before returning to action on Monday. Dec. 18 for a road game at Drexel.