QU Men's Basketball Hosts Fairfield Friday Night (9 PM) On ESPNU

Friday, February 17

Hamden, CT

9:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Fairfield University

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QU Men's Basketball Hosts Fairfield Friday Night (9 PM) On ESPNU

2/15/2017 10:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (10-16, 7-9 MAAC) vs.
Fairfield Stags (13-11, 8-7 MAAC)
Date: Friday, Feb. 17, 2017 (9 p.m.)
Location: TD Bank Sports Center | Hamden, Conn.
TV: ESPNU
Promotions: Cats Make A Deal (students are invited to wear their craziest costumes for the chance to win prizes)

All-Time Series vs. Fairfield: QU leads 5-3
Current Streak: QU - 1 straight
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Live Video (Watch ESPN) - Doug Sherman, play-by-play; Julianne Viani, color
Live Audio Link (WQUN) - Bill Schweizer, play-by-play; Bill Mecca, Bob Tipson, color
Live Stats Link
Quinnipiac Game Notes
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Tickets (or call 203-582-3905)

DIXON, KISS HONORED EIGHT TIMES BY MAAC
Freshman guards Mikey Dixon and Peter Kiss have seen their names come up on the MAAC weekly awards quite frequently this season. The two freshmen have combined to win eight MAAC Rookie of the Week honors this year, (four each), includign six straight. Kiss has won the last three, after Dixon had three straight from Jan. 9-23. Kiss was the first to be honored on Nov. 28 after averaging 16.0 points at the AdvoCare Invitational (with 18 vs. current No. 1 Gonzaga)

Quinnipiac - MAAC Weekly Honors
Feb. 13   Peter Kiss (Rookie of the Week)
Feb. 6   Peter Kiss (Rookie of the Week)
Jan. 30   Peter Kiss (Rookie of the Week)
Jan. 23   Mikey Dixon (Rookie of the Week)
Jan. 16   Mikey Dixon (Rookie of the Week)
Jan. 9   Mikey Dixon (Rookie of the Week)
Dec. 5   Mikey Dixon (Rookie of the Week)
Nov. 28   Peter Kiss (Rookie of the Week)

DIXON SETS QUINNIPIAC DI FRESHMAN SCORING MARK
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon had 29 points in Quinnipiac's 95-90 win over Canisius on Jan. 20. That established a new program record for most points in a DI game by a freshman, passing the old mark of 27, which he tied in the previous game against Iona on Jan. 14. The 27-point record was set by Kason Mims in 2000-01 and matched a year later by Rob Monroe.

Most Points In A Game For A QU Freshman (DI Level)
29 Mikey Dixon   1/20/17 vs. Canisius
27 Mikey Dixon   1/14/17 vs. Iona
27 Kason Mims   1/29/01 vs. LIU
27 Rob Monroe   3/1/02 vs. Wagner
25 Bill Romano   1/21/99 vs. LIU
25 Rob Monroe   2/14/02 vs. Sacred Heart

DIXON 12th NATIONALLY IN FRESHMAN SCORING
Freshman guard Mikey Dixon had 56 points in a two-game stretch against Iona and Canisius (see above) to move into the top 10 nationally in scoring among freshmen, getting as high as eighth. After being held to six points by Saint Peter's on Feb. 9, he now ranks 12th nationally through Tuesday.

National Freshman Scoring Leaders (through 2/14)
1. 23.2 Markelle Fultz, Washington
2. 21.7 Malik Monk, Kentucky
3. 18.7 Dennis Smith, Jr., N.C. State
4. 17.3 Marcus LoVett, Saint John's
5. 17.2 Shamorie Ponds, Saint John's
6. 16.8 Preston Parks, The Citadel
7. 16.8 Michael Weathers, Miami (Ohio)
8. 16.6 T.J. Leaf, UCLA
9. 16.6 Christian Keeling, Charleston Southern
10. 16.5 Josh Jackson, Kansas
11. 16.2 Ervin Mitchell, Grambling
12. 16.2 Mikey Dixon, Quinnipiac

DIXON ON HISTORIC PACE
Mikey Dixon should easily break the Quinnipiac Div. I record for freshman scoring at his current 16.2 ppg pace (Rob Monroe holds it at 13.0 ppg). With a late push, Dixon also has a chance to break the all-divisions record of 16.7, set by Frank Berretta at the Div. II level in 1979-80 (he's averaged 17.9 ppg since moving into the starting lineup on Dec. 29), while Peter Kiss (13.7) is also on pace to pass Monroe's DI record.

All-Time QU Freshman Scoring Leaders (All Divisions)
1. 16.7 Frank Berretta, 1979-80
2. 16.5 Troy Adams, 1986-87
3. 16.4 Harold Driver, 1974-75
4. 16.2 Mikey Dixon, 2016-17 (as of now)
5. 14.4 Rick Barry, 1991-92
6. 13.7 Peter Kiss, 2016-17 (as of now)
7. 13.5 Lester Ayala, 1987-88
8. 13.0 Rob Monroe, 2001-02 - Current DI record

GUARDED OPTIMISM FOR QU FUTURE
There are very few teams in the country with a pair of freshman guards as productive as Mikey Dixon (16.2 ppg) and Peter Kiss (13.7 ppg), who currently rank 1-2 among MAAC freshmen in scoring, with Stevie Jordan of Rider third at 11.5. Dixon and Kiss also rank No. 8 and No. 16 overall (all classes) among MAAC scoring leaders (and No. 6 and No. 8 in league games). Through Tuesday, only three schools (Kentucky, Saint John's, UCLA) have their top two freshmen averaging more than Quinnipiac's 29.9 ppg, while there are only six schools that have two freshman guards averaging at least 10 ppg (see below).

Combined Scoring Avg For Top Two Freshmen (thru 2/14)
37.3 Kentucky: Malik Monk (21.7), De'Aron Fox (15.6)
34.5 Saint John's: Marcus LoVett (17.3), Shamorie Ponds (17.2)
32.0 UCLA: TJ Leaf (16.6), Lonzo Ball (15.4)
29.9 Quinnipiac: Mikey Dixon (16.2), Peter Kiss (13.7)
29.4 Michigan State: Miles Bridges (16.2), Nick Ward (13.2)

Teams with Two Fr. Guards at 10+ PPG (thru 2/14)
Kentucky: Malik Monk (21.7), De'Aron Fox (15.6)
Saint John's: Marcus LoVett (17.3), Shamorie Ponds (17.2)
Quinnipiac: Mikey Dixon (16.2), Peter Kiss (13.7)
Auburn: Mustapha Heron (15.0), Jared Harper (12.2)
Mississippi State: Lamar Peters (12.0), Mario Kegler (10.5)
Arizona: Rawle Alkins (11.5), Kobi Simmons (11.3)

POISE BEYOND THEIR YEARS
In addition to their impressive stat totals, Quinnipiac freshmen Mikey Dixon and Peter Kiss have shown early signs of having the clutch gene. In road wins over Niagara and Fairfield, they each were given the ball to create their own shots and knocked down the game-winner. Dixon made a 10-foot stepback with 22.4 seconds left to put the Bobcats ahead by one at Niagara, while Kiss hit a 10-foot floater with 1.9 left to defeat Fairfield 73-71.

BLOCK PARTY
Chaise Daniels and Donovan Smith have each tied the Quinnipiac Division I record with seven blocks in a game this season. Daniels matched the mark on Jan. 30 against Siena, while Smith had seven blocks in Quinnipiac's 81-72 win over Manhattan on Jan. 7. They both have matched the standard set four times by Ousmane Drame, the 2015 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. Daniels also now has 107 blocks in his career, tying him for second in Quinnipiac's DI history.

THREE-FOR-ALL
Three current Quinnipiac guards are in the school's top 10 record books for making all of their three point shots in a DI game (minimum four attempts). Harris was 5-5 from beyond the arc at Manhattan last season, tying for the second best single-game effort in school history at the DI level, behind only a 6-6 effort from Rashaun Banjo in 2001-02. Peter Kiss has had two games of 4-4 this season (Seton Hall, Manhattan), which ties him for fifth place, while Reggie Oliver joined that tie by shooting 4-4 on threes against Canisius on Jan. 20.

DOUBLING UP
Quinnipiac has had 13 double-doubles this season from four different players. Daniels has five to lead the team, while Donovan Smith and Kiss each have three and Abdulai Bundu has two. Kiss had 23 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists against Niagara on Feb. 4 to threaten for a triple-double, which hasn't happened since James Feldeine against Monmouth on Feb. 25, 2010.

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)
Jan. 7: Peter Kiss vs. Manhattan (20 pts, 10 rebs)
Jan. 14; Donovan Smith vs. Iona (15 pts, 11 rebs)
Jan. 14: Chaise Daniels vs. Iona (22 pts, 11 rebs)
Jan. 27: Chaise Daniels vs. Monmouth (15 pts, 12 rebs)
Feb. 4: Chaise Daniels vs. Niagara (24 pts, 10 rebs)
Feb. 4: Peter Kiss vs. Niagara (23 pts, 13 rebs)
Feb. 6: Peter Kiss vs. Fairfield (18 pts, 12 rebs)

LAST GAME RECAP (RIDER 112, QUINNIPIAC 107)
Quinnipiac set a new school record for most points in a game at the Division I level, but came up short in a 112-107 loss at Rider on Saturday. After Rider led 47-42 at the half while hitting its first eight three-point attempts, both teams scored 65 in a high-scoring second stanza. The Bobcats started the second half quickly and jumped ahead by six on the fifth three-pointer from freshman guard Mikey Dixon. However, after a layup from freshman guard Peter Kiss gave Quinnipiac a 63-62 lead, Rider went on a 16-0 run to take control. The Broncs led by as many as 18 before the Bobcats stormed back behind four three-pointers (in four attempts) from sophomore guard Andrew Robinson and 19 second-half points from Phil Winston to close to within 99-93 with three minutes left. Rider, though, made enough of its foul shots down the stretch to hold on for a wild win.

Inside the Box Score vs. Rider
• Quinnipiac's 107 points broke its previous Division I record of 106, set against Div. II Concordia in 1005-06. It was also 62 mote points than the Bobcats scored in their previous game, a 76-45 loss to Saint Peter's, which was the second-fewest points in their DI history.
• Phil Winston (19 points) and Andrew Robinson (17 points) both had career highs in scoring. Winston had all 19 of his points in the second half (after his previous high for an entire game was eight), while Robinson had 14 of his 17 in the second half.
• Quinnipiac set a Division I team record for three-pointers made in a game with 16, led by five apiece from Mikey Dixon and Andrew Robinson, matching their career highs.
• Jimmie Taylor had 37 points for Rider, the most for a Bobcat opponent since Lamont Jones of Iona had 40 on Nov. 16, 2012 at the Paradise Jam.
• Quinnipiac lost the jump ball, which has been a bad omen. The Bobcats have not won a game in which they didn't control the opening tip (0-12).

MOVING MONTH
The Bobcats will be hoping for a traditional February push this season, Over the past seven-plus years (since 2009-10), Quinnipiac is an impressive 43-19 (.694) in February games, with all of those games coming against league opponents as it has made a late push up the standings. Last year was an exception (3-7), but the Bobcats started off this February with a pair of wins in their first two games. All of the February games over the last eight seasons have come against conference opponents as the Bobcats have usually been successful at making a late push up the standings heading into the postseason tournaments.

MILESTONE SEASONS 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), including 23 years at the Division I level (13 as a UConn assistant, 10 at Quinnipiac). As a head coach, he has earned 238 wins (162 at Quinnipiac and 76 in five years at Division III Worcester State). As an assistant coach, he was a part of 365 wins (340 at UConn, 25 in two years at DIII).

INCREASED SCORING
Quinnipiac has had a much improved offense so far this season, averaging 76.6 points per game, up 11 points from a year ago (65.6 ppg). The Bobcats have also reached 70 points 21 times in 26 games this year, after hitting that mark only 10 times in 30 games last year. Quinnipiac has scored 70 or more in 14 of 16 conference games so far this season, falling short only in both games with Saint Peter's.

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.

NEXT UP
Quinnipiac plays its next two games on the road, traveling to Manhattan on Sunday and Marist on Thursday, before closing out the regular season with a home game against Rider on Sunday, Feb. 26.