QU Men's Basketball Hosts Saint Peter's Thursday Night (8 PM) On ESPN3

Thursday, February 9

Hamden, CT

8:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Saint Peter's University

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QU Men's Basketball Hosts Saint Peter's Thursday Night (8 PM) On ESPN3

2/8/2017 10:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (10-14, 7-7 MAAC) vs.
Saint Peter's University Peacocks (12-12, 8-6 MAAC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 (8 p.m.)
Location: TD Bank Sports Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. SPU: SPU leads 6-3
Current Streak: SPU - 1 straight
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DIXON, KISS HONORED SEVEN 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 seven MAAC Rookie of the Week honors this year, including the last five. Dixon had won three in a row from Jan. 9-23 and Kiss has won the last two. Kiss was the first to be honored on Nov. 28 after averaging 16.0 points at the AdvoCare Invitational, while Dixon followed suit the following week.

Quinnipiac - MAAC Weekly Honors
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 IN TOP 10 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, where he currently ranks eighth (through Tuesday). Markelle Fultz of Washington (23.2 ppg) and Malik Monk of Kentucky (21.9) are ahead of the pack, but less than a point separates fourth and tenth place.

National Freshman Scoring Leaders (through 2/6)
1. 23.2 Markelle Fultz, Washington
2. 21.9 Malik Monk, Kentucky
3. 19.2 Dennis Smith, Jr., N.C. State
4. 17.2 Marcus LoVett, Saint John's
5. 17.2 Shamorie Ponds, Saint John's
6. 17.1 T.J. Leaf, UCLA
7. 16.7 Christian Keeling, Charleston Southern
8. 16.6 Mikey Dixon, Quinnipiac
9. 16.5 Michael Weathers, Miami (Ohio)
10. 16.4 Ervin Mitchell, Grambling

DIXON ON HISTORIC PACE
Mikey Dixon should easily break the Quinnipiac Div. I record for freshman scoring at his current 16.6 ppg pace (Rob Monroe holds it at 13.0 ppg). Dixon also has a strong 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 19.0 ppg since moving into the starting lineup on Dec. 29), while Peter Kiss (13.8) 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. 16.7 Mikey Dixon, 2016-17 (as of now)
3. 16.5 Troy Adams, 1986-87
4. 16.4 Harold Driver, 1974-75
5. 14.4 Rick Barry, 1991-92
6. 13.8 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 (16.6 ppg) and Peter Kiss (13.8 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. 15 overall (all classes) among MAAC scoring leaders (and No. 3 and No. 9 in league games). On a national level, there are only six schools that have two freshman guards averaging at least 10 ppg through Wednesday's games, and only four schools whose top two freshmen combine to average at least 30 ppg (see below charts):

Teams with Two Fr. Guards at 10+ PPG (thru 2/7)
Quinnipiac: Mikey Dixon (16.6), Peter Kiss (13.8)
Kentucky: Malik Monk (21.9), De'Aron Fox (16.0)
Saint John's: Marcus LoVett (17.2), Shamorie Ponds (17.2)
Arizona: Rawle Alkins (11.7), Kobi Simmons (11.3)
Auburn: Mustapha Heron (15.3), Jared Harper (12.7)
Mississippi State: Lamar Peters (12.4), Mario Kegler (10.1)

Teams with Top Two Freshmen at 30+ ppg (thru 2/7)
37.9 Kentucky: Malik Monk (21.9), De'Aron Fox (16.0)
34.4 Saint John's: Shamorie Ponds (17.2), Marcus LoVett (17.2)
32.1 UCLA: TJ Leaf (17.1), Lonzo Ball (15.1)
30.4 Quinnipiac: Mikey Dixon (16.6), Peter Kiss (13.8)

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. Smith had 53 blocks in 2015-16 (1.8 per game, ranking him second in the MAAC), which is third on the single-season blocks mark at Quinnipiac during its Division I era (since 1998-99). Drame has the top two totals (88 as a senior in 2014-15, 64 as a junior in 2013-14). Daniels finished with 39 blocks last season (fifth place), while so far this year, Daniels has 39 blocks again this year and 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 - see chart at bottom left). 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 after Peter Kiss picked up his second straight on Monday at Fairfield. 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. 5 to threaten for a triple-double, which hasn't happened since James Feldeine against Monmouth on Feb. 25, 2010 (19 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists).

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 (QUINNIPIAC 73, FAIRFIELD 71)
Peter Kiss broke a 71-71 tie with a 10-foot jumper with 1.9 seconds left to give the Bobcats a 73-71 road win at Fairfield on Monday night. Quinnipiac trailed by 10 at the half, by 14 early in the second half, and by 11 with 6:30 to play, before roaring back with an 11-0 run to tie the score with less than three minutes left on a Chaise Daniels basket. Daniels then scored again to offset two free throws from Fairfield's Tyler Nelson (29 points), and Kiss (18 points, 12 rebounds) gave the Bobcats their first lead since 4-3 with a foul shot with 1:08 to go. Nelson tied the score twice in the final minute for Fairfield, but Kiss answered both times, the first with 41 seconds left and the second with just 1.9 on the clock. Nelson's half-court heave hit the rim at the buzzer. Daniel Harris and Mikey Dixon each had 14 points for the Bobcats, while Daniels finished with 12.

Inside the Box Score vs. Fairfield
• Quinnipiac was +12 on the boards (49-37) despite missing two of their frontcourt players with injuries (Donovan Smith, Abdulai Bundu). The Bobcats have traditionally been one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, outrebounding teams by 10 or more 114 times in the last 10 years, and suffering a -10 or worse deficit only eight times.
• Peter Kiss had his second double-double in a row and has averaged 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in those two games.
• Chaise Daniels just missed his second straight double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. He has averaged 17.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg over the last four games.
• Mikey Dixon's 14 points marked the 19th time in the last 20 games that he has scored at least 13 (since being held scoreless by Seton Hall on Nov. 25). The only exception was at Saint Peter's (eight points on Jan. 9).
• Quinnipiac won the jump ball, which has been a good omen. The Bobcats are 10-4 when winning the tap, and oddly 0-10 when they lose it.

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 43-17 (.717) 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 76.7 points per game, up over 11 points from a year ago (65.6 ppg). The Bobcats have also reached 70 points 20 times in 24 games this year, after hitting that mark only 10 times in 30 games last year. Quinnipiac has scored 70 or more in 13 of 14 conference games so far this season, falling short only in a 58-54 defeat at Saint Peter's on Jan. 9.

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.

BOBCATS OVERSEAS
Quinnipiac has had a total of 13 players who have played professionally in Europe since Head Coach Tom Moore took over the job in 2007-08, including four from the Class of 2015 (most of any class). Ousmane Drame (Turkey) and Zaid Hearst (Spain) are starters on their teams in 2016-17, while James Feldeine (Greece) helped his team to a 25-1 record in 2015-16. Justin Rutty (Uruguay) is also back playing again after a strong season in France last year, while Evan Conti is playing his second season of professional basketball in Israel this year.

NEXT UP
Quinnipiac has a short turnaround before heading on the road to face Rider on Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest.