QU Men's Basketball Hosts Niagara for Thursday Night MAAC Contest (7 PM)

Thursday, January 18

Hamden, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Niagara University

Buy Tickets

QU Men's Basketball Hosts Niagara for Thursday Night MAAC Contest (7 PM)

1/17/2018 8:22:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 | 7:00 PM | TD Bank Sports Center, Hamden, Conn. | ESPN3
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS (6-12, 3-3 MAAC) vs. NIAGARA UNIVERSITY PURPLE EAGLES (11-8, 4-2)
Watch It Live: ESPN3
Follow Live Stats: QuinnipiacBobcats.com
Listen Live: AM 1220 WQUN
Updates: @QU_MBB
Tickets: 203-582-3905 or tickets@quinnipiac.edu

Game Notes: Quinnipiac

All-Time Series vs. Niagara: Quinnipiac leads 8-3
Current Streak: Niagara - 1 straight
Last Year's Meetings: QU 2-1 (81-78 win at Niagara, 89-81 win at TD Bank, 88-69 loss at MAAC Tournament)

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's basketball team will look to stay in the top half of the MAAC standings when it entertains Niagara on Thursday night for a 7 p.m. contest at the TD Bank Sports Center. Niagara boasts the top two scorers in the MAAC in senior guards Matt Scott and Kahlil Dukes, while Quinnipiac has the top scorer in conference games only in senior guard Cameron Young (22.0 ppg in six MAAC games).

QUINNIPIAC -- IT RHYMES WITH CARDIAC
Remarkably, Quinnipiac has been in nine games decided by two points or less this year (going 6-3). Its six wins, including last Wednesday's 80-79 OT win over Marist, have been by a combined nine points (three by one point, three by two points). Here's a look at how the nine dramatic finishes have ended, eight of which have included winning or tying shot attempts in the waning seconds:

Nov. 11: Dartmouth 78-77 W (Daniels blocked game-winner)
Nov. 17: Colorado 69-70 L (Buffaloes made 3 at buzzer)
Nov. 29: UMass 68-66 W (Young dribbled out clock)
Dec. 4: Columbia 89-87 W (Kelly made winning layup with 4.8 left, Columbia missed 3 at buzzer)
Dec. 7: Hartford 75-77 L (Quinnipiac missed 3 at buzzer)
Dec. 18: Drexel 71-72 L (Drexel made winning 3 with 2.4 seconds left, QU missed 3 at buzzer)
Dec. 29: Monmouth 78-76 W (Monmouth missed tying 3, then made 1 FT with 0.2 left on rebounding foul).
Jan. 1: Siena 71-70 W (Bundu blocked game-winner)
Jan. 10: Marist 80-79 W (Marist missed winning 3 in OT)

LAST HOME GAME (QU 80, MARIST 79 - OT)
Cameron Young (26 points) had the tying three-point play with 37 seconds left in overtime and added the winning foul shots with 4.8 seconds to go as the Bobcats edged Marist 80-79 on Wednesday night. The Bobcats led by six with 50 seconds left in regulation, but shot 5-9 at the line in the final minute to open the door for Marist, which tied it with 1.8 seconds left on two Brian Parker foul shots. Young was one shy of his career high with 26 points, while freshmen Rich Kelly and Jacob Rigoni each had 18.

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 used 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, and currently leads the entire MAAC in scoring in conference games at 22.0 ppg (overall he is fifth at 17.9 ppg). He is the only player on the Bobcats to reach 25 points in a game this season, which he accomplished for the fifth time with 26 in last Wednesday's win over Marist.

Quinnipiac's 25-Point Games
Cameron Young vs. Hartford   27
Cameron Young vs. Marist   26
Cameron Young vs. Siena   26
Cameron Young vs. Colorado   26
Cameron Young vs. Liberty   26

KELLY TWO-TIME MAAC ROOKIE OF WEEK
Freshman guard Rich Kelly was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week twice this year. Kelly signed with Quinnipiac in April, when he projected to be an understudy in a crowded backcourt, But after four of last year's guards transferred, Kelly suddenly ascended into a starting role, and he has played like a veteran, ranking second in the MAAC in assists (5.6 apg). He earned his first MAAC Rookie of the Week Award after a 22-point, 10-assist effort in a win at Columbia (including the winning layup on a drive with 4.8 seconds left), marking the first 20-point, 10-assist game for a Bobcat in 13 years:

QU 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

TRIGONI-METRICS
In addition to the strong performance from Rich Kelly (see above) this season, fellow freshman Jacob Rigoni has provided a big lift to the Bobcats scoring off the bench. Rigoni had 18 on six three-pointers in a win over Monmouth and 18 on five threes in last Wednesday's win over Marist. Rigoni has been particularly efficient from the three-point line all year, where he leads the MAAC, shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc (36-72).

MILESTONE WATCH
Senior forward Chaise Daniels is closing in on becoming the first Bobcat in three years to reach the 1,000-point plateau. He enters the Niagara game with 902 career points, 98 away from becoming the 39th player in Quinnipiac history with 1,000 points and the 13th at the Division I level (since 1998-99). He also has 475 career rebounds, 25 shy of 500, and already ranks third all-time at Quinnipiac in all divisions in blocked shots with 141, five shy of second place.

A LONG ROAD TO HAMDEN
Few athletes have overcome such significant odds to reach the college level 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. However, 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. Abdulai survived four refugee camps, before he was finally reunited with his parents in Maryland in 2003 at age 7. Bundu's hustle plays at both ends helped Quinnipiac to a win over Siena on Monday, leaping out of bounds to save an offensive rebound that led to the winning points with 1:37 left and then coming from a weak side help position for the clinching block at the buzzer. He also had a career-best 16 rebounds in a Jan. 5 loss to Canisius.

TWIN KILLING
Juniors Aaron Robinson and Andrew Robinson are the first twins in Quinnipiac men's basketball history. Andrew (11) and Aaron (8) combined for 19 points in a Nov. 29 win over UMass, two behind their combined best of 21 in a loss to Maine, when Andrew tied his career-high with 17 and Aaron had 4. Aaron redshirted last season after limited action as a freshman, while Andrew scored 164 points over his first two seasons.

A GRADUATE JUNIOR?
Isaiah Washington (8.6 ppg) has started every game in the backcourt this season as a rare graduate transfer with junior eligibility. Washington graduated in three years from Penn State, including one redshirt season, and is pursuing his MBA while playing his final two years with the Bobcats. He made his Quinnipiac debut a special one, scoring 18 points in a 78-77 win over Dartmouth, doubling his previous career high of nine set during his Penn State days.

THE ELDER STATESMAN
Fifth-year senior Alain 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, and came over to the United States to attend prep school in Florida at age 15 knowing only two words in English ("yes" and "no"), but eventually earned a college scholarship and completed his degree in four years.

TARCA EARNS SCHOLARSHIP
Fourth-year walk-on senior Greg Tarca was named a team co-captain earlier this season, along with fifth-year senior Alain Chigha (see above). Tarca was able to drop the "walk-on" from his title on Saturday, Dec. 16, though, when the program surprised him with a full scholarship at the team's Secret Santa party.

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 (Memphis) and G.G. Smith (Loyola-Maryland).

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.

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.

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. In addition, freshman wing Nathan Davis, who missed all of preseason practice while recovering from an injury from high school, is redshirting this season, which will give the Bobcats a total of seven new scholarship players next year, including the four fall signings (see above).

NEXT UP
The Bobcats will be back at home on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. when they take on Siena at the TD Bank Sports Center. Quinnipiac won the first meeting between the teams 71-70 at Siena on New Year's Day.