QU Men's Basketball Takes Three-Game Win Streak on Road to Iona Friday (ESPNU)

Friday, February 2

New Rochelle, NY

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Iona College

QU Men's Basketball Takes Three-Game Win Streak on Road to Iona Friday (ESPNU)

1/31/2018 2:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Friday, Feb. 2, 2018 | 7:00 PM
Hynes Athletic Center | New Rochelle, N.Y.
QUINNIPIAC BOBCATS (9-13, 6-4 MAAC) at IONA GAELS (13-9, 7-3 MAAC)
Live TV: ESPNU
On-Line Video: ESPN3
Listen Live: WQUN (on-line only)
Follow Live Stats: ICGaels.com
Updates: @QU_MBB

Game Notes: Quinnipiac

All-Time Series vs. Iona: Iona leads 6-3
Current Streak: Iona - 1 straight
Last Year's Meeting: QU 97-91 (OT) at QU; Iona 84-74 at Iona

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's basketball team will take a season-long three-game win streak on the road when it heads to Iona on Friday night for a game that will televised nationally on ESPNU. The Bobcats are currently in fifth in the MAAC, but beginning a stretch of four straight games against the top four teams in the league (Iona, Rider, Niagara, Canisius) as they try to establish themselves as a dark horse candidate for the conference title.

LAST GAME (QUINNIPIAC 75, FAIRFIELD 70)
Cameron Young had 15 points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists to lead Quinnipiac to a 75-70 win over Fairfield at NYCB Live, Home of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. The Bobcats used a 19-2 run in the first half to tale a 10-point lead at 29-19, and led the rest of the way, but had to hold off a late Fairfield run, as the Stags closed to within 72-70 in the final minute and missed a tying three-pointer. Junior forward Abdulai Bundu had his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Andrew Robinson chipped in with 14 points off the bench.

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
The win over Fairfield at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday improved Quinnipiac's record to 4-0 in games played in New York this season. The Bobcats have road wins over Columbia, Siena and Marist to their credit as well.

TOUGH STRETCH AHEAD
The Bobcats are alone in fifth place in the MAAC at 6-4, but have a tough stretch looming. Starting with this weekend's game at Iona, Quinnipiac plays the top four teams in the MAAC over the next eight days (at Iona, vs. Rider, at Niagara, at Canisius).

IONA SERIES
The Gaels have a 6-3 all-time lead in the series, including a split last season. Two of Quinnipiac's wins against Iona have been in overtime by almost identical scores, a 97-91 win at the TD Bank Sports Center last year (behind 22 points and 11 rebounds from current senior Chaise Daniels), and a 98-92 win in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Paradise Jam, when the Bobcats were still members of the Northeast Conference. Quinnipiac won the first MAAC meeting between the schools in 2013-14, and Iona followed with a five-game win streak which the Bobcats snapped with the overtime win at home last winter.

RUNNING OUT OF FINGERNAILS
Quinnipiac has been in nine games decided by two points or less this year (going 6-3). The team's first six wins this season, including an 80-79 overtime win over Marist on Jan. 10 most recently, were by a combined nine points (three by one point, three by two points). The Bobcats have finally changed things up lately, winning three straight games by a combined 20 points, increasing their average margin of victory for the season to 3.2 points.

YOUNG NO LONGER RESTLESS
Senior 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 is third in the MAAC in scoring in conference games at 19.3 ppg (overall he is fifth at 17.5 ppg). He is the only player on the Bobcats to reach 25 points in a game this season, which he had done five times (see below) and he has scored in double figures in each of his last 16 games.

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. He earned his first MAAC Rookie of the Week Award after a 22-point, 10-assist effort in a win at Columbia, marking the first 20-point, 10-assist game for a Bobcat in 13 years (see below). Kelly currently ranks third in the MAAC in assists (5.3 apg).

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

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 Iona game with 949 career points, 51 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 497 career rebounds, three shy of 500, and already ranks third all-time at Quinnipiac in all divisions in blocked shots with 143, three 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 Jan. 1, 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 is coming off his first double-double of the year (and sixth of his career) vs. Fairfield (12 pts, 10 rebs).

TRIGONI-METRICS
Freshman Jacob Rigoni has provided a big lift to the Bobcats offensively this year., particularly from beyond the arc. Rigoni has been particularly efficient from the three-point line all year, where he leads the MAAC, shooting 50.6 percent from beyond the arc (43-85), a figure which ranks him 13th nationally among players with at least two attempts per game. Rigoni is also second on the Bobcats in scoring in conference games at 11.9 ppg.

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 (9.2 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 is taking a redshirt season after missing all of preseason practice while recovering from an injury suffered in high school, which will give the Bobcats seven new scholarship players to work with next year, in addition to the four fall signings (see above).

NEXT UP
The Bobcats will be right back in action on Sunday when they host MAAC-leading Rider for a 2;30 p.m. contest, the second half of a doubleheader wih the Quinnipiac women's basketball team, which takes on Iona at 12 noon.