QU Men's Basketball Looks To Bounce Back at Saint Peter's Sunday

Sunday, January 7

Jersey City, NJ

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Saint Peter's University

QU Men's Basketball Looks To Bounce Back at Saint Peter's Sunday

1/6/2018 9:37:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 | 2:00 PM | Yanitelli Center, Jersey City, N.J.
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS at SAINT PETER'S UNIVERSITY PEACOCKS
Watch It Live: YouTube
Follow Live Stats: S aintPetersPeacocks.com
Listen Live: AM 1220 WQUN
Updates: @QU_MBB

Game Notes: Quinnipiac

All-Time Series vs. Saint Peter's: SPU leads 7-3
Current Streak: SPU - 2 straight

HAMDEN, Conn. - After suffering its first conference defeat of the young season on Friday night, the Quinnipiac men's basketball team will try to quickly bounce back when it plays on the road at Saint Peter's on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

LAST GAME (CANISIUS 82, QUINNIPIAC 74)
Quinnipiac battled back from a 16-point first half deficit to pull within two points on three occasions in the second half, but Canisius held on for an 82-74 win to take over first place in the MAAC. Cameron Young led the Bobcats with 23 points, most of which came at the foul line, where he was 16-20 on the day, one game after shooting 15-16 in a road win at Siena. Abdulai Bundu had a career-high 16 rebounds in the loss, passing his previous high of 15 set against Maine as a freshman. The Bobcats had a strong defensive effort in the second half, holding Canisius to 36.8 percent shooting (7-19) after the Golden Griffins were 18-33 in the first half (54.5 percent), but were unable to come all the way back.

QUINNIPIAC -- IT RHYMES WITH CARDIAC
Remarkably, Quinnipiac has been in eight games decided by two points or less in its first 15 contests this year (going 5-3), with its five wins coming by a combined eight points. The tight wins include both MAAC victories, a 78-76 win over Monmouth on Dec. 28 and a 71-70 win over Siena on Jan. 1. Here is a look at how the eight dramatic finishes ended:

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 three at buzzer)
Dec. 7: Hartford 75-77 L (Quinnipiac missed 3 at buzzer)
Dec. 18: Drexel 71-72 L (Drexel made winning three-pointer 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)

2-0 START A RARITY
A 2-0 start in league play may seem like a modest hot streak, but the Bobcats historically gotten off to slow starts. Quinnipiac's 2-0 start this year marked its first 2-0 start in league play since the 2007-08 team won its first two Northeast Conference games. The loss to Canisius on Friday prevented the Bobcats from starting out 3-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 team began the year 7-0 in its second season at Division I.

KELLY EARNS SECOND MAAC ROOKIE OF WEEK
Freshman guard Rich Kelly was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 26 after tallying 21 points, 16 assists and one turnover in a pair of games. 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 (5.9 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

DOWNTOWN DOWN UNDER
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 20 points in a win at Columbia and 18 on six three-pointers in a win over Monmouth. Rigoni has been particularly efficient from the three-point line all year, where he leads the MAAC by a wide margin, shooting 54.6 percent from beyond the arc (25-46).

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, as well as 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.

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, emerging as Quinnipiac's leading scorer (17.3 ppg), a figure which ranks him fifth in the MAAC. He has the five highest-scoring games for the Bobcats this year, as well as seven of the team's 11 games of 20 or more points:

Quinnipiac's 20-Point Games
Cameron Young vs. Hartford   27
Cameron Young vs. Siena   26
Cameron Young vs. Colorado   26
Cameron Young vs. Liberty   26
Cameron Young vs. Drexel   24
Chaise Daniels vs. Maine   24
Cameron Young vs. Canisius   23
Rich Kelly vs. Columbia       22
Chaise Daniels vs. Dartmouth   21
Jacob Rigoni vs. Columbia   20
Cameron Young vs. Monmouth   20

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 is also coming off a career-best 16 rebounds in Friday's loss to Canisius.

A GRADUATE JUNIOR?
Isaiah Washington (9.1 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 which he 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, but came over to the United States to attend prep school in Florida at age 15 knowing only two words in English ("yes" and "no").

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 (Texas Tech) 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.

NEXT UP
The Bobcats return home on Wednesday to take on Marist at 7 p.m.