QU Men's Basketball Heads Down I-95 to Face Fairfield Saturday

Saturday, February 17

Webster Bank Arena (Bridgeport)

1:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Fairfield University

QU Men's Basketball Heads Down I-95 to Face Fairfield Saturday

2/16/2018 10:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018 | 1:00 PM | Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Conn. | ESPN3
QUINNIPIAC BOBCATS (10-17, 7-8 MAAC) vs. FAIRFIELD STAGS (12-15, 6-9 MAAC)
Watch It Live: ESPN3
Follow Live Stats: FairfieldStags.com
Listen Live: AM 1220 WQUN
Updates: @QU_MBB

Game Notes: Quinnipiac

All-Time Series vs. Fairfield: Quinnipiac leads 6-4
Current Streak: Quinnipiac - 1 straight

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's basketball team will make its shortest road trip of the season, a 20-mile drive to Bridgeport, when it faces Fairfield on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a key MAAC contest at Webster Bank Arena. The Bobcats moved into a tie for fifth in the MAAC (which is the position for the final opening-round bye in the tournament) with Thursday's 71-70 win over Manhattan on a basket from Isaiah Washington (pictured) with 6.7 seconds left, while Fairfield lurks just one game behind.

LAST GAME (QUINNIPIAC 71, MANHATTAN 70)
Senior guard Cameron Young had 27 points and had the game-winning assist to Isaiah Washington with 6.7 seconds left as Quinnipiac edged Manhattan 71-70 on Thursday night. The Bobcats led by five with a minute to play, but Manhattan's Rich Williams hit two consecutive three-pointers to put his team ahead 70-69 with 17 seconds left. The Bobcats went without a timeout, and Young drove the right side of the lane, where he was bottled up by two defenders. He dribbled back out and found Washington cutting in from the weak side unguarded for an uncontested layup. Manhattan had two chances to take the lead on its last possession, but a three-pointer hit off the rim and an off-balance put-back missed as time expired.

RUNNING OUT OF FINGERNAILS
Quinnipiac has been in 11 games decided by two points or less or in overtime this year (going 7-4) after Thursday's win over Manhattan (see above). The Bobcats have four one-point wins this year (over Dartmouth, Siena, Marist, and Manhattan) and three two-point wins (over UMass, Columbia, and Monmouth). Quinnipiac's double-overtime game against Iona ended in a five-point defeat, but featured two tying shots from the Bobcats in the final seconds of regulation and the first overtime, and a tying attempt at a three-pointer in the final seconds of the second overtime, before Iona got a breakaway lay-up to make it a five-point win. Quinnipiac's average margin of victory in its ten wins this season is just 2.8 points.

ROAD, SWEET ROAD
Quinnipiac won the first meeting with Fairfield this season 75-70 at a neutral site (NYCB Live in Uniondale, N.Y.). The Bobcats gave up a home game to participate in a MAAC Tripleheader on Long Island, but this was one series where that wasn't much of a sacrifice. Oddly, the road team has won the last seven meetings between the two schools, since the Bobcats won the first MAAC contest between the schools played in Hamden. Quinnipiac is 4-0 all-time at Webster Bank Arena, while Fairfield is 3-1 at the TD Bank Sports Center.

DANIELS JOINS 1000-POINT CLUB
Senior forward Chaise Daniels became the 39th player in Quinnipiac history to reach 1,000 career points and the 13th at the Division I level (since 1998-99). in Sunday's game at Canisius. He reached the milestone after hitting the milestone a short jump hook with 2:30 left in the game, just before picking up his fifth foul. He also has 523 career rebounds and ranks third all-time at Quinnipiac in all divisions in blocks with 144, two shy of second place.

BOBCATS TIED FOR FIFTH
After Thursday's win over Manhattan, Quinnipiac is now in a tie for fifth place with the Jaspers at 7-8, which is a key position in the MAAC standings as the top five teams receive opening round byes in the conference tournament. Fairfield is one game behind at 6-9 and will be trying to get into the bye race with a win over the Bobcats, who took the first meeting from the Stags 75-70. Quinnipiac also has one game left with Manhattan next Sunday in its regular season finale.

YOUNG JOINS THIRTY-SOMETHING CROWD
Senior guard Cameron Young had a career-high 31 points (and 11 rebounds) in a double-overtime loss at Iona on Feb. 2, passing his old high-water mark of 27 against Hartford on Dec. 7. It was the first 30-point game for a Bobcat since Ousmane Drame had 33 against Vermont on Nov. 30, 2014. Young had 19 of his points in the second half, including a tying three-pointer with 3.8 seconds left to force the game into the extra sessions.

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 is fourth in the MAAC in scoring (18.4 ppg) and third in conference games (20.5 ppg). He is the only player on the Bobcats to reach 25 points in a game this season, which he has now done seven times (see below), and he has scored in double figures in each of the last 201 games.

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

TRIGONI-METRICS
Freshman Jacob Rigoni has provided a big lift to the Bobcats offensively this year, especially from beyond the arc. Rigoni has been impressively efficient from the three-point line all year, where he is second in the MAAC shooting 46.0 percent. Rigoni is second on the Bobcats in scoring in conference games at 11.8 ppg, and has made at least one three-pointer in all 15 league games (and at least two three-pointers in 13 of 15 MAAC contests).

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. His background story was featured by Sports Illustrated's Dan Greene in an on-line profile which was published on Jan. 31.

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 had an 18-point effort at Niagara on Feb. 8, which tied his career high set on opening day at home against Dartmouth and had the game-winning basket in Thursday's win over Manhattan with 6.7 seconds left.

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, since Rob Monroe had 25 points and 12 assists against Fairleigh Dickinson in 2004-05. Kelly currently ranks fourth in the MAAC with 4.9 apg and is in fifth place on Quinnipiac's all-time single-season list at the Division I level with 132 assists this year.

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").

TWIN KILLING
Juniors Aaron Robinson and Andrew Robinson are the first twins in Quinnipiac men's basketball history. Andrew (5.9 ppg) has been out of action for the last five games with an injury after scoring 14 points in his last outing (the first meeting against Fairfield), while Aaron (3.2 ppg) has made at least one three-pointer in each of his last nine contests coming off the bench.

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. In addition, freshman wing Nathan Davis is also taking a redshirt season after missing all of preseason practice with an injury suffered in high school and will give the Bobcats seven new scholarship players next season, including the four fall signings (see above).

NEXT UP
The Bobcats conclude the regular season with two games next week, a home game with Saint Peter's on Friday at 7 p.m., which will be Senior Day for the program's four seniors (Alain Chigha, Chaise Daniels, Greg Tarca and Cameron Young), and a road game at Manhattan on Sunday at 6 p.m.