Bobcats Travel to Western New York for Friday Night Contest at Canisius

Thursday, January 17

Hamden, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Canisius

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Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Bobcats Travel to Western New York for Friday Night Contest at Canisius

1/31/2019 3:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac (10-9, 5-3 MAAC) vs. Canisius (8-12, 5-3 MAAC)
Friday, Feb. 1, 2019 | 7:00 PM
Koessler Athletic Center | Buffalo, N.Y.
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | Canisius

Stream: ESPN3
Radio: WQUN (AM 1220) (PxP: Michael Zahn | Color: Nick Solari)
Live Statistics: GoGriffs.com
Live Updates: @QU_MBB

All-Time Series vs. Canisius: 4-7
Last Season vs. Canisius: 1-2 (Including 72-69 QU Win on 3/2 in MAAC Quarterfinals)
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Buffalo, NY – Quinnipiac men's basketball takes its two game winning streak to Western New York this weekend, traveling to Buffalo to square off with Canisius in MAAC play on Friday night at the Koessler Athletic Center.

1,000 POINTS FOR CAMERON YOUNG

Young made history in the Bobcats' latest win, leading the way with 28 total points to become the program's 41^st student-athlete to record 1,000 career points on Sunday, Jan. 27 vs. Saint Peter's. He's accomplished the feat in 58 career contests, averaging 17.5 points per game over his career at QU.
He was also named MAAC Player of the Week for the second time this season, the conference office announced on Monday, Jan. 28. The graduate student scored 28.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest in two wins this past week. Young has scored a conference-best 20.8 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists so far this season, recording double-digit point totals in 18 of 19 contests. He's scored 24.1 points per game so far in MAAC play, shooting 52.6 percent from the floor in eight league games.

THREE-POINT SUCCESS

The 3-point shot has been advantage for Quinnipiac on both sides of the ball this season.
Quinnipiac is averaging 10.4 3-point field goals per game, which ranks No. 14 nationally and best in the MAAC.

FEELING HOT, HOT, HOT

The Bobcats have converted on 10+ 3-pointers in 14 of 19 games this season.
Quinnipiac has shot 95-of-235 (40.4 percent) from 3-point distance in MAAC play this season.

SCOUTING CANISIUS

Canisius enters play at 8-12, going 5-3 so far in MAAC play. The Golden Griffins dropped their latest conference contest vs. Niagara (78-70) on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
Sophomore guard Takal Molson leads the program in scoring with 16.4 points per contest, adding 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. Molson ranks No. 5 in the MAAC in scoring.
Isaiah Reese – the Preseason MAAC Player of the Year – has chipped in with 11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest.
Reggie Witherspoon is in his third season at the helm of the Canisius program, guiding the Golden Griffins to a 47-40 record. The program went 15-3 in MAAC play last season, earning the No. 2 seed in the 2018 MAAC Tournament.
No. 7 Quinnipiac defeated No. 2 Canisius in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2018 MAAC Tournament (72-69) on March 2, 2018 at the Times Union Center. Freshman guard Rich Kelly (Shelton, Conn.) had a driving layup with 1:12 to play to put the Bobcats ahead 68-62, and after Canisius got to within 70-69, Kelly had another driving layup to make it 72-69 with 10 seconds left. Cameron Young led the way in that contest with 17 points.

LAST TIME OUT: vs. SAINT PETER'S

Quinnipiac men's basketball earned its second-straight MAAC win on Sunday afternoon at the People's United Center in Hamden, downing Saint Peter's by the final score of 77-58 on Alumni Day.
Cameron Young made history in the Bobcats' win, leading the way with 28 total points to become the program's 41^st student-athlete to record 1,000 career points.
The Bobcats were on fire offensively once again, shooting 23-for-46 (50.0 percent) in total with 9 3-point field goals.
Jacob Rigoni added 16 points, going 3-for-5 from 3-point distance and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Rigoni has now scored 10+ points in 10 games for the Bobcats.

SECOND SEASON OF THE DUNLEAVY ERA

The 2018-19 season marks the second year at the helm of the Bobcats' program for Baker Dunleavy, a very successful former player and coach under Jay Wright at Villanova.
During his playing days – behind future NBA guards Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry – the Wildcats were an Elite Eight team in 2005-06. In 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. He is only the seventh head coach in Quinnipiac's history (since 1951-52).
In his first season with the Bobcats, Dunleavy led the program to the MAAC semifinals for just the second time since Quinnipiac joined the conference in 2013-14. Quinnipiac went 12-21 in 2017-18 (7-11 MAAC), topping No. 10 Siena and No. 2 Canisius in the MAAC Tournament to advance to the Semifinal Round.
Dunleavy agreed to a five-year contract extension through the 2022-23 season, Quinnipiac Director of Athletics and Recreation Greg Amodio announced in August. The second-year head coach was named to The Athletic's list of "30 Coaches to Watch" in early November.

BUILDING A WINNING STAFF

After being hired as the Quinnipiac head coach in March of 2017, Baker Dunleavy quickly assembled a very successful coaching staff.
Associate Head Coach Tom Pecora, an assistant to Jay Wright at Hofstra (before taking over the head coaching duties when Wright left for Villanova), was a part of seven 20-win seasons with Hofstra (four as a head coach, three as an assistant) and was part of two 26-win teams (one as a head coach, one as an assistant), the program's highest win total at the Division I level. As a head coach at Hofstra, Pecora compiled a 155-126 mark in nine seasons, leading the Pride to four postseason appearances (three NIT and one CBI), the most for any New York City team over that nine-year span. Pecora also had tremendous success in developing guards while at Hofstra. As an assistant, he recruited NBA guards Speedy Claxton and Norman Richardson, while as a head coach, he recruited three guards who scored over 2,000 career points -- Loren Stokes, Antoine Agudio and Charles Jenkins. Claxton, Richardson, Stokes and Jenkins all won their conference Player of the Year Awards, while Jenkins also played in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers.
Shaun Morris, who was an associate head coach at Boston University for Joe Jones (another of Jay Wright's former assistants at Villanova), helped the Terriers to their winningest season ever (24) in 2013-14.
Anthony Goins, meanwhile, was an assistant down the road at Yale under James Jones (Joe's brother), where he helped Yale to its winningest season in school history (23) in 2015-16. Dunleavy, Pecora, Morris and Goins have combined to be a part of 15 seasons of 20 wins or more at the Division I level as coaches.
Director of Operations Ryan Harkins is reunited with Head Coach Baker Dunleavy at Quinnipiac, after spending two years (2014-15, 2015-16) as a graduate assistant and video coordinator at Villanova while Dunleavy was the program's associate head coach. Harkins was on the staff for Villanova's 2016 national championship, when the Wildcats defeated North Carolina at the buzzer 77-74. In his two seasons, Villanova amassed a 68-8 record and earned a No.1 seed and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Before joining the Quinnipiac staff, Harkins served as the director of basketball operations at MAAC rival Siena.

FAMILY TIES

Quinnipiac head coach Baker Dunleavy's father, Mike, is currently the head coach of Tulane after a long NBA coaching career, including stops with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. Mike and Baker are the only father-son combination currently serving as head coaches at the Division I level. Baker's older brother, Mike Jr., had a 16-year NBA career (most recently with the Atlanta Hawks) after winning a national title in college with Duke in 2001. Mike Jr. was recently hired as a pro scout for the Golden State Warriors.

HE'S BAAACCCKKKKK

Senior guard Cameron Young was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA in May of 2018, as the Bobcats leading scorer from a season ago returns as a graduate student in 2018-19, and was selected to the 2018-19 Preseason All-MAAC First Team.
Young has led Quinnipiac in scoring once again in 2018-19, averaging 20.8 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. The Los Angeles-native has recorded 10+ points in 18 of 19 games this season.
He went 15-for-18 from the free throw line on Saturday, Dec. 1 at Stony Brook, becoming one of just 17 players in college basketball to make 15+ FT's in a game so far this season.
Young was a second-team All-MAAC selection last season under first-year head coach Baker Dunleavy after leading the Bobcats in scoring at 18.8 points per game, which ranked fourth in the MAAC. He averaged 20.9 points per game in MAAC games, which ranked second in the league, and was a MAAC All-Tournament Team selection after helping the Bobcats win two games, including an upset over regular season co-champion Canisius in the quarterfinals. His 622 points set a new Quinnipiac single-season scoring record at the Division I level, as did his 184 made free throws.
With Young's return, the Bobcats boast the top returning scorer in the conference, since the league's top three scorers this past season (Tyler Nelson of Fairfield / Kahlil Dukes and Matt Scott of Niagara) were all seniors. Young is also one of four returning players who were named to the All-MAAC first or second teams for the 2017-18 season (along with Isaiah Reese of Canisius, Dimencio Vaughn of Rider and Rickey McGill of Iona) as the Bobcats look to build off last year's MAAC Semifinals appearance in Dunleavy's second season at the helm.

RETURN OF RICH

Rick Kelly also returns for the Bobcats after an impressive rookie campaign. After missing the Bobcats' first five games of the season due to an injury, Kelly played in his first game of the year at Stony Brook on Saturday, Dec. 1.
He has recorded 12.6 points, a team-best 5.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game over his first 14 contests of the season, scoring 10+ points in nine of his last 12. Kelly scored a season-high 25 points vs. Monmouth on Jan. 10 in Hamden.
Kelly was selected to the 2018-19 Preseason All-MAAC Third Team.
Kelly earned a spot on the 2017-18 MAAC All-Rookie squad, tallying 11.1 points, a team-high 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per contest during his first year at Quinnipiac while handling the starting point guard duties all year and averaging 34 minutes per game. The sophomore guard started in 32 total games, finishing third on the program's Division I single-season assist list with 155. He tallied double-digit points totals in 13 games.
To help cement the honors, Kelly had a 40-point explosion against Fairfield on Feb. 17, in which he shattered his previous high of 22 points. He became only the second Bobcat to score 40 points in a Division I game, falling one shy of Rob Monroe's school DI record of 41 points set against Longwood in 2004-05. Back on Dec. 4, Kelly had 22 points and 10 assists against Columbia, the first 20-point, 10-assist game for a Bobcat since Monroe had 25 points and 12 assists against FDU.

THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG

Freshman guard Tyrese Williams – a 6-1 guard from New York (Cardinal Hayes HS) – has made a major impact for the Bobcats over his first 19 collegiate games.
Williams has started in all 19 games for QU, stuffing the stat sheet with 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest. The first-year guard has recorded 10+ points in seven of his last 13 games.

THREE-GONI

Jacob Rigoni returns to the Bobcats as a sophomore in 2018-19 after playing in all 33 games last season. He has recorded 8.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest this year – starting in all 19 games. He posted a career-best 23 points in Quinnipiac's road win at New Hampshire on Nov. 20, and has recorded nine games of 10+ points this season.
The native of Adelaide, Australia – Rigoni averaged 9.8 points per game in 2017-18, including 11.5 points per contest in MAAC play.
Rigoni shot 43.2 percent from 3-point distance last year during MAAC play, ranking No. 1 in the conference. He made 75 3 pointers, placing second on Quinnipiac's Division I single-season list.

A LONG ROAD TO HAMDEN

Few athletes have overcome such significant odds to reach the college level as senior 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 played in all 33 games for Quinnipiac last year, recording 5.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. As a junior, he shot 55.0 percent from the floor.
This season, Bundu has tallied 5.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest – recorded 10+ rebounds three times.

600/600 FOR BUNDU

Abulai Bundu now has 655 points and 610 rebounds for his career, becoming the fourth player in Quinnipiac's Division I program history to record 600 points and 600 rebounds – joining Ousmane Drame (2011-15), Ike Azotam (2010-14) and Justin Rutty (2007-11).

600 Pts / 600 Reb (Division I Era)
Ousmane Drame: 1,363 points, 1108 rebounds
Ike Azotam: 1,605 points, 1043 rebounds
Justin Rutty: 1521 points, 1032 rebounds
Abdulai Bundu: 655 points, 610 rebounds *active*

TRANSFERS

The Bobcats have two transfers currently playing key roles in 2018-19. Kevin Marfo (George Washington) and wing Travis Atson (Tulsa) sat out last season per NCAA regulations after playing their freshman year at other schools.

GROWN MAN STRENGTH

Kevin Marfo has grabbed a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game in his first season with the Bobcats, adding 6.9 points.
Marfo returned from injury on Jan. 25 at Marist, playing in eight total minutes. He then scored nine points to go along with five rebounds in an impressive 13 minutes during the Bobcats' latest win over Saint Peter's.
The big man has recorded three double-doubles so far this season for the Bobcats.
He played in 23 of 35 George Washington games in 2016-17, recording 2.7 points and 2.8 assists per game. The forward posted a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds on Dec. 4, 2016, shooting 6-for-10 from the floor.

ATSON'S AN ADVANTAGE

Travis Atson's presence has been felt at Quinnipiac, as well, as the junior has posted 7.0 points per game this year – ranking fifth on the team. Atson has also recorded 3.7 rebounds per contest, and has nine contests of 10+ points.
Atson scored 35 points in just 133 minutes as a freshman at Tulsa, including a 10-point performance off the bench on Nov. 28, 2016. He played in 22 total games in 2016-17, starting three times.

TWIN KILLINGS

Seniors Aaron Robinson and Andrew Robinson are the first twins in Quinnipiac men's basketball history. Both brothers made an impact off the bench in 2017-18, as Andrew scored 5.9 PPG before having his season cut short to injury while Aaron recorded 3.1 PPG in 30 contests for the Bobcats.
Aaron has played in all 17 Bobcats' games this year, recording a season-high 15 points off the bench for Quinnipiac at UMass on Nov. 28. Aaron has averaged 4.7 points per game.

TYREE'S TURN

Freshman guard Tyree Pickron recorded a career-high 10 points in the Bobcats' final non-conference contest of 2018-19 on Dec. 22, going 4-4 from the floor vs. Stony Brook in Hamden.
Pickron has scored 31 points in 167 total minutes this year.

ALL-MAAC HONOREES

Guard Cameron Young (Los Angeles, Calif.) was selected to the 2018 Preseason All-MAAC First Team, as announced by the conference office on Oct. 23 during the Men's and Women's Basketball Preseason Awards Show on ESPN3.
Sophomore guard Rich Kelly (Shelton, Conn.) also earned an individual honor, being selected to the 2018 Preseason All-MAAC Third Team.
The Bobcats were picked to finish tied for third place in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. Quinnipiac received 94 total points in the vote, finishing behind Rider (121 points) and Canisius (105 points) and tied with Iona (94 points).

THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE

The Bobcats' non-conference schedule features 11 games, including five at home at the People's United Center, five away, and a neutral site game against Drexel (Dec. 16) at Mohegan Sun Arena as part of the Hall of Fame Showcase. The 11-game slate concludes on Dec. 22 with a home game against Stony Brook, before the Bobcats head into the MAAC schedule after the holiday break.
Quinnipiac's first home game of conference play will be played against Monmouth on Jan. 10 at the People's United Center. The Bobcats' MAAC opener will take place at Draddy Gymnasium on Thursday, Jan. 3 against the Jaspers of Manhattan College, and will be followed by another road game at defending MAAC Co-Regular Season champion Rider on Saturday, Jan. 5.

2017-18: LIVING ON THE EDGE

Quinnipiac went 12-21 in 2017-18 (7-11 MAAC), before topping No. 10 Siena and No. 2 Canisius in the MAAC Tournament to advance to the Semifinal Round.
Out of the Bobcats' 30 games in the regular season during 2017-18, almost half (13) were decided by two points or less or in double overtime, going 7-6 in those contests (7-3 in the ones decided in less than two overtimes). The Bobcats had four one-point wins last year (over Dartmouth, Siena, Marist, and Manhattan) and three two-point wins (over UMass, Columbia, and Monmouth).