Bobcats Host New Hampshire on Saturday

Quinnipiac (2-4, 0-0 MAAC) vs. New Hampshire (5-4, 0-0 AE)
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 | 5:00 PM
People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | New Hampshire

All-Time Series vs. UNH: 2-2
All-Time Home vs. UNH: 1-1

Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoBobcats.com
In-Game Updates: @QU_MBB

HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac men's basketball returns to the People's United Center on Saturday, Dec. 7, hosting New Hampshire in the program's final non-conference home contest of the 2019-20 season at 5:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: at Fairleigh Dickinson

Quinnipiac's comeback attempt fell just short on Tuesday evening at the Rothman Center, as the Bobcats dropped a road matchup at Fairleigh Dickinson by the final score of 78-77.
Rich Kelly paced the Bobcats' offense with 15 points and six assists, Savion Lewis stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Kevin Marfo added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Quinnipiac erased an 18-point deficit to claw back into the game, outscoring the Knights 48-34 over the final 20 minutes of play. The Bobcats went on a 21-11 run over the first 10:58 of the second half.

SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE

UNH is 5-4 so far this season, topping Curry College, Holy Cross, Central Connecticut, Bryant and Maine Maritime.
The Wildcats defeated Maine Maritime its last time out, 91-37, on Wednesday, Dec. 4. New Hampshire is unbeaten in home games at Lundholm Gymnasium. Jayden Martinez finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, both of which were game highs, as well as a career-high four blocked shots.
New Hampshire has five players averaging 10+ point totals: Sean Suthlerlin (15.6 PPG, 9.9 REB), Nick Guadarrama (15.1 PPG, 9.8 REB), Jayden Martinez (13.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG), Blondeau Tchoukuiengo (13.0 PPG, 1 game played) and Josh Hopkins (11.1 PPG).
UNH ranks No. 2 nationally in rebounding (46.22 RPG).
The Bobcats are 2-2 all-time vs. New Hampshire. The last meeting between the two programs came on Nov. 20, 2018, as the Bobcats earned a 69-63 win in Durham. Quinnipiac is 1-1 all-time at home vs. UNH.

YEAR 3 OF THE DUNLEAVY ERA

The 2019-20 season marks the third 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.
The Bobcats then went 16-15 in Dunleavy's second season at the helm, going 11-7 in MAAC play to earn the No. 3 seed in the postseason tournament.
Dunleavy agreed to a five-year contract extension through the 2022-23 season, Quinnipiac Director of Athletics and Recreation Greg Amodio announced in August of 2018. The third-year head coach was named to The Athletic's list of "30 Coaches to Watch" in early November of 2018.
Dunleavy has defeated each MAAC opponent at least once over his first two season, completing the feat with a win over Rider on Feb. 12, 2019. He has 30 wins in two-plus seasons with the Bobcats.

LAST YEAR

The Bobcats finished the 2018-19 season with a 16-15 overall record - the program's first winning season since 2013-14. Quinnipiac earned a postseason appearance for just the fifth time in program history, playing in the opening round of the CIT for the third time ever.
Quinnipiac went 11-7 in MAAC play during the regular season, earning the No. 3 seed in the league's postseason tournament at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.

'CATS IN CANADA: RECAP

Quinnipiac men's basketball took a week-long preseason trip to Canada from Aug. 7-14. The Bobcats played in three exhibition contests vs. Canadian programs, while also exploring sites in Montreal and Quebec City.

Game 1: Thursday, Aug. 8 vs. Concordia University (8:00 PM ET - at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec)
- Final: Concordia 98, Quinnipiac 90 (PDF Box Score)

Game 2: Saturday, Aug. 10 vs. University of Laval (3:00 PM ET - at Laval University in Quebec City)
- Final: Quinnipiac 79, Laval 76 (PDF Box Score)

Game 3: Monday, Aug. 12 vs. McGill University (7:00 PM ET - at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec)
- Final: Quinnipiac 94, McGill 53 (PDF Box Score)

Quinnipiac went 2-1 on the trip, winning its last two contests on Aug. 10 and Aug 12.
The Bobcats opened up the trip on Thursday, Aug. 8 vs. Concordia at Place Bell. Kelly paced the Bobcats with 22 points and six assists, while graduate transfer Aaron Falzon added 16 points and six rebounds.
Quinnipiac then defeated Laval in Quebec City by the final score of 79-76. Junior forward Jacob Rigoni banked in a shot from the left elbow with 10 seconds left in regulation, then redshirt junior Kevin Marfo blocked a shot on Laval's final possession to seal the victory. Rigoni led the team with 18 points, Marfo added 12 points and 11 rebounds, redshirt first year Matt Balanc had 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, and fellow redshirt first year Savion Lewis filled the stat sheet with 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
The Bobcats then cruised past McGill on Aug. 12 to close the trip, as Balanc (22 points) and Lewis (20 points) paced the offense once again.

'CATS in CANADA STATISTICS

Rich Kelly – 17.0 PPG
Matt Balanc – 16.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG
Savion Lewis – 15.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.0 APG
Jacob Rigoni – 13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Kevin Marfo – 11.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG
Aaron Falzon – 10.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Seth Pinkney – 5.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Brendan McGuire – 3.0 PPG, 3.0 APG, 1.7 RPG

PRESEASON ALL-MAAC AWARDS

The Bobcats were picked to finish third in the Preseason Coaches Poll. Quinnipiac received 86 total points, finishing behind Iona (119 points) and Rider (109 points).
Junior guard Rich Kelly was selected to the 2019 Preseason All-MAAC First Team after averaging 13.2 points and a team-best 4.5 assists per game last year. He recorded 17 games of 10+ points, and knocked down 63 3-point field goals on 45.7 percent shooting from distance.
Jacob Rigoni was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team. He recorded 10.3 points and 3.7 assists per contest in 2018-19, knocking down 63 3-point field goals as a sophomore.

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

Associate Head Coach Tom Pecora, an assistant to Jay Wright at Hofstra (before taking over the head coaching duties when Wright left for Villanova) served as the head coach at Hofstra for nine years (2001-2010) and at Fordham for five seasons (2010-15).
Pecora was a part of seven 20-win seasons with Hofstra (four as a head coach, three as an assistant). He had two 26-win teams (one as a head coach, one as an assistant) at Hofstra – 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.
Pecora took over as Head Coach at Fordham prior to the 2010-11 season, joining a program that was at the basement of the A10 (2-29, 0-16 A10) just a year prior. During his tenure at Rose Hill, Pecora recruited Jon Severe - a Parade All-American and the 2013 New York City and New York State Player of the Year from Christ the King High School in Queens. He also brought in Eric Pascall (later transferred to Villanova) and Joseph Chartouny (later transferred to Marquette), laying the ground work for the program's first winning season in 2015-16.

THE REST OF THE STAFF

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. During his time with the Terriers, Morris helped guide his teams to three postseason berths, the 2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), the 2014 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the 2013 CIT. In 2013-14, Morris helped the Terriers earn their first regular season league championship, capturing their first conference regular season title in 10 years, while finishing with 24 wins, the second-highest total in program history. Prior to joining the staff at Boston University, Morris spent the previous two years at Division III powerhouse Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., where he was an assistant for former Marist head coach Mike Maker. The Ephs reached the NCAA Division III Final Four both years, including a runner-up finish in 2010.
Dwayne Lee officially joined the Bobcats' staff as an assistant coach in July of 2019. Most recently, Lee spent two seasons as an assistant on Mark Schmidt's staff at St. Bonaventure (2017-18, 2018-19). In his first season at SBU, he helped the Bonnies to a program-record 26 wins as well as an NCAA Tournament victory in the First Four over UCLA in 2017-18. Lee and the Bonnies then went 18-16 in 2018-19 (12-6 A10), advancing to the conference championship game at the Barclay's Center vs. Saint Louis. From Feb. 6 to March 16, the program won 10 of 12 games en route to claiming the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament.
Prior to joining the St. Bonaventure staff, Lee served as an assistant coach at Fairleigh Dickinson for four seasons. A graduate of famed St. Anthony's (N.J.) and Saint Joseph's University, Lee has roots in the Atlantic 10 Conference and throughout the northeast.
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.

FAMILY TIES

Quinnipiac head coach Baker Dunleavy's father, Mike, enjoyed a long NBA coaching career, including stops with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. 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, while Mike Sr. served as Head Coach at Tulane from 2016-19.

MIGHTY MARFO

Redshirt junior forward Kevin Marfo has been all over the box score so far in 2019-20 for the Bobcats, recording 9.5 points and 12.8 rebounds per game in six contests on 55.9 percent shooting. Marfo currently ranks No. 3 nationally in rebounds per contest.
The Bobcats' big man has grabbed rebound totals of 14, 13, 12, 13, 14 and 11 so far in 2019-20.
He scored 5.4 points to go along with a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game last year. Marfo ranked second in the MAAC in rebounds per game.
The redshirt junior grabbed 10+ rebounds in seven games for Quinnipiac last season.

GET RICH OR DIME TRYING

2019 Preseason All-MAAC First Team selection Rich Kelly returns for his junior season with the Bobcats, recording 13.2 points and a team-best 4.5 assists per game last season. Kelly was selected to the All-MAAC Second Team for his efforts a year ago.
Kelly has averaged a team-high 14.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds a contest this year. He dropped 22 points vs. Albany on Nov. 22, then 20 points against Presbyterian on Nov. 23.
The junior guard recorded 5+ assists 10 separate times last year.
Kelly shot 44.9 percent from the floor, and an impressive 45.7 percent from 3-point distance.
He had 40 points against Marist on Feb. 17, 2018 as a first-year student, tied for the third-highest point total in Quinnipiac's Division I history.
Kelly has 302 career assists at Quinnipiac, needing just five more to crack the program's Top 10 career assist leaders.
He has played in 65 career games, starting 63 times. Kelly has 796 career points for the Bobcats (12.2 PPG) in two-plus years.

THREE-GONI

Jacob Rigoni also returns for his junior year in 2019-20, as he was selected to the 2019 Preseason All-MAAC Second Team.
Rigoni has 7.8 points and 2.5 rebounds a contest over the Bobcats' first six games in 2019-20.
The Australia-native started in all 31 games for Quinnipiac last year, scoring 10.3 points to go along with 3.7 rebounds per game.
Rigoni has made 153 3-point field goals in the first two years of his QU career, and already has 687 career points.

SAVION/BALANC

Redshirt first-year guards Savion Lewis and Matt Balanc have made a big impact over their first five collegiate games with the Bobcats.
Balanc recorded 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting in Quinnipiac's opener on Nov. 13. He has registered 11.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in his first season with the program, scoring 10+ points four separate times.
Lewis scored 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting in the Bobcats' game at Miami on Nov. 16. He then added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists at Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 3, and is averaging 7.3 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds a night.

WILLIAMS' WAY

Sophomore guard Tyrese Williams played in all 31 games for the Bobcats last year, starting in every single game other than Senior Day in Hamden.
Williams was a MAAC All-Rookie selection, stuffing the stat sheet with 8.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last year.
Williams has put up 12.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds this season. He recorded three-straight games of 10+ points during the Bobcats' Invitational in Hamden.

FALZON JOINS BOBCATS FOR GRAD YEAR

Aaron Falzon joins the Bobcats as a graduate transfer in 2019-20.
The former Northwestern forward is immediately eligible to play. He logged 80 games during four years in Evanston, making 43 total starts.
The 6-foot-8 forward made 29 starts as a freshman in 2015-16 with the Wildcats, recording 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest. Falzon scored 491 career points at Northwestern and made 118 3-point field goals. He scored a career-high 21 points on Jan. 22, 2019 vs. Indiana, going 6-for-7 from distance in just 20 minutes played.
Falzon is a former four-star recruit out of Northfield Mount Hermon High School, and was rated the 75^thbest player in the Class of 2015, according to ESPN.
The graduate student had 14 points vs. Presbyterian on Nov. 23, then 12 points on Nov. 24 against Sacred Heart. He has posted 7.5 points and 3.3 assists per game.

STANDING TALL

7-foot-1 first-year forward Seth Pinkney has played almost 13 minutes per game off the bench in his first collegiate season, averaging 3.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 69.2 percent from the floor.

TYREE'S TURN

Tyree Pickron is back for his sophomore season. He checked into 28 games as a first year, scoring 58 points.
Pickron had a season-high 10 points at home on Dec. 22, 2019 in Hamden, going 4-for-4 from the floor.

REDSHIRTS READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT

Savion Lewis, Matt Balanc and Nate Davis are all ready to return to the floor for Quinnipiac this year.
Lewis and Balanc both redshirted last season as first-year students, and both will have four full seasons of eligibility starting in 2019-20.
Lewis was voted New York's 2018 Mr. Basketball after recording 34.0 points, 7.0 assists and 5.0 steals per contest as a senior at Half Hollow Hills East High School in 2017-18.
Balanc posted 17.6 points per contest as a senior at Springbrook High School in 2017-18, the same school attended by former Bobcats Aaron and Andrew Robinson.
Nate Davis will enter the season as a redshirt-sophomore. He averaged 14 points per game as a senior at Mullen High School in 2015-16, while serving as a team captain after overcoming an ACL injury he suffered in the spring. Davis played a post grad season at New Hampton Prep in New Hampshire

THE FIRST-YEAR GUYS
The Bobcats added three first-year student-athletes in the offseason:

Seth Pinkney – The 7-foot-1 big man played his high school basketball at Archbishop Wood Catholic until 2017-18 with current Bobcats' guard Tyree Pickron. Following his time in Warminster, Pinkney played one full post-graduate season at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.
Brendan McGuire – McGuire is a 6-foot-7 guard/forward who played four years of high school basketball at Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York, before transferring to St. Thomas More for his post-graduate season. As a senior in 2017-18 at Chaminade, McGuire recorded 10.9 points per game in 24 contests, nailing 34 3-point field goals over the course of the season.
Jamil Riggins – Riggins played high school basketball at Imhotep Institute Charter. Helped lead the team to three straight Philadelphia Public League titles and 4A state championships during his time, as Riggins and the Panthers went undefeated at home during his career and a combined 57-8 over their last two seasons. Riggins is a two-time Imhotep Basketball Defensive Player of the Year

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST FROM THREE

Quinnipiac made 11.2 3-point field goals per game last year, which ranked No. 5 nationally and best in the MAAC.
43.4 percent of the Bobcats offense came from 3-point distance last season according to KenPom – the fourth highest rate nationally.
The Bobcats converted on 10+ 3-pointers in 24 of 31 games a season ago.

TOP OF THE MAAC FROM DISTANCE

Quinnipiac finished No. 1 in the MAAC in several categories last year:
- 3-Point Field Goal Attempts (923)
- 3-Point Field Goals Per Game (11.2)
- 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (37.7%)
- 3-Point Field Goal Defense (34.5%)

YOUNG SIGNS PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT IN ITALY

Cameron Young ('19) was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA in May of 2018, then became Quinnipiac's first AP All-American and the 2018-2019 MAAC Player of the Year last season.
He signed a professional contract with Pallacanestro Cantù – an Italian professional basketball club based in Cantù, Italy over the summer. Young becomes the second player in program history to play for the team, as James Feldeine '10 played with Pallacanestro Cantù in 2014-15.
Young scored 1,350 total points in 70 career games for the Bobcats – setting a new career program record by averaging 19.3 points per game. He posted a Quinnipiac Division I single-season program record 728 points in 2018-19, also good for the third-most points in a season across all levels. He recorded 23.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest in 2018-19.
He scored a MAAC-record 55 total points, leading Quinnipiac men's basketball past Siena, 107-100, in triple overtime on Sunday, Feb. 17, at the Times Union Center. His 55 points were the most of any NCAA Division I player in a game during the entire 2018-19 season.

THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE

A trip to Miami and a pair of tournaments highlight the Quinnipiac men's basketball team's 2019-20 non-conference schedule, which was released by Head Coach Baker Dunleavy and the program on Monday, July 1. The non-conference slate includes 10 games in total, including four at the People's United Center in Hamden.
The Bobcats will travel to Miami on Nov. 16, marking the program's first-ever game vs. an ACC opponent. The matchup is the second-ever meeting between the two programs, as Miami defeated Quinnipiac 80-66 on Dec. 29, 1999 at Miami Arena.
Quinnipiac will also host the Bobcats Invitational from Nov. 22-24, squaring off with Albany, Presbyterian and Sacred Heart over a three-day span in Hamden. The Bobcats finish non-conference action at the Boardwalk Classic from Dec. 20-21 in Atlantic City, facing Drexel and either Bowling Green or Norfolk State at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall – which is also the location of the 2020 MAAC Basketball Championships in March.
The Bobcats' 20-game conference slate begins on Friday, Jan. 3 at Marist, followed by the program's MAAC home opener on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Rider.
Quinnipiac has three consecutive MAAC home games at the People's United Center on Jan. 7 vs. Rider, Jan. 10 vs. Niagara and Jan. 12 vs. Monmouth. The program hosts Saint Peter's and Fairfield on Jan. 18 and Jan. 24, respectively, followed by four home league games in February. Quinnipiac's final home contest of the regular season will come on Sunday, March 1 vs. Marist, followed by a trip to Iona – the league's defending champion – on March 4 to close out the season.
Five of the Bobcats' first seven league games are at home, while five of the next seven come on the road.

Schedule

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Players Mentioned

Matt Balanc

Aaron Falzon

Rich Kelly

Savion Lewis

Kevin Marfo

Brendan McGuire

Tyree Pickron

Tyree Pickron

Seth Pinkney

JJ Riggins

Jacob Rigoni

Andrew Robinson

Tyrese Williams

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