Men's Basketball Set For CIT Opening Round at NJIT

Quinnipiac (16-14, 11-7 MAAC) vs. NJIT (21-12, 8-8 ASUN)
Monday, March 18, 2019 | 7:00 PM
Wellness and Events Center | Newark, NJ
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | NJIT

All-Time Series vs. NJIT: N/A

Stream: WatchCIT.com
Radio: WQUN (AM 1220) (PxP: Michael Zahn | Color: Nick Solari)
Live Statistics: NJITHighlanders.com
Live Updates: @QU_MBB
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NEWARK, NJ – Quinnipiac men's basketball plays in the first round of the Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) on Monday night vs. NJIT. Tip-off vs. the Highlanders from the Wellness and Events Center is set for 7:00 p.m. in Newark.

The Bobcats enter action with a 16-14 overall record. Quinnipiac went 11-7 in MAAC play in 2018-19, earning the No. 3 seed in the MAAC Tournament – the program's highest seed in the postseason conference tournament since 2013-14.

SCOUTING NJIT

NJIT enters the CIT at 21-12 overall, going 8-8 in the ASUN this year. The Highlanders topped Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the ASUN Tournament, then fell vs. No. 1 Lipscomb in the semifinals.
Zach Cooks leads all NJIT players with 17.0 points per game, shooting 45.2 percent from the floor. Abdul Lewis has also had an impressive year, recording 13.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Brian Kennedy is in his third season as Head Coach of NJIT, going 46-48 in that span.
The Highlanders gave up just 67.8 points per contest this year, good for the second-best defense in the ASUN.

ALL-MAAC HONOREES

Graduate guard Cameron Young was named 2018-19 MAAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, as announced by the conference during its awards show on Friday, March 8 in Albany. Young, who was also selected to the All-MAAC First Team, was a unanimous selection for the league's most prestigious individual award.
Sophomore guard Rich Kelly also earned an individual honor, being selected to the All-MAAC Second Team.
Freshman Tyrese Williams joined Young and Kelly as the Bobcats' third individual award winner, being named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST FROM THREE

Quinnipiac is averaging 11.3 3-point field goals per game, which ranks No. 4 nationally and best in the MAAC.
According to KenPom, 45.8 percent of the Bobcats offense comes via 3-pointers, the second-highest percentage in the country.
The Bobcats have converted on 10+ 3-pointers in 23 of 30 games this season.

TOP OF THE MAAC

Quinnipiac enters CIT play ranking No. 1 in the MAAC in several categories:
- 3-Point Field Goal Attempts (898)
- 3-Point Field Goals Per Game (11.3)
- 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (37.6%)
- Scoring Margin (+1.7)
- Win/Loss Percentage (53.3%)

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.
With the Bobcats' win over Rider on Feb. 12, Dunleavy has now defeated each MAAC opponent at least once over less than two seasons at Quinnipiac.

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.
Pecora took over as Head Coach at Hofstra 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.
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.
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. Goins joined the Bobcats after four very successful seasons at Yale, where the Bulldogs averaged over 20 wins a season in that span (82-42).
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.

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.

CHASING PROGRAM HISTORY
Cameron Young - 19.1 PPG in Career
*Current Record - 18.6 PPG (DeMario Anderson, 2006-08)

Cameron Young - 360 Made FT in Career
*Current Record - 389 (Zaid Hearst, 2011-15)

Abdulai Bundu - 123 Career Games Played
*Current Record - 127 (James Johnson, 2008-12)

Jacob Rigoni - 87.5% FT Shooting in 2018-19
*Current Record - 85.9% (Mikey Dixon, 2016-17)

COMEBACK 'CATS

Quinnipiac earned a wild comeback win on Tuesday, Feb. 12, downing Rider (98-88, OT) at the People's United Center in Hamden.
The Bobcats erased a nine-point deficit with just 49 seconds left in regulation, then outscored Rider 17-7 in overtime to earn a 98-88 win. Tyrese Williams hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation, then Jacob Rigoni made three foul shots with less than two seconds remaining to force overtime.
The Bobcats outscored Rider 12-5 over the final 60 seconds of the contest, and 6-2 over the final 15 seconds. Quinnipiac then began the overtime period on a 10-0 run.
According to ESPN.com, Quinnipiac's win probability was 1.6 percent when the Broncs led by nine points with 49 seconds remaining in regulation.

YOUNG IS NO LONGER RESTLESS

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.
He made history on Jan. 27, becoming the program's 41^st student-athlete to record 1,000 career points vs. Saint Peter's. He accomplished the feat in 58 career contests.
Young is the MAAC's leading scorer this season, averaging 23.3 points per game to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists. The Los Angeles-native has recorded 10+ points in 29 of 30 games this season. He ranks No. 11 nationally in scoring.
He went 15-for-18 from the free throw line on Saturday, Dec. 1 at Stony Brook, becoming one of just 32 players in Division I 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.

RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

Graduate guard Cameron Young 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.
Young's 55 points are the most of any student-athlete in the NCAA so far in 2018-19, and also sets a Quinnipiac Division I program record. The graduate guard shot 15-for-24 from the floor, grabbing 10 rebounds in 53+ minutes played.

CAMERON YOUNG'S HISTORIC DAY:

2018-19 NCAA single-game record for points
Third-most points by an NCAA Division I player in last 20 years
MAAC single-game record for points
Quinnipiac Division I record for points
Quinnipiac record for 3-pointers made
Most points ever scored in a game at the Times Union Center

INCREDIBLE CAM

Cameron Young scored 25 points in Quinnipiac's road win over Monmouth on Feb. 24, breaking his own Division I single-season scoring record (622) – which was set in 2017-18. Young now has 624 career points.
Young also broke the program's Division I single-season record for 3-pointers, surpassing James Johnson's total of 84 shots from distance in 2010-11. Young now has 85 made 3-point field goals this season.

RETURN OF RICH

Rich 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 13.3 points, a team-best 4.5 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game over 25 contests, scoring 10+ points in 12 of 18 MAAC regular season games. 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.

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 10.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest this year – starting in all 30 games. He posted a career-best 30 points in the Bobcats MAAC Tournament contest vs. Monmouth during the Bobcats' latest game.
The native of Adelaide, Australia – Rigoni averaged 9.8 points per game in 2017-18, including 11.5 points per contest in MAAC play as a freshman.
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.

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 29 collegiate games.
Williams has started in 29 of 30 games for QU, stuffing the stat sheet with 9.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest.

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 5.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest – recording 10+ rebounds four times.

600/600 FOR BUNDU

Abulai Bundu now has 711 points and 681 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: 711 points, 681 rebounds *active*

TRANSFERS

The Bobcats have two transfers currently playing key roles in 2018-19. Forward 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 7.3 rebounds per game in his first season with the Bobcats, adding 5.4 points per game. Marfo ranks fourth in the MAAC in rebounds per contest.
He returned from injury on Jan. 25 at Marist. The big man has recorded three double-doubles so far this season for the Bobcats. He grabbed 10 rebounds for the first time since returning from injury in QU's contest vs. Iona on Feb. 19.
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 5.3 points per game this year. Atson has also recorded 3.4 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 29 Bobcats' games this year, recording a season-high 15 points off the bench for Quinnipiac at UMass on Nov. 28. Aaron has averaged 3.2 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 58 points in 269 total minutes this year, recording 13 points over QU's last two games of the regular season.

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).

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Players Mentioned

Travis Atson

Travis Atson

Abdulai Bundu

Rich Kelly

Kevin Marfo

Kevin Marfo

Tyree Pickron

Jacob Rigoni

Aaron Robinson

Andrew Robinson

Tyrese Williams

Cameron Young

Cameron Young

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