Men's Basketball Set for In-State Battle vs. Fairfield

Friday, January 24

Hamden, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Fairfield

Tickets

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Men's Basketball Set for In-State Battle vs. Fairfield

1/23/2020 1:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Bobcats, Stags Tip-Off at 7:00 PM on Friday Night in Hamden

By: QU Athletic Communications

Quinnipiac (9-7, 4-2 MAAC) vs. Fairfield (5-9, 2-3 MAAC)
Friday, Jan. 24, 2020 | 7:00 PM
People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | Fairfield

All-Time D1 Series vs. Fairfield: 7-6
Home vs. Fairfield: 2-3

Watch: ESPN+
Live Statistics: www.gobobcats.com
In-Game Updates: @QU_MBB

Tickets: Click Here
Promotion: First 250 fans will receive a special branded Quinnipiac Basketball MAAC Tournament poker chip!
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HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac men's basketball returns to play on Friday night, hosting in-state rival Fairfield in MAAC play at 7:00 p.m. from the People's United Center.

The Bobcats enter conference play at 4-2 overall, while Fairfield enters with a 3-3 league mark.

RICH KELLY CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS

Rich Kelly has 983 career points. He needs just 17 more points to become the Bobcats' 42^nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
The junior guard will become the 15^th player in Division I program history to reach 1,000 career points.
Kelly enters Saturday's contest having played in 75 career games (13.1 PPG), recording 43 games of 10+ points.

WINNING WAYS

Quinnipiac won four consecutive MAAC games to begin the league schedule (Jan. 3-12), marking the first time in the Bobcats' Division I history that the program went 4-0 to begin conference play.
The Bobcats won five straight games between Dec. 21 and Jan. 12 – the longest winning streak in the Baker Dunleavy era.

QUINNI-THREE-AC

Quinnipiac has knocked down 10.3 three-point field goals a contest this year, which ranks No. 9 nationally and best in the MAAC.
The Bobcats have converted on 10+ shots from distance in eight separate games. 50.9 percent of the Bobcats' total field goal attempts have been from distance, the second-highest mark for any program in the nation.
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 in 2018-19 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 during 2018-19.

ADVANTAGE AT THE CHARITY STRIPE

The Bobcats have shot 78.2 percent from the free throw line in 2019-20, the best mark for any MAAC program and the eight-highest percentage in the nation.

LAST TIME OUT: vs. SAINT PETER'S

Quinnipiac men's basketball fell vs. Saint Peter's, 71-51, on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the People's United Center in Hamden. With the loss, Quinnipiac moves to 9-7 overall – going 4-2 over its first six league games.
Redshirt junior forward Kevin Marfo recorded his eighth double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 14 points to go along with 13 rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes.
The Bobcats are now 5-7 all-time vs. Saint Peter's.

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD

Fairfield is 7-10 so far in 2019-20, going an even 3-3 in MAAC play. The Stags lost their most recent league contest at home vs. Iona (64-57) on Jan. 17.
Landon Taliaferro leads the Stags offensively, scoring 13.4 points per game. He has hit a team-high 43 three-point field goals so far this year.
Jesus Cruz has chipped in with 11.6 points and 4.1 rebounds, while Taj Benning has added 9.6 points and 4.5 rebounds a night.
Jay Young is in his first year as Head Coach at Fairfield. Young came to Fairfield after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach in the Big Ten at Rutgers University under Steve Pikiell. Prior to patrolling the sidelines at Rutgers, he rose to the role of Associate Head Coach at Stony Brook University, where he was a member of Pikiell's staff for many of the most successful seasons in Seawolves history.
The Bobcats are 7-6 all-time vs. Fairfield. Quinnipiac won the lone matchup between the two team's last season, earning an 80-78 victory at home on Jan. 13, 2019. After trailing 68-65 with 4:23 left, the Bobcats went on a 7-0 run over the next 90 seconds to take a 72-68 lead. Tyrese Williams knocked down a pair of free throws, Aaron Robinson drilled a 3-pointer then Abdulai Bundu finished at the rim for the Bobcats on three straight possessions.

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. The Bobcats won eight of their last 12 regular season contests, helping the program achieve its first winning season since 2013-14.
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 seasons, completing the feat with a win over Rider on Feb. 12, 2019. He has 34 wins in two-plus seasons with the Bobcats.

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.

NON-CONFERENCE IN THE BOOKS

The Bobcats finished with a 5-5 non-conference record, the first time the program has posted a .500 non-league record since 2014-15. Quinnipiac won three of its last four games, and shot over 50.0 percent from the floor in four non-league games.

RICH(EST) SCORER IN THE MAAC

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 currently leads all MAAC scorers with 17.1 points per game, shooting 41.6 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from distance. The junior guard has also dished out a team-high 4.3 assists a night while adding 2.6 rebounds.
He has 983 career points, needing just 17 more to reach 1,000.
Kelly ranks No. 10 in program history for career assists (341), and No. 10 in made three-point field goals (158).
He has played in 75 career games, starting 73 times.
Kelly 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. He also had a 36-point performance for the Bobcats on Dec. 7 vs. New Hampshire, shooting 13-of-18 from the floor.

MIGHTY MARFO

Redshirt junior big man Kevin Marfo ranks No. 2 nationally in rebounds per game (13.8), adding 9.9 points a night on 44.2 percent shooting.
Marfo ranks second nationally in KenPom's offensive rebounding percentage (19.7) and defensive rebounding percentage (33.5).
The Bobcats' big man has grabbed rebound totals of 14, 13, 12, 13, 14, 11, 12, 15, 17, 14, 14, 12, 12, 21, 14 and 13 so far in 2019-20. He is the only player in the country to grab 10+ rebounds every time he's taken the floor 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 in 2018-19, as the redshirt junior grabbed 10+ rebounds in seven games for Quinnipiac.

'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.

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 9.3 points and 3.1 rebounds a contest over the Bobcats' first 16 games in 2019-20, shooting 41.3 percent from 3-point distance.
He had season-high 21 points in the Bobcats' win vs. Rider on Jan. 7, going 7-for-8 from three-point range. Rigoni made his first seven attempts from distance in that game, which ties a career high and is the highest total of made three-pointers for any Quinnipiac player since Cameron Young made eight threes on March 9 vs. Monmouth in the MAAC Tournament.
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 179 3-point field goals in his QU career, the fifth-most in Quinnipiac's Division I era. He already has 788 career points.

WILLIAMS' WAY

Sophomore guard Tyrese Williams played in all 31 games for the Bobcats last year, starting in every 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 9.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season.
He recorded three-straight games of 10+ points during the Bobcats Invitational in Hamden (Nov. 22-24), scoring 62 points on 52.7 percent shooting.
Williams had 20 points in Quinnipiac's win over Monmouth (Jan. 12), going 5-of-7 from 3-point distance.
The Bobcats are 10-0 over the last two seasons when Williams knocks down three or more three-point field goals.

B-MAC ON THE ATTACK

First-year guard/forward Brendan McGuire has come on strong over his last eight games, playing 200 total minutes (28.25 MPG). During that span McGuire has scored 39 points to go along with 35 assists and 32 rebounds.
The Long Island native is averaging 3.3 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds a night.
McGuire dished out a career-high 10 assists on Jan. 10 vs. Niagara.

SAVION/BALANC

Redshirt first-year guards Savion Lewis and Matt Balanc have made a big impact already for the Bobcats.
Lewis and Balanc both redshirted last season as first-year students, and both will have four full seasons of eligibility starting in 2019-20.
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 Robinson and Andrew Robinson. He recorded 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting in Quinnipiac's season opener on Nov. 13. He has registered 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game in his first season with the program, scoring 10+ points seven separate times. Balanc earned his first collegiate double-double on Jan. 10 vs. Niagara, scoring 12 points and adding 10 rebounds.
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. He scored 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting at Miami on Nov. 16. He then added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists at Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 3, and is averaging 6.5 points, 2.3 assists and 2.0 rebounds a night in eight games played.

STANDING TALL

7-foot-1 first-year forward Seth Pinkney has played 11.1 minutes per game off the bench in his first collegiate season, averaging 2.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 71.4 percent from the floor. The big man has 23 blocks over his first 16 collegiate games, including 15 over the last eight contests.

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 75th best player in the Class of 2015, according to ESPN.
The graduate student has already recorded five games of 10+ points for Quinnipiac, and is now averaging 7.2 points per contest. He scored a season-high 15 points in the Bobcats' contest at Manhattan on Jan. 16.

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.

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

LAST YEAR (2018-19)

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.

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. 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.