Bobcats Host Manhattan to Begin MAAC Slate

Quinnipiac Bobcats (2-2, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Manhattan Jaspers (2-3, 1-3 MAAC)
Game 1: Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 | Game 2: Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021
People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | Manhattan

D1 Era vs. Manhattan: 6-9
D1 Era vs. Manhattan at Home: 4-3
Last Meeting vs. Manhattan: L, 65-63 (Feb. 9, 2020)

Friday, Jan. 8
Watch: ESPN+
Live Statistics: www.gobobcats.com
In-Game Updates: @QU_MBB

Saturday, Jan. 9
Watch: ESPN3
Live Statistics: www.gobobcats.com
In-Game Updates: @QU_MBB

HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac men's basketball is set to begin MAAC play following a 33-day hiatus, hosting Manhattan for a two-game series at the People's United Center in Hamden.

The Bobcats and Jaspers will square off at 4:00 PM on both Friday (Jan. 8) and Saturday (Jan. 9).

THE BOBCATS ARE BACK

Quinnipiac paused all team-related activities on Dec. 8, 2020.
The Bobcats have gone 33 days since last playing a game. Quinnipiac is the last MAAC men's program to compete in a league game this season.

SCOUTING MANHATTAN

The Jaspers are 2-3 so far in 2020-21, posting a 1-3 record in MAAC play.
Manhattan won its most recent game at Delaware State, earning a 65-59 win on Dec. 30 in non-conference action.
Steve Masiello is in his 10^th season as Head Coach at Manhattan, posting a 142-152 overall mark. He has guided the Jaspers to two MAAC titles, also earning two 20-win seasons during his time with the program.
Ant Nelson leads the way with 18.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
Elijah Buchanan has chipped in with 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds, and Jason Douglas-Stanley has recorded 11.4 points and 3.0 rebounds a contest.
Junior forward Warren Williams was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team, while Manhattan was picked fifth in the Coaches' Poll.
Quinnipiac is 6-8 against Manhattan since 2014. The Bobcats have lost each of the last three meetings between the teams.

RIGONI CLOSING IN ON CAREER MILESTONES

Senior Jacob Rigoni enters the series vs. Manhattan with 925 career points – needing just 75 more to reach 1,000.
Rigoni will be the 43^rd player in QU history to reach 1,000 points, and the 17^th at the Division I level for the Bobcats.
Rigoni also has made 213 career three-pointers. The four-year Bobcat is chasing down Rob Monroe's Quinnipiac record for made triples (253, 2001-05).

BAKER'S BOBCATS

The 2020-21 season marks the fourth year at the helm of the Bobcats' program for Baker Dunleavy, a very successful former player and coach under Jay Wright at Villanova.
Quinnipiac has recorded 45 total wins during Dunleavy's first three-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach.
The Bobcats have earned a bye in the first round of the MAAC Tournament in two consecutive seasons, and QU has been ranked fifth nationally in three-pointers per game in each of the last two years.
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).
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.
He has been consistently ranked among college basketball's top young head coaches. Dunleavy earned a spot on Seth Davis' "40 under 40" list published by The Athletic in October of 2020, and was also selected to ESPN's "40 under 40" in May of 2020.

Dunleavy Season-by-Season at QU:

YEAR 1 at QU: 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.
YEAR 2 at QU: 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.
YEAR 3 at QU: Quinnipiac went 15-15 (10-10 MAAC) in 2019-20, earning the No. 5 seed in the MAAC tournament. The Bobcats earned a first round bye in the conference postseason tournament for the second straight season under Dunleavy, winning three straight games to finish the regular season.

PRESEASON ALL-MAAC HONORS

Quinnipiac junior guard Tyrese Williams (Preseason All-MAAC Second Team) and senior forward Jacob Rigoni (Preseason All-MAAC Third Team) were both recognized by the league before the season.

DOUBLE-DIGIT W in HOME OPENER

The Bobcats kicked off their 2020-21 season in impressive fashion on Wednesday, Nov. 25, earning an 84-66 win at the People's United Center in Hamden.
10 different QU players scored in the victory, including five Bobcats in double figures.
Savion Lewis (12 points, three assists) and Seth Pinkney (12 points, three rebounds) paced the QU offense in the winning effort.
Quinnipiac shot 31-of-63 (49.2 percent) from the floor in total, knocking down nine three-pointers on the night.
The Bobcats outrebounded FDU 39-36, earning a 26-18 defensive rebound advantage.
Quinnipiac outscored Fairleigh Dickinson 37-10 in bench points. Quinnipiac also scored 26 points off FDU turnovers.
QU's largest lead was 27 points, which came with 4:19 left in the second half when Savion Lewis finished at the rim for two points.

DAZZLING DEBUTS

Quinnipiac had five different players make their Bobcats debut in the season opener.
Sophomore forward Elias King recorded 12 points, nine rebounds and two assists in his first collegiate game, playing a team-best 28 total minutes off the bench.
First-year wing Tymu Chenery added 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks over 17 minutes, capturing the first MAAC Rookie of the Week honor of the season for his performance.
First-year point guard Bol Akot dished out a team-best seven assists to go along with three points in his first college game.
Luis Kortright recorded four points and four assists over 16 minutes in his collegiate debut.
Redshirt first year forward JJ Riggins also made his Bobcat debut.

"BUBBLEVILLE" at MOHEGAN SUN

The Bobcats played two games this past week vs. Drexel at Mohegan Sun Arena, falling in a pair of non-conference battles as part of "Bubbleville."
The Dragons downed Quinnipiac 66-48 on Wednesday (Dec. 2), then Drexel defeated the Bobcats 70-58 on Thursday (Dec. 3).
GAME 1 vs. Drexel: Redshirt-sophomore guard Savion Lewis led the Bobcats in the first game on Wednesday with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, shooting 5-of-12 from the floor. Lewis went 4-of-5 from the free throw line, adding a steal.
GAME 2 vs. Drexel: First-year wing Tymu Chenery scored a team-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds on Thursday. Sophomore Seth Pinkney added 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and sophomore Brendan McGuire chipped in with 11 points, four assists and two rebounds.

WIRE-TO-WIRE VICTORY vs. UNH

Quinnipiac men's basketball earned its second home victory of the 2020-21 season on Sunday afternoon, downing New Hampshire by the final score of 64-58 at the People's United Center in Hamden.
Sophomore Brendan McGuire stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists in the victory – shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 from three-point range.
First year Tymu Chenery added 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Chenery rejected a Jayden Martinez attempt at the rim with 55 seconds left in regulation, helping clinch the Bobcats' win.
Jacob Rigoni recorded his first double-double of the season, scoring 10 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

WILLIAMS' WAY

Two-year starter Tyrese Williams is back for the Bobcats in 2020-21 as a junior.
Williams averaged 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last year. The Preseason All-MAAC Second Team selection played in all 30 games for the Bobcats in 2019-20, knocking down 57 three-pointers. He scored a career-high 26 points at Canisius on Jan. 13, 2020, shooting 8-of-11 from three-point distance.
The Bobcats are 12-1 over the last two seasons when Williams knocks down three or more three-point field goals.
Last year, Williams 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 on Jan. 12, 2020, going 5-of-7 from 3-point distance.
He scored a career-high 26 points in the Bobcats' win at Canisius on Jan. 31, 2020, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor and 8-of-11 from three-point distance.
Williams was also a MAAC All-Rookie selection, stuffing the stat sheet with 8.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in 2018-19.

THREE-GONI

Jacob Rigoni is back for his senior season. He's played in 98 career games (79 games started) so far at Quinnipiac.
The Australia-native now has 925 career points, needing just 75 more to reach 1,000.
Rigoni also has made 213 career three-pointers. The four-year Bobcat is chasing down Rob Monroe's Quinnipiac record for made triples (253, 2001-05).
The forward is a 43.5 percent (95-of-218) shooter from three-point distance during his career at the People's United Center in Hamden. As a sophomore, he poured in a career-high 30 points in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament vs. Monmouth on Feb. 24, 2019.
Rigoni started all 30 games for the Bobcats last year, posting 8.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He finished his junior year shooting a team-best 40.2 percent (66-of-164) from three-point range, recording 13 games of 10+ points. The forward tallied a season-high 21 points vs. Rider on Jan. 7, 2020 in Hamden, knocking down each of his first seven attempts from distance.

BIG MAN ON CAMPUS

7-foot-1 first-year forward Seth Pinkney played in all 30 games as a first-year student in 2019-20, logging 11.2 minutes per contest.
The big man recorded 43 blocks off the bench, which ranked third in the MAAC.
Pinkney blocked four shots in two separate games during his first collegiate season.
Pinkney is 11-of-13 from the field (84.6 percent) so far through four games. He also has 17 rebounds and 12 blocks in that span.
Pinkney has a block percentage of 16.66 – which currently ranks No. 2 in all of college basketball. Block percentage is the percentage of an opponent's shots a team blocks.

SAVION SAVES THE DAY

Savion Lewis is back for his redshirt sophomore season. The point guard played in eight games last season, recording 6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
He recorded 10+ points twice for QU in 2019-20. Lewis scored 16 points at Miami (Nov. 16), and also stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists at FDU (Dec. 3).
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.
Lewis has helped pace the Bobcats' offense so far this season with 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists a night. He had a season-high 14 points vs. Drexel on Dec. 2.

MIGHTY MATT

Matt Balanc will also play as a redshirt sophomore in 2020-21. He played in all 30 games last year, making six starts as a first-year guard. He averaged 7.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest.
Balanc recorded 12 games of 10+ points, including a career-high 23 points (9-13 FG) in his collegiate debut at Brown on Nov. 13, 2019.
Balanc earned his first collegiate double-double on Jan. 10, 2019 vs. Niagara, scoring 12 points and adding 10 rebounds.
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 scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in the Bobcats' debut on Nov. 25. Balanc then had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting vs. New Hampshire on Dec. 6.

B-MAC ON THE ATTACK

Sophomore guard/forward Brendan McGuire came on strong during the second half of the season last year, as the Long Island native finished with 3.0 points, 2.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game.
McGuire dished out a career-high 10 assists on Jan. 10, 2020 vs. Niagara.
The first-year guard scored a career-high 15 points in QU's win on Jan. 31, 2020 at Canisius, adding six assists and six rebounds while shooting 6-of-7 from the floor.
McGuire made his season debut inside "Bubbleville" at Mohegan Sun. He then scored a season-best 17 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists in QU's latest win over New Hampshire.

TYREE'S TURN

Tyree Pickron is back for his junior season. He checked into 28 games as a first year, scoring 58 points for the Bobcats in 2018-19.
Last year, Pickron made his season debut in QU's win over Fairfield on Jan. 24 in Hamden, logging 28 minutes, three points, three assists and two rebounds.
He's played in 14 games in total during the 2019-20 season, scoring 4.1 points per night.
Pickron had eight points, four steals, three rebounds and an assist in QU's opener on Nov. 25. The Bobcats were +18 with Pickron on the floor, the highest +/- of any QU player for the night.

JJ Riggins

Jamil Riggins took a redshirt year last season. He has four full seasons of collegiate eligibility entering the new year.
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
Riggins made his Quinnipiac debut on Nov. 25 vs. FDU.

THE NEWCOMERS
The Bobcats added four newcomers to the roster ahead of 2020-21:

Tymu Chenery: Chenery – a versatile 6-foot-6 wing – will join the Bobcats ahead of the 2020-21 season after playing his high school basketball at Episcopal in Alexandra, Virginia. Chenery averaged 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a junior at Episcopal in 2018-19, recording double-digit point totals in 16 games. He scored a season-high 28 points vs. Flint Hill on Dec. 12, knocking seven 3-point field goals. In 2017-18 as a sophomore he averaged 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest, knocking down 28 three-pointers for the year. He played on the AAU circuit for Team BBC, a member of the Adidas Gold Gauntlet Series based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Chenery is currently ranked inside Prep Hoops' Top-15 for all Virginia recruits.
Bol Akot: Akot joins the Bobcats after completing his senior season at Proctor Academy in Andover, New Hampshire in 2019-20. He has been one of the top point guards in New England during his four years of high school, winning the MVP Award at the prestigious Deng Camp this summer. Akot demonstrated his well-rounded skillset, leading the camp in scoring (17.2 PPG) and passing (7.2 APG). The 6-foot-1 speedy point guard was a four-year starter at Proctor, scoring 1,223 career points. He served as team captain during his senior year in 2019-20, averaging 19.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. He was selected First Team All-NEPSAC AA this year for his efforts, and was tabbed as an All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention honoree as a junior in 2018-19. Akot played on the AAU circuit with the DC Blue Devils.
Elias King: King heads to Quinnipiac after spending his first collegiate season at Santa Monica, a JUCO in California. The 6-foot-9 versatile forward averaged 14.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from distance. He scored 10+ points in 18 games, recording three double-doubles during the second half of the season. He made the JUCO California All-State Team for his efforts. King was one of only four freshmen selected to the team, while also earning First Team All-Conference honors. King was selected to the 2017-18 California All-State Boys Basketball team at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, Calif., recording 22 points and 11 rebounds per game. King earned Sacramento Bee All-Metro First Team honors that season, while also being named to the SportsStars Magazine All-NorCal Second Team.
Luis Kortright: The Bronx-native previously played at St. Raymond High School, earning Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) First Team All-League and All-State honors as a senior in 2019-20. Kortright recorded an impressive 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game this past season for the Ravens. For his efforts as a senior, Kortright was also named to the New York Sports Writers Association All-State First Team. He will join the Bobcats in 2020-21 as a freshman with four full years of eligibility.

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Players Mentioned

Bol Akot

Matt Balanc

Tymu Chenery

Elias King

Luis Kortright

Savion Lewis

Brendan McGuire

Brendan McGuire

Tyree Pickron

Seth Pinkney

Seth Pinkney

JJ Riggins

Jacob Rigoni

Aaron Robinson

Andrew Robinson

Tyrese Williams

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