Thursday, March 10
Atlantic City, NJ
7:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
vs
#3 Siena
Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com
Bobcats, Saints Battle in MAAC Quarterfinals
3/9/2022 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
No. 11 Quinnipiac Faces No. 3 Siena on Thursday Night (7:00 PM)
#11 Quinnipiac (13-16, 7-13 MAAC) vs. #3 Siena (15-13, 12-8 MAAC)
Thursday, March 10, 2022 | 7:00 PM
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City, N.J.
Quinnipiac Game Notes
Siena Game Notes
MAAC Tournament Central
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast.com
In-Game Updates: @QU_MBB
This Year vs. Siena: 0-2
1/30: Siena 85, Quinnipiac 76
2/24: Siena 78, Quinnipiac 71
QU vs. Siena Since Joining MAAC: 6-10
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Quinnipiac men's basketball hits the floor for its second game of the MAAC Tournament on Thursday night, squaring off vs. Siena at 7:00 PM in the semifinal round.
OPENING ROUND OUTBURST
BALANC, MARFO EARN ALL-MAAC HONORS
Dezi Jones: Bobcats Sign Guard Dezi Jones
Thursday, March 10, 2022 | 7:00 PM
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City, N.J.
Quinnipiac Game Notes
Siena Game Notes
MAAC Tournament Central
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast.com
In-Game Updates: @QU_MBB
This Year vs. Siena: 0-2
1/30: Siena 85, Quinnipiac 76
2/24: Siena 78, Quinnipiac 71
QU vs. Siena Since Joining MAAC: 6-10
OPENING ROUND OUTBURST
- Quinnipiac cruised to a 25-point victory in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament on Tuesday night, defeating Marist 77-52.
- Quinnipiac's number of made triples (17) ranks as the second-high total in a single game during MAAC Tournament history.
- Jacob Rigoni led the Bobcats with 26 points, going 7-of-11 from 3-point distance.
- Dezi Jones flirted with a triple double (20 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists). Matt Balanc chipped in with 18 points.
BALANC, MARFO EARN ALL-MAAC HONORS
- Graduate student Kevin Marfo and redshirt junior Matt Balanc have both been named to the All-MAAC Third Team, as announced by the league office on Monday, March 7, 2022.
- Kevin Marfo finished the regular season ranked No. 13 nationally in rebounds (10.2 RPG), while also averaging 9.7 points and 4.0 assists per game.
- Matt Balanc finished sixth in the MAAC in scoring (14.5 PPG), recording 12 games of 15+ points for the Bobcats.
- Quinnipiac has now earned 12 All-MAAC honors over five seasons under Head Coach Baker Dunleavy.
- The Saints are 15-13 (12-8 MAAC). Siena defeated Quinnipiac during both of the previous meetings this year.
- Siena dropped both games during the Buffalo trip (vs. Niagara/Canisius) to finish out the regular season.
- Colby Rogers recorded 14.1 PPG to lead Siena (MAAC leader in 3-point percentage), while Jackson Storm added 11.1 PPG/6.8 RPG.
- Graduate guard Anthony Gaines has chipped in with 10.9 PPG/7.1 RPG.
- Siena leads the MAAC in 3-point percentage (35.3%).
- Carmen Maciariello is 47-28 over three seasons as Head Coach at Siena. He led the Saints to at least a share of back-to-back regular season titles during his first two years at the helm, before guiding Siena to a 12-8 MAAC mark and another first-round bye this season.
- Quinnipiac ranks second in the MAAC in scoring offense (72.3 PPG) and assists per game (14.4).
- The Bobcats have recorded an assist on 56.1% of made baskets (417 of 743) so far this year.
- Quinnipiac currently leads in the MAAC in 3-pointers per game (9.0) so far this season.
- QU finished 5th in the country in 3-pointers per game in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Bobcats made 11.2 triples per game in 2018-19, then sunk 10.3 triples per night in 2019-20.
- Quinnipiac also leads the MAAC in free throw shooting, as the Bobcats have gone 76.4% from the charity stripe in 2021-22.
- Head Coach Baker Dunleavy – a very successful former player and coach under Jay Wright at Villanova – is in his fifth season at Quinnipiac in 2021-22.
- Dunleavy joined the Bobcats after spending seven years on the men's basketball staff at Villanova University, where under Jay Wright, he helped the Wildcats capture the 2016 national championship with a 77-74 win over North Carolina. He began at Villanova as the director of basketball operations in 2010, before being elevated to assistant coach in 2012 and to the associate head coach position in 2013.
- 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 appeared in 28 games over his four seasons for the Wildcats (2006 graduate). As a senior, he was part of the first Villanova team to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
- During his playing days – behind future NBA guards Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry – the Wildcats were an Elite Eight team in 2005-06.
- Quinnipiac men's basketball has won 65 total games under Dunleavy since 2017.
- The Bobcats earned a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament during two of Dunleavy's first four years with the program.
- Dunleavy led the Bobcats all the way to the MAAC Semifinals during his first year with the program in 2017-18 – defeating No. 10 Siena and No. 2 Canisius in the postseason.
- He has been 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.
- 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. is currently the Assistant General Manager for the Golden State Warriors, while Mike Sr. last served as Head Coach at Tulane from 2016-19.
- 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) 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 groundwork 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. 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.
- Graduate big man Kevin Marfo is back with the Bobcats for a 5th season of eligibility.
- The New Jersey-native led the nation in rebounding while at Quinnipiac in 2019-20 (13.3 RPG), then transferred to Texas A&M for the 2020-21 season before returning to QU.
- So far this season (2021-22), Marfo ranks 1st in the MAAC and 14th nationally in rebounding (10.1 RPG).
- He has won two MAAC Player of the Week awards so far this year (Jan. 3 & Jan. 31).
- He has a MAAC-best 11 double-doubles.
- He ranks third on the team in scoring (9.4 PPG), while also leading the Bobcats in rebounding (10.1 RPG) and assists (3.9 APG).
- Per EvanMiya.com, Marfo is one of 40 players that currently leads his team in both rebounding (10.2 RPG) and passing (4.0 APG). Of those 40 players, Marfo has the highest combined total of rebounds + assists.
- Marfo played in 17 games last year for the Aggies, making eight total starts. He finished second on the team in field goal percentage (46.4%) and third in rebounding (3.7 RPG).
- He played in all 30 games for QU in 2019-20, earning All-MAAC Second Team status.
- The 6-foot-8 forward recorded 17 double-doubles during his junior season – the most of any MAAC player. He scored 10.2 points per game and shot 48.4% from the floor.
- Australia-native Jacob Rigoni returns for his fifth year at Quinnipiac in 2021-22.
- The All-MAAC Second Team selection led the Bobcats in scoring (11.8 PPG) and rebounding (6.3 RPG) last season.
- Last year, Rigoni surpassed 1,000 career points with the Bobcats and set a new program record for career 3-point field goals.
- He's up to 315 career triples. Only 19 active Division I players have 300+ triples.
- Rigoni is a career 39.2% shooter from 3-point range (315-803).
- The 6-foot-6 forward also currently owns Quinnipiac's program record from the free throw line, going 213-of-246 (86.6%) from the charity stripe.
- After starting the game on Sunday, Jan. 9 at Niagara, graduate forward Jacob Rigoni officially set a new Quinnipiac program record for total games played (128 GP). Rigoni is now up to 145 total games played.
- Rigoni broke the previous record of 127 games played set by James Johnson ('12).
- Redshirt junior Matt Balanc has enjoyed a breakout redshirt-junior season, averaging 14.6 points per game. Balanc ranks 6th in the MAAC in scoring.
- He has averaged 14.8 PPG and 5.5 RPG vs. MAAC opponents.
- Balanc has scored 10+ points in 21 of 28 games played, including a career-high 31 points in QU's MAAC victory at Manhattan (12/5).
- The QU guard threw down an emphatic slam vs. Maryland during the season opener in College Park, earning the #2 spot on SportsCenter Top 10. He then made a second appearance on SportsCenter on Jan. 28 for a reverse layup vs. Marist.
- Missouri-native Dezi Jones ranks second on the team in scoring (11.6 PPG) during his first year with the Bobcats. The sophomore point guard is also averaging 3.0 APG and 3.0 RPG.
- Jones flirted with a triple-double in the Bobcats' opening round MAAC Tournament win – posting 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
- He posted 12.0 PPG in MAAC play for the Bobcats during the regular season.
- Jones spent two full seasons at Moberly Area Community College before joining the Bobcats in 2021-22.
- He has scored 10+ points in 10 of QU's last 12 games. Jones is shooting 48.6% from the floor.
- The Bobcats had two MAAC All-Rookie selections last season – Luis Kortright and Tymu Chenery.
- Kortright averaged 10.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 2.7 APG during his first season at QU in 2020-21. He tallied double-digit point totals in five of the last seven games of the season.
- Chenery posted 9.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG, playing in all 22 games (18 starts) for the Bobcats.
- Three-year starter Tyrese Williams also returns to QU for his senior campaign.
- The native of Beacon, New York has played in 103 total games, making 90 starts for the Bobcats. He has 902 career points (8.8 PPG) during his career.
- The Bobcats are 17-4 over the last three seasons when Williams knocks down three or more 3-point field goals.
- Williams was a MAAC All-Rookie selection, in 2018-19 stuffing the stat sheet with 8.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 2.4 APG.
- R-Sophomore JJ Riggins scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Bobcats at Canisius on Jan. 11, going 6-of-8 from the floor in 19+ minutes.
- He's averaging 3.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG for QU off the bench.
- Riggins played in 17 games for QU in '20-21, scoring 52 total points (3.2 PPG)
- Brendan McGuire has stuffed the stat sheet with 5.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 2.9 APG.
- King played in four games for QU last season before missing the rest of the season with COVID
- He averaged 8.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG on 57.9% shooting. King posted 11 points, nine rebounds in Quinnipiac debut (11/25/20)
Dezi Jones: Bobcats Sign Guard Dezi Jones
- Native on Hannibal, Missouri most recently played for Moberly Area Community College in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
- Most recently, averaged 17.5 points, 4.7 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game in 22 contests as a sophomore at MACC in 2020-21 – shooting 41.5% from the field and 35.5% from three-point range.
- Former Hannibal High School star, leaving as the program's all-time leading scorer. As a senior at Hannibal, the guard helped lead his squad to a North Central Missouri Conference title. Scored 30.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game during that season (2018-19). Also set a Hannibal High School record for points in a single game (50) against Marshall on Feb. 9, 2019.
- Scored 2,153 career points for his career at Hannibal High School, and 721 points as a senior.
- Scored over 1,000 points during the 2020-21 season at Rocktop Academy in Prussia, Pennsylvania. Averaged 29.5 points and 6.0 assists per game.
- Recorded 20+ points in 15 separate games during '20-21, highlighted by a 50-point performance against #1 IMG Academy Postgrad (Florida).
- Prior to playing at Rocktop Academy as a postgrad, Blunt played at Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey (2019-20). Averaged over 20.0 points per game at Peddie School in 2019-20, dropping 47 points in a single game. Blunt scored over 1,500 points at Peddie.
- Manchester, Connecticut-native played his high school basketball at East Catholic. Named All-State in the in 2020-21 after averaging 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per contest.
- Helped lead East Catholic High School to a CCC Region C Regular-Season title as a senior in 2020-21, as the Eagles were also CCC Championship Tournament finalists.
- As a junior in 2019-20, posted 16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per contest as the Eagles went 23-1.
- The Connecticut-native came up the ranks playing AAU basketball for Connecticut Elite, while also playing this spring for House We Built and BABC.
- The Bobcats earned nine wins last season, including an 8-5 record at the People's United Center in Hamden.
- Under Dunleavy's guidance in 2020-21, Quinnipiac won four of its last seven regular season MAAC games.
- The Bobcats ranked No. 8 nationally in defensive field goal percentage last season, as opponents shot just 39.0% from the field against QU.
- Quinnipiac also grabbed 28.32 defensive rebounds per game in 2020-21, which ranked best in the MAAC and No. 17 nationally.
- The Bobcats ranked No. 8 nationally in defensive field goal percentage last season, allowing opponents to shoot just 39.0 percent from the floor.
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