QU Set for Sunday Contest at Rider

Sunday, February 25

Lawrenceville, NJ / Alumni Gym

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Rider

2/24/2024 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Quinnipiac (19-7, 11-4 MAAC) at Rider (11-16, 8-8 MAAC)
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 | 2:00 PM
Alumni Gym | Lawrenceville, NJ
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | Rider

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HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac Men's Basketball preps for another road trip on Sunday, Feb. 25, traveling down to New Jersey to square off with Rider at 2:00 PM from Alumni Gym.

HISTORIC START

The Bobcats' 19-4 start over their first 23 games marks the program's best start to a year since the 1965-66 campaign.
The first-place Bobcats won 10 consecutive games from Jan. 5 – Feb. 8, the third-longest active streak in all of Division I basketball.
The Bobcats finished the month of January with a 7-0 record, the first perfect month in the university's Division I history.
QU has already defeated each MAAC opponent this year. The last time the Bobcats downed every MAAC team in a season was in 2013-14, Quinnipiac's first season in the league. The 2013-14 Bobcats went 20-12 overall (14-6 in MAAC).

PECORA RECEIVES CONTRACT EXTENSION

Quinnipiac Director of Athletics Greg Amodio has announced a contract extension for Men's Basketball Head Coach Tom Pecora through the end of the 2027-28 season (announced on Monday, Feb. 19).
Quinnipiac (11-4 MAAC record) currently sits atop the league standings with just under a month left in regular season play.
Pecora, a veteran with 14+ years of experience as a head coach at the Division I level, is currently in his seventh full season at Quinnipiac University. He assumed the role of Quinnipiac Men's Basketball Head Coach on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Prior to his time at QU, Pecora served as a Division I head coach at Hofstra for nine years (2001-2010) and at Fordham for five seasons (2010-15).

PECORA'S FIRST SEASON AT THE HELM

Tom Pecora, a veteran with 14+ years of experience as a head coach at the Division I level, is in his first season at the helm of the Quinnipiac program in 2023-24. He assumed the role of Quinnipiac Men's Basketball Head Coach on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Pecora is entering his seventh season with the Bobcats in total.
Pecora served as the head coach at Hofstra for nine years (2001-2010) and at Fordham for five seasons (2010-15). Prior to taking over the head coaching position at Hofstra, Pecora served as the associate head coach under Jay Wright for seven seasons, the last two of which resulted in America East Conference titles and NCAA Tournament berths.
As a head coach at Hofstra, he compiled a 155–126 mark in nine seasons, leading the Pride to four postseason appearances (three NIT and one CBI), more than any team in New York City over that nine-year span. In 16 years at Hofstra with Pecora on the staff (nine years as a head coach, seven as an assistant), the Pride averaged 19 wins a season (246-161).
During his time in Hempstead, Hofstra was the winningest program in the Metropolitan New York area. Over his last six years, Hofstra won 121 games, including four 20-win seasons. In 2006 and 2009, he was named Coach of the Year by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) and he also received regional Coach of the Year honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY).
Prior to joining the staff at Hofstra, Pecora also had previous experience in running a program, serving as head basketball coach at the State University of New York at Farmingdale from 1989-92. In three seasons at Farmingdale, the Rams posted a 62-24 record, captured the Region 15 championship in 1992 (when they finished 20-9), advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament and were ranked as one of the nation's top 20 junior college programs.
Pecora reached the 200-win mark as a Division I head coach after the Bobcats defeated Coast Guard in the season opener on Nov. 6, 2023. He won 155 games at Hofstra over 9 seasons, then tallied 44 victories at Fordham over five years.

GRAD GUARDS LEAD THE WAY

Graduate guards Matt Balanc and Savion Lewis lead the way for the Bobcats. Balanc leads the MAAC in scoring (18.7 PPG) and Lewis ranks fifth nationally in assists (7.3 APG).
Preseason All-MAAC First Team selection Matt Balanc leads the Bobcats with 18.7 PPG and 4.8 RPG on 43.3% shooting. He's tallied double-digit scoring totals in all but one game this year. He has 11 separate 20+ point efforts in '23-24.
Point guard Savion Lewis ranks fifth in the entire country in assists per game (7.3 APG). The graduate guard is averaging 8.3 PPG, 7.3 APG and 2.9 RPG in 2023-24. Lewis was named MAAC Player of the Week on Nov. 20 following a strong week vs. UMass, Army and UAlbany.

OTIENO BACK FOR THE BOBCATS

Paul Otieno has chipped in with 10.8 PPG & 6.9 RPG, shooting 62.4% from the floor. The senior big man is averaging 12.1 PPG & 7.8 RPG in MAAC play. Otieno scored a season-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting vs. Rider in Hamden (12/5), then followed up that effort with a 23-point night on 10-of-13 shooting vs. Manhattan (12/7).

TICE'S IMMEDIATE IMPACT

Transfer Amarri Tice has added 12.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.9 SPG and 1.0 BPG during his first season at QU. Tice has five double-doubles this year. He won the MAAC Player of the Week award on 1/15 after a 20-point, 15-rebound performance at Marist.

LEWIS SETS NEW D1 ASSISTS MARK

Savion Lewis has 189 assists already this season, which sets a new Quinnipiac Division I record. The previous record was 170 set by Rob Monroe ('05).
Lewis is closing in on the program's all-time single-season mark of 211 assists set by Mike Buscetto ('93).

BALANC SURPASSES 1,500 POINTS

Matt Balanc is up over 1,500 career points. His current mark of 1,597 points with the Bobcats ranks 15^th in the program's history, and 5^th in QU's Division I time.
Balanc has also played in 136 career games (second all-time at QU). He trails only Jacob Rigoni (147 GP).

OFFENSIVE SUCCESS

Quinnipiac currently has the top scoring offense in the MAAC (78.4 PPG). The Bobcats also lead the MAAC in scoring margin (+5.4).

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Quinnipiac is 11-3 at home this year. The Bobcats have shot 47.2% from the floor at M&T Bank Arena.

ELITE FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE

The Bobcats enter the matchup ranking 14^th in all of Division I basketball in free throw percentage (77.9%).

LAST TIME OUT: QU FALLS vs. FAIRFIELD on ESPNU (2/23)

Quinnipiac dropped a MAAC contest vs. Fairfield, 85-81, in front of a sold-out crowd at M&T Bank Arena (3,570) on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024.
Matt Balanc led the way for QU with 23 points and nine rebounds. Doug Young chipped in with 17 points off the bench on 7-of-11 shooting.

BLOCK PARTY

The Bobcats blocked 10 shots in the season opener vs. Coast Guard, the most blocks of any team in the country on opening night.
The last time Quinnipiac blocked 10 shots in a game was vs. New Hampshire on Dec. 6, 2020.

MEET THE BOBCATS

Preseason All-MAAC Selection Matt Balanc returns for his graduate season to help lead the way for the Bobcats. The Maryland-native has recorded 1,112 career points over four seasons so far (10.1 PPG). Balanc averaged 12.0 PPG & 4.6 RPG in 2022-23.
Point guard Savion Lewis will also return for his graduate season at QU. Lewis has played in 58 collegiate games over his career, averaging 6.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG & 3.1 APG to stuff the stat sheet.
Big man Paula Otieno is back for the Bobcats after posting 7.2 PPG & 6.8 RPG during his first season in Hamden. Otieno started in all 32 QU games, and registered four double-doubles last year.
QU also returns Alexis Reyes, JJ Riggins, Nicholas Margetson and Quinn Guth to this year's squad.
The Bobcats have seven newcomers in 2023-24. Transfer additions include Richie Springs (previously at UConn), Doug Young (previously at Midland College), Arion Lewis (previously at Delaware State) and Amarri Tice (previously at Wofford State).
Khaden Bennett, Rihards Vavers and Daemar Kelly are QU's three first-year student-athletes.

QU NAMES THREE CAPTAINS

Matt Balanc, Savion Lewis, and Paul Otieno will serve as QU's three captains for the 2023-24 season, as announced by Head Coach Tom Pecora during the preseason.

AARON ROBINSON RETURNS TO QU

Quinnipiac men's basketball has added Aaron Robinson to its coaching staff as Director of Player Development, as revealed by Head Coach Tom Pecora on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023.
Robinson – who played at Quinnipiac for four seasons from 2015-2019 – will assume his role immediately as the Bobcats prepare for the 2023-24 campaign. He has recently been working on the Basketball Operations staff for the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA.
The Maryland-native enjoyed five seasons at the Division I level during his collegiate basketball career, including four full years as a Bobcat. Robinson played in 81 games at QU over four seasons, then took a graduate year at Coppin State. He scored 192 points to go along with 132 rebounds while at QU, knocking down 53 career triples.
Robinson graduated with a degree in journalism from Quinnipiac. He was a member of Q30 Sports, an independent student media organization on campus, during his time in Hamden. Robinson also interned at NBC Sports (2021-22), and is the cofounder of AllFacts Media with his brother Andrew – who also played basketball at Quinnipiac.
Most recently, Robinson has been serving as an intern in the Basketball Operations Department for the LA Clippers since September of 2022.

SHAUN MORRIS PROMOTED TO ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH

Quinnipiac Men's Basketball has announced the promotion of Shaun Morris to Associate Head Coach, as revealed by Head Coach Tom Pecora and the Bobcats on Monday, July 10, 2023. Morris will enter his seventh season with the Bobcats in 2023-24.
QU is coming off a 20-win season in 2022-23, marking the fourth time in the school's Division I history that it reached 20 total victories. QU won a pair of games against NCAA Tournament teams, went 9-4 in Hamden, and earned the No. 3 seed in the postseason league tournament.
Morris was recently recognized by Silver Wave Media, earning a spot as one of the Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches.
Under the help of his guidance, Morris and the Bobcats have advanced to a pair of MAAC Semifinals over the last six years. QU won a pair of postseason games to reach the semifinal round in 2017-18, then the 2021-22 Bobcats became the first-ever No. 11 seed in MAAC Tournament history to advance to the semifinal round. Quinnipiac has won 86 total games during that span, tallying double-digit win totals in five of six seasons. The Bobcats have posted a 47-34 record in games played at M&T Bank Arena in Hamden during that time frame.

BOBCATS REVEAL NON-LEAGUE SLATE

6 home dates at M&T Bank Arena in Hamden highlight the Quinnipiac men's basketball non-conference schedule.
Quinnipiac has 11 non-conference matchups in total. The Bobcats' six home games are the most non-league dates in Hamden for the men's basketball program since 2014-15.
QU's non-conference slate also features matchups against National Invitation Tournament opponents Yale (Dec. 11 in Hamden) and Florida (Dec. 30 in Gainesville).
The Bobcats will begin the season in front of their home fans on Monday, Nov. 6 against Coast Guard.
QU's six home dates in the non-league slate are: vs. Coast Guard (Nov. 6), vs. CCSU (Nov. 10), vs. Albany (Nov. 19), vs. Stonehill (Nov. 26), vs. Navy (Dec. 8) and vs. Yale (Dec. 11).
The Bobcats will also be tested on the road during non-conference action, making trips to UMass (Nov. 13), Army (Nov. 17), Holy Cross (Dec. 18), Lafayette (Dec. 21) and Florida (Dec. 30).

PRESEASON ALL-MAAC HONORS

Quinnipiac has been tabbed No. 5 in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office as part of the inaugural MAAC Basketball Tipoff held at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
Matt Balanc has been selected to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team, while Paul Otieno earns Second Team honors.
The Bobcats were tabbed No. 5 in the preseason poll. Rider has been selected as the preseason league favorite.

BOBCATS REACH 20 WINS in 2022-23

The Bobcats are coming off a 20-win season in 2022-23, marking the fourth time in the school's Division I history that it reached 20 total victories. It marks the 10^th time in program history that QU has reached the 20-win mark.
QU won a pair of games against NCAA Tournament teams, went 9-4 in Hamden, and earned the No. 3 seed in the MAAC Tournament a year ago.
The Bobcats won each of their first seven games of the 2022-23 campaign – marking the best start to a new year for the program since 1969-70.
QU began the season with a road win at A10-foe Rhode Island.
The Bobcats wrapped up a 2-1 trip to Canada for The Northern Classic (Nov. 25-27, 2022). Quinnipiac downed both Stephen F. Austin and Montana State for impressive wins at Place Bell Arena in Quebec, before falling 72-70 vs. Hofstra on the final day of the tournament.
Quinnipiac began the month of January with six straight wins, downing Manhattan (1/1), Rider (1/6), Iona (1/8), Saint Peter's (1/13), Mount St. Mary's (1/15) and Canisius (1/22) during that span.

To stay up to date with all Quinnipiac men's basketball news, follow the program on Twitter/Instagram @QU_MBB or visit www.gobobcats.com/mbb.

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