Quinnipiac Travels to Monmouth for Wednesday Night Battle

Wednesday, December 17

West Long Branch, NJ

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Monmouth

Asim Jones vs. UMass Lowell (12/13/25 in Hamden, CT)

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Quinnipiac Travels to Monmouth for Wednesday Night Battle

12/16/2025 3:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Quinnipiac (8-3, 2-0 MAAC) at Monmouth (5-6, 0-0 CAA)
Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025 | 7:00 PM
OceanFirst Bank Center – West Long Branch, NJ
Quinnipiac Game Notes

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WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Quinnipiac men's basketball returns to the road on Wednesday, Dec. 17, as the Bobcats will take on CAA foe Monmouth at 7:00 PM from OceanFirst Bank Center.

The Bobcats enter play with four consecutive victories. Quinnipiac has won seven of its last eight contests.

LAST TIME OUT: QU OUTLASTS UMASS LOWELL IN HAMDEN (12/13)

QU won its fourth consecutive contest on Saturday afternoon, as the Bobcats outlasted UMass Lowell by the final score of 75-71 from M&T Bank Arena.
Amarri Monroe (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Grant Randall (10 points, 10 rebounds) both registered a double-double in the win.
Asim Jones set a new season-high mark with 20 points. He shot 6-of-9 from the field in the win.
The Bobcats outscored the River Hawks 43-33 during the second half of action. Quinnipiac shot 16-of-33 (48.5%) over the final 20 minutes of play.

BOBCATS COMPLETE 2-0 WEEKEND TO BEGIN MAAC PLAY

The Bobcats won both MAAC contests last week to begin conference action. Quinnipiac first toppled Iona on the road in New Rochelle (89-68) on Dec. 5, then the Bobcats earned another double-digit win at home over Rider (72-58) on Dec. 7.

IMPRESSIVE SHOWING AT THE LEGENDS CLASSIC

Quinnipiac is on the heels of a pair of impressive performances against power conference teams during November in the 2025 Legends Classic.

The Bobcats first earned a victory over ACC foe Pitt on Sunday, Nov. 23 at Petersen Events Center. Amarri Monroe registered 25 points, leading Quinnipiac past Pitt by the final score of 83-75. The victory is Quinnipiac's first-ever win over an ACC opponent. The Bobcats earn their first Power 5 win since Dec. 21, 2014, when Quinnipiac defeated Pac-12 foe Oregon State in Hamden. QU outscored Pitt 47-37 in the first half of action, then held on for a big road win. Amarri Monroe finished with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He registered 15 points during the second half of action. Grant Randall chipped in with 15 points and five rebounds. All 9 Bobcats that checked into the game got into the scoring column.
Quinnipiac then battled to the finish on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at Addition Financial Arena, falling by the final score of 102-91 against Big 12 foe UCF. The Bobcats led 52-47 at halftime after shooting 16-of-28 (57.1%) over the first 20 minutes. Quinnipiac raced out to an early lead after knocking down eight triples in the first half. Jaden Zimmerman led the way with 26 points overall for QU. He drew eight fouls during the contest and went 14-of-16 from the free throw line.

SCOUTING MONMOUTH

Monmouth is 5-6 so far this season. The Hawks dropped a road matchup at Fairfield, 73-65, their last time out on Dec. 14.
Junior Jason Rivera-Torres leads Monmouth in scoring (14.5 PPG) and rebounding (7.9 RPG) through 11 games.
Stefanos Spartalis (12.7 PPG) and Justin Ray (12.2 PPG) are also averaging double-digit point totals.
Head Coach King Rice has been on the Monmouth sideline for 14 seasons and leads the Hawks into his 15th in 2025-26. In February 2022, Rice became the winningest Division I Head Coach in Monmouth Basketball history. He has 220 victories to his credit, as well as a trio of MAAC Coach of the Year honors and three MAAC regular season titles.
Monmouth is averaging 5.2 blocks per game, a number that ranks 25^th nationally.
Quinnipiac is an even 23-23 against Monmouth since 2000. The Hawks have taken each of the last five meetings, though the two teams have not squared off since 2021-22 when Monmouth was still in the MAAC.

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST

Samson Reilly leads the entire nation in 3-point shooting percentage (57.4%). The redshirt first-year guard is 27-of-47 from distance so far this season for Quinnipiac.
First-year point guard Tai Turnage ranks second in the country in assist/turnover ratio (+5.17). Turnage has 31 assists off the bench for QU, and has only committed six turnovers during his first season with the Bobcats.
Amarri Monroe has registered 2.80 steals per game so far this season, a number that ranks No. 9 in the entire nation and leads all MAAC players.
QU also leads all MAAC teams in fastbreak points per game (14.82 PPG), a number that checks in at No. 72 nationally.
The Bobcats rank 35^th nationally in KenPom's Adjusted Tempo (AdjT), a metric showing how fast a team plays. Adjusted tempo is measured in possessions per 40 minutes / adjusted for opponents' pace.
The Bobcats lead the MAAC in blocks per game (5.0 BPG).

MONROE RETURNS TO HAMDEN

Reigning MAAC Player of the Year Amarri Monroe returns to Hamden for his senior season. He is the Preseason MAAC Player of the Year for the second season in a row, and was a unanimous selection for the Preseason All-MAAC First Team.
Monroe paced Quinnipiac during 2024-25, averaging 18.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game – all of which led the team.
The Newburgh, New York-native impressed in conference play, averaging a double-double (19.8 PPG & 10.5 RPG) over 19 MAAC contests.
He finished 2024-25 as the MAAC leader in rebounds per game (9.1), offensive rebounds per game (6.9), and double-doubles (14).
This year (2025-26), Monroe has averaged 15.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and 2.4 assists per contest so far.
Monroe is up to 172 career steals, climbing Quinnipiac's career leaderboard. He is chasing Kason Mims ('04, 189 steals) for the Bobcats' Division I career record. QU's all-time record belongs to Boyd Johnson ('91, 232 steals).

ZIMMERMAN ALSO BACK FOR THE BOBCATS

Fellow Preseason All-MAAC honoree Jaden Zimmerman returns to Quinnipiac for his sophomore season. The guard was chosen to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team.
Zimmerman posted 11.0 PPG & 2.1 RPG over 33 contests during his first season with the Bobcats, earning a spot on the 2024-25 MAAC All-Rookie Team.
He registered 20 different games with 10+ points in 2024-25.
In 2025-26, the sophomore guard leads QU in scoring with 17.0 points per game. He has 10+ points in all but one game this year.
Zimmerman was named MAAC Player of the Week on Dec. 8 after leading QU to a pair of wins to start league play. He posted identical 19-point / 6-rebound efforts on both Friday (win at Iona) and Sunday (win vs. Rider).

YEAR 2 for GRANT RANDALL

Grant Randall is also back for the Bobcats for his sophomore campaign.
Randall is averaging 9.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest so far during his sophomore campaign. He has two double-doubles already in 2025-26.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT FROM KEITH MCKNIGHT

Keith McKnight has burst on to the scene during his first collegiate season. He scored 19 points during his Bobcat debut at St. John's (11/3).
McKnight is averaging 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest thus far. He's shooting 55.0% from the floor.

EMERGENCE OF ASIM

Asim Jones is averaging 10.0 points and 4.3 assists per game during his first season with the Bobcats. He has 63 points over Quinnipiac's last four games (all wins).

PRESEASON MAAC FAVORITES

For the second straight season, Quinnipiac has been voted as the favorite in the MAAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bobcats earned 158 total points and eight first place votes in the poll.
This marks the second time in program history that the Bobcats have been selected as the preseason favorites, after also being picked first in the preseason poll last year.

BACK-TO-BACK MAAC REGULAR SEASON TITLES

The Bobcats are on the heels of a record-breaking two-year stretch, where Quinnipiac posted two consecutive 20-win seasons during Tom Pecora's first two years at the helm.
The Bobcats went 24-10 in 2023-24, then posted a 20-13 mark last season.
QU captured the league's regular season title during both seasons, posting a 15-5 MAAC record in both 2023-24 & 2024-25.
The Bobcats advanced to the semifinal round of the MAAC Tournament in both years.

THE 2025-26 BOBCATS

The Bobcats return eight players in total: Amarri Monroe, Grant Randall, Ronell Giles Jr., Samson Reilly, Spence Wewe, Braylan Ritvo, Jaden Zimmerman and Akintola Akinniyi.
Quinnipiac has seven total newcomers – a pair of transfers (Asim Jones & Nate Guerengomba), and five other true first-year players (Jayden Reid, Tai Turnage, Christopher Skenderi, Keith Mcknight & Sam Nosakhare.
The Bobcats have 10 players that are 6-foot-5 or taller.

HEAD COACH TOM PECORA

Tom Pecora will enter his third season as Head Coach at Quinnipiac University in 2025-26.
Pecora – a veteran with 17 years of experience as a head coach at the Division I level – has won back-to-back MAAC Coach of the Year awards after leading Quinnipiac to two consecutive regular season titles in 2023-24 and 2024-25. The Bobcats went 15-5 in league play during Pecora's first season at the helm in 2023-24, then followed up with another 15-5 MAAC record in 2024-25. Pecora has more wins (30) over his first two seasons than any men's basketball head coach in the history of the MAAC.
Pecora just completed his eighth season in total with the Bobcats (previously served as Associate HC from 2017-2023). He was announced as Quinnipiac's next Head Coach on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
He has guided his teams to 312-282 record as a collegiate Head Coach (stops at SUNY Farmingdale, Hofstra, Fordham, and Quinnipiac).
Pecora reached 300 total wins on Feb. 14, 2025 after helping lead the Bobcats to a win over Sacred Heart on ESPNU. Quinnipiac has won 130 total games during Pecora's time on staff (since 2017), tallying double-digit win totals in seven of eight seasons.
Prior to his time at Quinnipiac, Pecora served as the head coach at Hofstra for nine years (2001-2010) and at Fordham for five seasons (2010-15). He also served as the associate head coach under Jay Wright for seven seasons before taking the head job at Hofstra, the last two of which resulted in America East Conference titles and NCAA Tournament berths.
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. 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.
He has coached NBA players at his previous two stops as head coach – Speedy Claxton, Norman Richardson, and Charles Jenkins (at Hofstra), and Eric Paschall (at Fordham).

THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Quinnipiac's non-conference slate features a trip to St. John's – a consensus preseason Top 5 team – to open the season (Nov. 3), and two games over a three-day span at the end of November at Pitt (Nov. 23) and at Central Florida (Nov. 25).
The Bobcats have five home dates on the non-conference schedule in total.
Following the season-opening trip to Queens, Quinnipiac will return to Hamden for a pair of home contests against in-state foes Central Connecticut (Nov. 6) and Yale (Nov. 11).
The Bobcats will then head to Maine (Nov. 16) to square off with the Black Bears for the second consecutive season, followed by another home contest against City College of New York (Nov. 19).
Next up, QU heads on its road trip to ACC foe Pittsburgh (Nov. 23) and to Big 12 opponent Central Florida (Nov. 25). The Bobcats close out the month of November at home (Nov. 30) vs. Stonehill at M&T Bank Arena.
Quinnipiac's final home game of the non-conference schedule comes against UMass Lowell (Dec. 13).
The Bobcats then head to former MAAC foe Monmouth (Dec. 17) and to Hofstra (Dec. 21) to wrap up the non-MAAC slate.

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