Bobcats Close Out Non-Conference Schedule Sunday on Long Island

Sunday, December 21

Hempstead, NY

1:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Hofstra

Ronell Giles Jr vs. CCSU (2025 in Hamden, CT)

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Bobcats Close Out Non-Conference Schedule Sunday on Long Island

12/20/2025 3:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Quinnipiac & Hofstra Set for 1:00 PM Game Time from Hempstead, NY

By: QU Athletic Communications

Quinnipiac (9-3, 2-0 MAAC) at Hofstra (8-4, 0-0 CAA)
Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025 | 1 PM
Hempstead, NY | David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex
Quinnipiac Game Notes

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HEMPSTEAD, NY – Quinnipiac wraps up the non-conference schedule on Sunday afternoon, as the Bobcats travel down to Long Island to square off with Hofstra at 1:00 PM.

PECORA RETURNS TO HOFSTRA

Tom Pecora will enjoy a reunion with Hofstra for the second consecutive year on Sunday in Hempstead. The Bobcats' head coach served on the staff at Hofstra for 16 seasons from 1994-2010 (nine years as a head coach, seven as an assistant).
Quinnipiac defeated Hofstra in OT last year on Dec. 29 in Hamden to close out the non-conference schedule. Amarri Monroe led QU with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Quinnipiac outrebounded the Pride 51-29, including an impressive 23-3 advantage on the offensive glass.
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. The Pride averaged 19 wins a season (246-161) during Pecora's total tenure on staff.
Hofstra was the winningest program in the Metropolitan New York area during Pecora's time in Hempstead. 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).
Pecora recruited current Hofstra Head Coach Speedy Claxton. During his playing career, Claxton helped lead Hofstra to the NCAA Tournament in 1999-2000. Claxton now enters year five at the helm of the Hofstra men's basketball program after a strong first four seasons leading the Pride. Hofstra won 15 games in 2024-25, including marquee wins over Seton Hall and Massachusetts.

SCOUTING HOFSTRA

Hofstra is 8-4 so far in 2025-26. The Pride have won three straight games entering Sunday's contest.
Last time out, Hofstra downed Syracuse on the road on Dec. 13 (79-69).
Hofstra has blocked 6.7 shots per game, a number that ranks No. 5 in the entire country.
Junior guard Cruz Davis has led the way for Hofstra with 20.8 points and 5.3 assists per game.
Freshman Preston Edmead has chipped in with 13.6 points and 4.9 helpers per contest.

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST

Samson Reilly leads the entire nation in 3-point shooting percentage (58.0%). The redshirt first-year guard is 29-of-50 from long distance so far this season for Quinnipiac.
Tai Turnage ranks sixth in the country in assist/turnover ratio (+4.71).
Amarri Monroe has registered 2.64 steals per game so far this season, a number that ranks No. 12 in the entire nation.
The Bobcats lead the MAAC in blocks per game (5.1 BPG).
QU also leads all MAAC teams in fastbreak points per game (14.92).

LAST TIME OUT: BOBCATS DOWN MONMOUTH ON ROAD (12/17)

Quinnipiac earned its fifth consecutive victory on Wednesday night at OceanFirst Bank Center, as the Bobcats defeated Monmouth 85-75.
5 different Bobcats scored in double figures to help lead the way in the wire-to-wire win. Quinnipiac's largest lead was 26 points.
Grant Randall registered 17 points and 11 rebounds, good for his third double-double of the year.
Amarri Monroe recorded 16 points, Asim Jones tallied 15 points, and both Nate Guerengomba and Keith McKnight put up 13.

QU GOES 2-0 IN FIRST MAAC WEEKEND

The Bobcats won both MAAC contests in early December to begin league 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 finished off an impressive road trip against a pair of power conference opponents in late November during 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 as part of the Skyscanner Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper. 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. The Bobcat shot 28-of-49 in total (57.1%), and 11-of-17 from 3-point range (64.7%). 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 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 for QU. He drew eight fouls during the contest and went 14-of-16 from the free throw line. Samson Reilly continued his hot shooting stretch, registering 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. He made three triples in the first half, then buried two more in the second half.

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.

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).
Monroe recorded 20+ points in 17 different games last year. He also grabbed 10+ rebounds in eight consecutive contests to wrap up the regular season.
Monroe is up to 173 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).
The reigning MAAC Player of the Year has 22 career double-doubles, which ranks 13^th among active career leaders at the Division I level.

SOPHOMORE BREAKOUT FOR JADEN ZIMMERMAN

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 as a first-year guard.
Zimmerman has led the scoring charge thus far this year, pouring in 17.0 points per game. He was named MAAC Player of the Week on Dec. 8 after leading the Bobcats to a pair of wins to begin conference play. He posted identical 19-point / 6-rebound efforts on both Friday and Sunday.

YEAR 2 for GRANT RANDALL

Grant Randall is also back for the Bobcats for his sophomore campaign. He scored 62 points and grabbed 62 rebounds during his first season at QU.
Randall is averaging 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game so far during his sophomore year. He has three double-doubles over the last four games.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT FROM KEITH MCKNIGHT

Keith McKnight paced the Bobcats during his collegiate debut on Nov. 3 at St. John's, pouring in 19 points via 7-of-11 shooting.
He has burst onto the scene for Quinnipiac during his first season in Hamden, averaging 10.8 points and 4.9 rebounds on 55.6% shooting.

EMERGENCE OF ASIM

Asim Jones is averaging 10.4 points and 4.2 assists per game during his first season with the Bobcats. He has 78 points over Quinnipiac's last five games (all wins).

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 309-282 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.