Quinnipiac Set to Host Iona Sunday at M&T Bank Arena

Sunday, February 16

Hamden, CT

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Iona

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Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Quinnipiac Set to Host Iona Sunday at M&T Bank Arena

2/15/2025 8:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Quinnipiac (15-10, 11-3 MAAC) vs. Iona (11-14, 8-6 MAAC)
Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Hamden, Conn. | M&T Bank Arena
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | Iona

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HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac Men's Basketball hits the floor again on Sunday afternoon, as the Bobcats will play host to Iona at M&T Bank Arena at 2:00 PM.
Quinnipiac (11-3 MAAC) is currently tied for first place in the league standings following a win at Sacred Heart Friday night on ESPNU.

LAST TIME OUT: WIN ON NATIONAL TV (2/14)

Quinnipiac erased a double-digit deficit on Friday night at the William H Pitt Center, earning a 99-90 win over Sacred Heart in MAAC play on national television (ESPNU).
Amarri Monroe (24 points, 19 rebounds) and Paul Otieno (20 points, 16 rebounds) both recorded a double-double in the win for the Bobcats, while Jaden Zimmerman (24 points) and Doug Young (18 points) each set a season-high mark in scoring.
The Bobcats trailed by as many as 14 points during the first half, then Quinnipiac outscored SHU 54-39 during the second half of play.
Monroe scored 15 points during the final 20 minutes, Young added 14 points in the second half, and Zimmerman tallied 11 points in the final stanza of action.
Monroe and Otieno combined for 35 rebounds, while Sacred Heart grabbed 29 as a team.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

QU forwards Paul Otieno (11) and Amarri Monroe (10) rank first and second in the MAAC in double-doubles.

LEADING THE PACK

The Bobcats currently lead the MAAC in rebounds per game (39.00 RPG), and in defensive rebounds per contest (26.84 DRPG).
Paul Otieno also leads all MAAC players in rebounds per game (8.8).
Amarri Monroe leads MAAC players in steals per game (2.6 SPG), and in defensive rebounds per game (6.6 DRPG).

11-3 in MAAC PLAY

The Bobcats are 11-3 over their first 14 MAAC games – a year after going 15-5 in regular season MAAC play during 2023-24.
Preseason Player of the Year Amarri Monroe has paced Quinnipiac in MAAC play, averaging 20.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, & 2.7 steals per game over 14 contests. He's got eight double-doubles in league action – and five over his last six times out.
Big man Paul Otieno is averaging 13.4 PPG & 8.8 RPG in MAAC action, shooting 63.3% from the floor. Otieno has 11 double-doubles (leads MAAC), including six during conference play.
First-year guard Jaden Zimmerman has chipped in with 11.8 PPG in league action, while sophomore Khaden Bennett has posted 11.0 PPG in MAAC games.

CONFERENCE SUCCESS UNDER PECORA

The Bobcats are 26-8 in regular season MAAC games over the last two seasons under Head Coach Tom Pecora.

AMARRI MONROE

Preseason MAAC Player of the Year Amarri Monroe leads QU in overall scoring/ranks third in the MAAC (17.7 PPG).
He's also grabbed 8.5 rebounds per game (second in league behind only Paul Otieno), and leads the league in defensive boards per contest (6.6 DRPG).
Monroe leads all MAAC players steals (65) and ranks sixth nationally.
He's has tallied double-digit scoring totals in 22 of 25 contests (17 straight).
The Newburgh, NY-native has 3+ steals in 13 separate games, including a career-high eight steals against Sacred Heart on 12/8.
Monroe has 65 steals this season (new QU Division I record). He trails Boyd Johnson (1988-89, 73 steals) for Quinnipiac's all-time single-season mark.

PAUL OTIENO

Paul Otieno leads the MAAC with 11 double-doubles.
The QU big man has posted 13.4 PPG and 8.8 RPG in 2024-25, shooting 60.3% from the field.
Otieno leads the league in rebounds per game (8.8), field goal percentage (60.3%), and offensive rebounds per game (4.1). He also ranks second in total blocked shots (48).

SAVION LEWIS

Savion Lewis dished out 12 assists on Friday night vs. Sacred Heart, giving him 543 helpers for his career – a new Quinnipiac Division I program record. Lewis takes over the top spot from Rob Monroe (2001-05), who recorded 541 assists during his time with the Bobcats.
The All-MAAC Second Team selection a season ago has dished out 23 helpers over the last two games.
He's averaging 6.1 APG (17^th nationally) this year.
Lewis has 364 assists over the last two seasons alone.

JADEN ZIMMERMAN

The first-year guard scored a career-high 24 points in Quinnipiac's win over Sacred Heart on Friday night.
Zimmerman has posted 10.7 points per game, and has 15 games of 10+ points.

KHADEN BENNETT

The sophomore has posted 10.3 PPG & 4.4 RPG to date, including a season-best 23 points vs. Sacred Heart in December.
Bennett has 16 games with 10+ points.

OTHER NOTES

Doug Young (5.8 PPG), Alexis Reyes (5.6 PPG / 4.6 RPG), and Ryan Mabrey (4.8 PPG) have all scored 100+ points this year, as well.

SCOUTING IONA

Iona is 8-6 in MAAC play, winning six of their last eight league games to climb to fourth place in the standings.
The Gaels lead the MAAC/rank 4^th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (14.72), and also lead the MAAC/rank 4^th nationally steals per game (10.2).
The Bobcats defeated Iona, 63-62, on Jan. 12 in New Rochelle. QU completed a comeback victory on the road at Hynes Athletics Center, as the Bobcats erased a 14-point first-half deficit to earn a gritty 63-62 win. The Bobcats went on a 14-5 run over the final 4:08 of the first half, then QU outscored the Gaels 30-25 in the second half.
Paul Otieno registered another double-double in that win, posting 12 points and 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes on the floor.

QU SELECTED AS PRESEASON LEAGUE FAVORITE

Quinnipiac Men's Basketball has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2024-25 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, as revealed by the league office on Oct. 8, 2024.
Quinnipiac earned 166 points in total in the preseason coaches' poll (11 first-place votes). It marks the first time that QU has ever been selected as the preseason MAAC favorite. The defending MAAC regular season champs went 15-5 in league play (24-10 overall) last season under Head Coach Tom Pecora. The Bobcats earned a berth to the 2024 Ro College Basketball Invitational (CBI) after setting a program record for total wins.

QU RETURNS PRESEASON ALL-MAAC TRIO

Three Bobcats in total (Amarri Monroe, Savion Lewis, Paul Otieno) received preseason recognition. Monroe and Lewis are Preseason All-MAAC First Team selections, while big man Paul Otieno earned a spot on the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team.
Preseason MAAC Player of the Year Amarri Monroe (formerly Amarri Tice) played in all 34 games for Quinnipiac a season ago, stuffing the stat sheet with 12.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG. He posted 14.4 PPG & 7.2 RPG in MAAC play. Monroe was the only player that finished inside the league's Top 5 in rebounds, blocks, and steals. He scored 10+ points 25 different times, and registered five separate double-doubles.
Savion Lewis wrapped up the 2023-24 campaign averaging 8.1 PPG, 7.3 APG & 3.2 RPG for the Bobcats. He finished second nationally in total assists (248). Lewis recorded 5+ helpers in 28 of Quinnipiac's 34 contests, including an impressive 17-assist night against Rider in Hamden (1/5/23).
Graduate forward Paul Otieno returns for another year after leading the MAAC in field goal percentage (63.8%) in 2023-24. He averaged 11.0 PPG & 6.9 RPG, starting in all 34 contests for the Bobcats. He registered four double-doubles a season ago.

VETERAN GROUP

The Bobcats return six of nine players that logged 200+ minutes last season.
Amarri Monroe (12.9 PPG), Paul Otieno (11.0 PPG), Savion Lewis (8.1 PPG), Alexis Reyes (7.8 PPG), Doug Young (6.3 PPG), Richie Springs (3.8 PPG) are all back for Quinnipiac ahead of the new season.

6 NEWCOMERS

The Bobcats added six newcomers in total.
Ryan Mabrey transferred in from Miami University, where the former All-MAC Freshman Team selection played in 58 games with the RedHawks over the last two seasons.
Quinnipiac also brought in five true first-year athletes: Grant Randall (Queens, NY), Samson Reilly (Manchester, CT), Spence Wewe (Bristol, England), Braylan Ritvo (Harlem, NY), Jaden Zimmerman (Bronx, NY).

BENCHMARK 2023-24 SEASON

The Bobcats finished off the benchmark campaign with 24 total wins (new program record).
Quinnipiac won its first-ever MAAC regular season title under first-year Head Coach Tom Pecora.
QU also set a new program mark for total points in a single season (2,630).
The Bobcats' 19-4 start over their first 23 games marked the program's best start to a year since the 1965-66 campaign.
Quinnipiac won 10 consecutive games from Jan. 5 – Feb. 8.
The Bobcats finished the month of January with a 7-0 record, marking the first perfect month in the university's Division I history.

HEAD COACH TOM PECORA

Tom Pecora – a veteran with 15 years of experience as a head coach at the Division I level – just wrapped up his first season as Head Coach at Quinnipiac University in 2023-24. Pecora just completed his seventh 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.
Pecora led the Bobcats to a record-breaking 2023-24 campaign during his first year at the helm, eventually earning MAAC Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Bobcats to the top seed in the conference. Quinnipiac set a new program record for wins (24) during the benchmark season, as the Bobcats went 15-5 in league play to capture the program's first-ever MAAC Regular Season Championship. The Bobcats set a new program record for total points (2,630) under Pecora. Quinnipiac defeated each MAAC opponent at least once.
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.
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, 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.

FUTURE BOBCATS

Quinnipiac Men's Basketball has announced the addition of three players during the early signing period, as revealed by Head Coach Tom Pecora and the Bobcats on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. Keith Mcknight (Teaneck, N.J.), Jayden Reid (Cheshire, Conn.), and Lateef Patrick (Milton, Mass.) will are all set to join the reigning MAAC regular season champions ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Full Press Release: CLICK HERE

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.