QU Ready for Sunday Contest at Merrimack

Quinnipiac (18-10, 14-3 MAAC) at Merrimack (15-14, 12-6 MAAC)
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 | 7:01 PM
Lawler Arena | North Andover, Mass.
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | Merrimack

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Quinnipiac heads to Merrimack on Sunday, March 2, as the Bobcats are set for a 2:00 PM contest to continue the MAAC slate.
The Bobcats (14-3 MAAC) own sole possession of first place in the league standings with three regular season contests left.

LAST TIME OUT: BOBCATS DOWN SAINT PETER'S ON ESPNU (2/28)

Quinnipiac earned yet another comeback victory on Friday night in Hamden, as the Bobcats used a second-half run to outlast Saint Peter's by the final score of 69-64 on ESPNU.
Amarri Monroe and Paul Otieno both recorded double-doubles again to lead the way in front of 2,802 fans at M&T Bank Arena. Monroe scored 19 points (16 in the second half) to go along with 11 rebounds, while Otieno added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Savion Lewis scored a season-high 15 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor.
The Bobcats went on a 12-0 run from 6:16 – 2:27 in the second half. QU trailed 53-49 before the run, then led 61-53 after the quick spurt.

SCOUTING MERRIMACK

Merrimack is 12-6 in league play. The Warriors dropped their most recent contest vs. Rider, 83-78, on Friday night.
QU took the previous meeting earlier this season, 81-76, on Jan. 16 in Hamden. Otieno led the Bobcats with 22 points and 13 rebounds (9-11 FG), and Monroe posted 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead QU to its sixth league victory of the season. Alexis Reyes also stuffed the stat sheet with 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Joe Gallo '04 begins his ninth season on the Warriors sidelines in 2024-25, directing the program into its new era as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

The eighth head coach in school history, Gallo completed a run of three NCAA Tournament appearances in three years in 2018-19 to put a bow on the program's Division II history. He also snapped a 19-year conference championship drought when he guided the program to the 2018-19 Northeast-10 Conference Championship.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

QU forwards Amarri Monroe and Paul Otieno rank first and second in the MAAC, respectively, in double-doubles.
Monroe has 13 double-doubles so far this year (11 in 17 MAAC games), and Otieno has posted 12 double-doubles.

LEADING THE PACK

The Bobcats currently lead the MAAC in rebounds per game (38.82 RPG), and in blocks per game (4.9 BPG).
Amarri Monroe (8.9 RPG) and Paul Otieno (8.6) rank first and second in the league in rebounding, respectively.
Amarri Monroe also leads the league in defensive rebounds per game (6.82).
Paul Otieno leads the MAAC in field goal percentage (59.1%), and in offensive rebounds per contest (4.07 ORPG).

14-3 in MAAC

The Bobcats are 14-3 in league play so far – 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 20.5 points and 10.2 rebounds in league action. He's got a double-double in six consecutive league matchups, and in 11 total league contests.
Big man Paul Otieno is averaging 13.2 PPG & 8.7 RPG in MAAC action, shooting 60.0% from the floor. Otieno has seven double-doubles during conference play.
First-year guard Jaden Zimmerman has chipped in with 11.5 PPG in league action, while sophomore Khaden Bennett has posted 11.2 PPG in MAAC games.

CONFERENCE SUCCESS UNDER PECORA

The Bobcats are 29-8 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 (17.9 PPG).
He's also grabbed 8.9 rebounds per game – which leads the league.
Monroe leads the MAAC in double-doubles (13).
The Newburgh, New York-native ranks 15^th nationally in steals per game (2.4 SPG).
Monroe has 66 steals this season (new QU Division I record). He trails Boyd Johnson (1988-89, 73 steals) for Quinnipiac's all-time single-season mark.
He has 3+ steals in 13 separate games, including a career-high eight steals against Sacred Heart on 12/8.
He's has tallied double-digit scoring totals in 25 of 28 contests (20 straight).

PAUL OTIENO

Paul Otieno ranks second in the MAAC in double-doubles (12), trailing only teammate Amarri Monroe.
Otieno has posted 13.1 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 2024-25, shooting 59.1% from the field.
The QU big man leads the league in field goal percentage (59.1%) and offensive rebounds per game (4.1). He ranks 4^th nationally in offensive rebounds.
Otieno has 57 blocks (second in MAAC).

SAVION LEWIS

Savion Lewis has dished out 564 career assists – 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.
He's averaging 6.2 APG (14^th nationally) this year.
Lewis has 385 assists over the last two seasons alone.
The graduate point guard also has 761 points and 364 rebounds during his time in Hamden.
Lewis is averaging 5.5 PPG and 3.5 RPG this year.

JADEN ZIMMERMAN

The first-year guard scored a career-high 24 points in Quinnipiac's win over Sacred Heart during the Bobcats' first ESPNU appearance of the season (2/14).
Zimmerman has posted 10.6 points per game, and has 17 games of 10+ points during his first year with the Bobcats.

KHADEN BENNETT

Khaden Bennett has impressed during his breakout 2024-25 season, averaging 10.5 PPG & 4.4 RPG this year.
The sophomore has 18 games with 10+ points.

OTHER NOTES

Doug Young (5.8 PPG), Alexis Reyes (5.4 PPG / 4.6 RPG), and Ryan Mabrey (4.4 PPG) have all scored 100+ points this year, as well.

SCOUTING MERRIMACK

Merrimack is 12-6 in league play. The Warriors dropped their most recent contest vs. Rider, 83-78, on Friday night.
QU took the previous meeting earlier this season, 81-76, on Jan. 16 in Hamden. Otieno led the Bobcats with 22 points and 13 rebounds (9-11 FG), and Monroe posted 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead QU to its sixth league victory of the season. Alexis Reyes also stuffed the stat sheet with 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Joe Gallo '04 begins his ninth season on the Warriors sidelines in 2024-25, directing the program into its new era as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The eighth head coach in school history, Gallo completed a run of three NCAA Tournament appearances in three years in 2018-19 to put a bow on the program's Division II history. He also snapped a 19-year conference championship drought when he guided the program to the '18-19 Northeast-10 Conference Championship.

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.

BOBCATS RETURN 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 '23-24 campaign with 24 total victories (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.

Schedule

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Players Mentioned

Khaden Bennett

Savion Lewis

Ryan Mabrey

Amarri Monroe

Paul Otieno

Grant Randall

Samson Reilly

Alexis Reyes

Braylan Ritvo

Richie Springs

Spence Wewe

Doug Young

Jaden Zimmerman

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