Quinnipiac Ready for Home Opener vs. Bryant - Quinnipiac University Athletics

Thursday, November 5

Hamden, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Bryant

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Lucas Sekasi at Michigan State (11/2/26 in East Lansing, MI)

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

11/4/2026 7:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Bobcats, Bulldogs Face Off in America East - Metro Challenge

By: QU Athletic Communications

Bryant (1-0, 0-0 America East) at Quinnipiac (0-1,0-0 Metro Conference)
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026 | 7:00 PM
M&T Bank Arena | Hamden, CT
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Quinnipiac Game Notes

HAMDEN, CT – Quinnipiac men's basketball returns to Hamden to host Bryant in its 2026–27 home opener on Thursday night at 7:00 PM from M&T Bank Arena. The contest marks the first of two games for Quinnipiac in the America East – Metro Challenge.

LAST TIME OUT: at #6 MICHIGAN STATE (11/2/26)

Quinnipiac opened the 2026–27 campaign on the road against No. 6 Michigan State, falling 96-59 at the Breslin Center.
Senior guard Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton led the Bobcats with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting while adding two steals in 22 minutes.
Nate Guerengomba joined him in double figures with 10 points and two 3-pointers.
Graduate guard Lucas Sekasi scored 9 points and went 5-of-7 from the free-throw line while also dishing out five assists.
Preseason All-Metro First Team selection Keith McKnight posted 8 points and pulled down a team-leading 6 rebounds.
Holden Pierre-Louis added 4 points and 3 rebounds.
Nedas Cholevinskas (6 points, two 3-pointers) and Nas Hart (4 points, 3 rebounds) both logged solid minutes off the bench.

SCOUTING BRYANT

The Bulldogs defeated Siena, 80-75, on Monday night in the season opener behind a Keegan Harvey double-double (20 points, 12 rebounds). Harvey scored 15 of his game-high 20 points over the final 11 minutes to lift Bryant past the Saints.
Bryant trailed by as many as 11 late in the first half and by five with under 14 minutes remaining when Duane Thompson and Roi Behar hit back-to-back threes to give Bryant a 50-49 lead. Harvey took over after that, scoring 15 of Bryant's final 30 points, including a decisive three with 4:14 left.
Thompson (14 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl) and Behar (13 pts, 3 ast) combined for 27 points off the bench.
Jamion Christian enters his second season as the head coach of Bryant men's basketball in 2026-27.
The 10^th head coach in program history, Christian was hired in April 2025 after coaching stops at Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Professional Basketball League along with prior head coaching positions at George Washington University, Siena College and Mount St. Mary's University.

SUCCESS UNDER TOM PECORA

Quinnipiac has built up an impressive resume under Head Coach Tom Pecora, entering his fourth season with a 63–37 overall record.
Pecora captured back-to-back Metro Conference Coach of the Year awards after leading Quinnipiac to consecutive regular season championships in 2023–24 (15–5) and 2024–25 (15–5).
QU posted a 19–13 record in 2025–26, earning the No. 4 seed in the postseason conference tournament while going 10–5 in front of its home crowd at M&T Bank Arena.

THE RETURN OF KEITH MCKNIGHT

Sophomore forward Keith McKnight returns following an All-Rookie selection in 2025–26.
McKnight was a unanimous selection for the Preseason All-Metro First Team.
The Teaneck, New Jersey native played in all 32 games as a freshman, averaging 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while shooting 54.6% from the floor (136–249).
McKnight opened his sophomore campaign with 8 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes at Michigan State.

MEET THE 2026–27 BOBCATS

Returners (7): Keith McKnight, Jayden Reid, Tai Turnage, Nate Guerengomba, Christopher Skenderi, Braylan Ritvo, and Akintola Akinniyi.
Transfers (5): Lucas Sekasi (Gannon), Nas Hart (La Salle), Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton (Assumption), Holden Pierre-Louis (Cleveland State), and Mike Parrotta (St. Thomas Aquinas).
First-Years (3): Malik Fields (Bronx, NY), Ali Diouf (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada), and Nedas Cholevinskas (London, England).

PRESEASON POLLS

Quinnipiac was selected No. 6 overall in the Metro Preseason Coaches' Poll with 109 votes.
The Bobcats were named the preseason favorite in the Blue Ribbon Metro Forecast, while Keith McKnight was named Blue Ribbon's Preseason Player of the Year.

THE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
Quinnipiac's non-league schedule features 11 games, including five home matchups at M&T Bank Arena:

Nov. 2: at #6 Michigan State (L, 59–96)
Nov. 5: vs. Bryant (Home Opener / America East – Metro Challenge)
Nov. 8: at Vermont (America East – Metro Challenge)
Nov. 12: vs. Monmouth
Nov. 15: at Central Connecticut State
Nov. 19: vs. Maine
Nov. 24: vs. Emerson
Nov. 29: at Yale (Battle of Whitney Ave)
Dec. 12: vs. Hofstra
Dec. 19: at UCLA
Dec. 21: at Pepperdine

CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF QUINNIPIAC MEN'S BASKETBALL

The Quinnipiac University Men's Basketball program has officially launched its 75th Year Celebration campaign, marking a milestone anniversary for the university's inaugural varsity athletic program.
Since its inaugural season in 1951–52, the varsity men's basketball team has served as an integral cornerstone of the Quinnipiac and Hamden communities. Over its 75-year history, the program has earned 1,053 overall wins, including 420 victories since making the transition to the NCAA Division I level in the 1998–99 season.
The season-long golden anniversary celebration will feature events, promotions, and interactive initiatives designed to honor every era of Bobcats basketball.
Alumni Day: The Bobcats will welcome back all former student-athletes to Hamden on Feb. 21, 2027, for Alumni Day as QU takes on Mount St. Mary's.
Social Media Campaign & Fan Giveaways: A dedicated season-long campaign will spotlight iconic moments, players, and teams from the past 75 years on social media using the hashtag #QUMBB75. Fans and alumni of all ages can look forward to exclusive anniversary giveaways throughout the season.

HEAD COACH TOM PECORA

Tom Pecora will enter his fourth season as Head Coach at Quinnipiac University in 2026–27. Pecora – a veteran with 17 years of experience as a head coach at the Division I level – has guided the Bobcats to a 63–37 overall record during his first three years at the helm of the program.
He captured back-to-back league Coach of the Year awards after leading Quinnipiac to two consecutive regular season championships in 2023–24 and 2024–25.
Pecora just completed his ninth 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 has guided his teams to a 324–292 record during his career as a collegiate Head Coach (HC stops at SUNY Farmingdale, Hofstra, Fordham, and Quinnipiac).
He reached 300 total wins on Feb. 14, 2025, after helping lead the Bobcats to a win over Sacred Heart on ESPNU. Quinnipiac has won 149 total games during Pecora's time on staff (since 2017).
Pecora 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).
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).

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.