The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team will come into Monday night’s game against Siena as an opportunity to gain confidence after a 95-76 loss to the Monmouth. The game is set to take place at the TD Bank Sports Center at 7 p.m. The Bobcats will come into this game with a conference record of 5-6, while the Siena Saints have a conference record of 6-5.

Quinnipiac traveled to the number one team in the Mid Atlantic Athletic Conference in Monmouth for its last game and throughout the game stuck with Hawks. The score at halftime was 49-42 in favor of Monmouth. In the second half with six minutes to play, the Hawks had an offensive explosion and pulled away with a 95-76 win.

Now there were some positives for the Bobcats as Peter Kiss took advantage of all 36 minutes he played scoring a career high 22 points. Kiss shot 50 percent from the field and was 2 for 7 from three-point land. For the Hawks, Justin Robinson also dropped 22 points and assisted his teammates a total of four times in the 38 minutes he played.

Players to watch:

Bobcats: Peter Kiss; a freshman guard who is really starting to heat up offensively, and is crashing the boards efficiently as well. He averages 12.9 points per game which is the second highest for his team. In his last game against Monmouth he was able to tally nine rebounds on top of his career high 22 points. Kiss also has smooth ball handling skills and is truly finding his offensive groove for this Quinnipiac squad. If Kiss can produce these numbers against the number one team in the MAAC, look for him to continue his success against a Siena team that is in the middle of the MAAC standings.

Saints: Marquis Wright; a senior guard who averages a team high 14.8 points a game off of an average 32.5 minutes a game. Wright is also coming off a 16-point game against a strong Iona team in which they fell 77-66. He truly is a leader on the court so look for his leadership and veteran poise to have a factor in this ball game. Also, if the game is still close in the final minute’s look for Wright to be taking the shots for the Saints to try and lead them to a victory.

Keys to the game:

Bobcats: It is going to be all about the low post defense. Whether the ball is kicked down to the forwards, or centers, or the guard is driving to the hoop they have to have strong defense in the paint. So far this year the Bobcat forwards either foul or let them score the lay-up. If the big men like Chaise Daniels and Donovan Smith play hard underneath the hoop the Saints will not put up their average of 71.3 points a game.

Saints: Knock down the open shots. The Saints are a team were opponents average more points per game, have a higher three-point percentage and a higher field goal percentage. If the Saints want to win this game they have to make the open shot and prevent Quinnipiac from having any open shots. The Bobcats are a team that has a .423 field goal percentage, so the Saints have to step up their shooting and keep the Bobcats quiet from the field if they want to win this game.

Quinnipiac and Siena will tip off this Monday at Lender Court in the TD Bank Sports Center at 7 p.m.