“We can’t start off slow … can’t start off slow and we got to hit the glass, we got to win the rebound margin. Two of the last three games we tied and we lost and that’s not who we are.”

Those comments were from junior and Quinnipiac Bobcat’s guard Zaid Hearst after Thursday night’s 86-74 loss to the Canisius Golden Griffins.

At the end of the first half, Quinnipiac was out rebounding Canisius 22-19, however, the Golden Griffins were leading the Bobcats by nine.

Quinnipiac was finding success early on the glass, but the team struggled shooting the ball. The Bobcats finished the first half shooting around 29 percent from the field.

Canisius on the other hand was hitting all cylinders. The team shot 53 percent from the field including seven 3-point field goals.

The Golden Griffins were led by the strong guard play of Billy Baron, Zach Lewis and Chris Perez.

“I thought guys stepped up, you look down and Zach Lewis 17, Chris Perez, we had other guys really step up and make plays” said Jim Baron at the post-game press conference.

At the final buzzer, the final score was Canisius 86, Quinnipiac 74. The Golden Griffins were led by Billy Baron with 20 points and also getting a strong performance rebounding from center Jordan Heath.

Despite the loss, Zaid Hearst had a career day recording his first career 30-point game. He finished with 33.

Quinnipiac’s next game is slated for Saturday, Feb. 1 against Siena College. Canisius is also back in action on Saturday as they travel to Fairfield University.

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