Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Dylan Fearon
The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team fought back from a 16-point first half deficit to defeat Saint Peter’s Thursday night 56-55. Here is what you need to know, by the numbers:
22: The number of second half points allowed by Quinnipiac. Yes, Saint Peter’s played Wednesday night against Manhattan and was probably very fatigued, but give credit to Tom Moore’s defense. The Bobcats are third in the MAAC in scoring defense, second in field goal percentage defense and first in three-point field goal percentage defense. Saint Peter’s big man Quadir Welton had 12 points and six rebounds in the first half, but in the second stanza just produced three points. And let’s not forget about James Ford, Jr. and the job he did on Peacock guard Antwon Portley. The freshman had 25 points in the teams’ first meeting, but in Hamden Portley was held to just six points on two-for-nine shooting. It was Portley’s lowest scoring outing on the road since Dec. 13 at Seton Hall.
Tom Moore: “In the second half we started doubling Welton. The guys did a great job on him. It’s a high risk defense, and we don’t generally take a lot of chances or risks defensively and this is one thing where we put ourselves out there to try and a stop a better post player. I thought that might’ve made them second guess their offensive philosophy.”
James Ford, Jr.: “It was basically revenge from last game. He (Portley) got off to a good start against us last game, had a great game, 25 points. And this time I was determined as well as my teammates to shut him down and keep him quiet.”
10: The number of points scored by Chaise Daniels, Giovanni McLean and Daniel Harris each. Ford also chipped in nine points and six assists. There was no star for Quinnipiac in the tough, gritty defensive contest, but it was crucial to sprinkle in some shots here and there. As Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello says, ‘there was nothing sexy about this game.’ The game garnered hard-nosed, roll-your-sleeves-up type of defense. Nothing flashy whatsoever, but the Bobcats were able to come away with a much-needed victory in their own house.
Moore: “Everyone chipped in offensively in the second half, which is nice to see because you have nights sometimes where not everyone feels like they’re helping, and tonight almost everyone had a big play offensively. Chaise was really good down the stretch. Just really proud of how resilient and tough we have been.”
Chaise Daniels: “This year hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to go. We could’ve easily packed it up and just gave in said next year. We keep fighting. We have a dream and we’re going to keep fighting. You have to finish the season strong, and that’s what we plan to do.”
9: Quinnipiac’s seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament if the season ended today. With just three regular season games left, the highest the Bobcats can finish in the standings is seventh, tenth being the lowest. But in the MAAC, any seed can wind up in the semifinals. We saw 7-seed Saint Peter’s in the semifinals last year after holding Fairfield to 33 points in the first round and then defeat 2-seed Rider in the quarterfinals. Anything is possible in college basketball. Anything.
Moore: “Anyone from four through 11 can go up and beat anyone else from four through 11 and it wouldn’t be too big of a surprise. But I think three and up (Monmouth, Iona, Siena) those guys I think have somewhat separated themselves.”
Ford: “Liberty University had a losing season in the regular season (in 2012; finished 6-10 in the conference regular season and then won the Big South tournament) and then went into the (conference) tournament and just won it all. Anything can change. We just have to keep everyone positive.”
