By: Andrew Badillo

The Quinnipiac Bobcats defeated the Vermont Catamounts 89-73 Sunday afternoon at Lender Court. Quinnipiac big man Ousmane Drame had himself a day to remember as he notched his 1,000 career point and became Quinnipiac’s all-time leader in blocks with 149. Drame finished the game with 33 points shooting 10-14 from the field and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Despite Drame’s outstanding game, he is still not fully recovered from a meniscus injury that he suffered last season. Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore said that Drame is not quite one hundred percent and that he is suffering from knee tendinitis. Drame’s presence as a dominant big man is something that the Bobcat’s heavily rely on as the team prides itself on its ability to out rebound other teams. Quinnipiac will certainly need him to get fully healthy sooner rather than later as the MAAC features premiere big men such as Ashton Pankey and Jermaine Lawrence of Manhattan, as well as David Laury of Iona.

Evan Conti also had himself a day as he exploded for a career high 22 points, 17 of which came in the first half. Conti went 4-5 from three-point range as he also tallied 7 rebounds and four assists. Conti appeared to be bothered by a left leg injury throughout the second half, but stated after the game that it was a non-issue.

The Bobcats overwhelmed the Catamounts early as Quinnipiac went on a 26-7 run midway through the first half and they never looked back from there on out. The Catamounts went on a 9-2 run to open the second half to cut the deficit to 14, but Vermont was unable to get under double digits. The Bobcats shot an impressive 54.6 percent from the field as well as out rebounding the Catamounts 40 to 16.

The Bobcats will travel up to Albany, N.Y. as they open up MAAC play against Siena.