By: Tom Cunningham
In typical fashion, the eight and nine seed game in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament was a tightly contested battle from start to finish.
The No. 8 seed Rider Broncs and No. 9 seed Quinnipiac Bobcats opened things up in the first game of this years MAAC Tournament in Albany, New York. The Broncs took down the Bobcats by a final of 60-57. This marks the second year in a row that Tom Moore’s squad is taken out in the opening round of play in the MAAC Tournament.
The Bobcats took a 32-30 lead to the locker room at the end of the first half, thanks in large part to their big men.
An impressive 10-point first half from freshman Abdulai Bundu, mixed in with eight points and five rebounds from sophomore Chaise Daniels propelled the Bobcats to their first half lead. Jimmie Taylor kept the Broncs close, with 15 points going 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Being up just two at the end of the first half was nothing new to Moore’s team as they have been in close battles all season long. The two teams came out of the locker room going basket for basket for the first six minutes of the second half. At the 15 minute mark, the Broncs began their run, ultimately extending their lead to 10 with just under nine minutes to play. Being in this position several times before, the Bobcats’ morale was still high, knowing anything can happen once the calendar turns to March.
“Our huddles were terrific all night,” Moore said. “Guys were focused, guys were listening. When they got it to 10, (our guys) were poised, they were calm. They were suggesting things to me, which shows they’re engaged.”
The Bobcats cut that lead to one with just 18 seconds to play thanks to a three from senior guard James Ford Jr. After a pair of free throws by Rider’s Teddy Okereafor, Quinnipiac had one final chance to send the game to overtime.
Dimitri Floras shot up a three-point attempt as time expired, but it hit the back rim ending the Bobcats’ season. Although his team was unable to come out with a victory, Moore took most of the blame on himself.
“Right from the first couple of trips I thought we were a little sloppy at times with our passing and our decisions on whether to drive or not drive. It has been an underlying problem for us all year,” Moore said. “It’s not something that I put the responsibility on the players for, I put the responsibility on myself as the head coach for poor offensive performance.”
Quinnipiac has long been one of the nation’s best rebounding teams, but Rider was able to win the rebounding battle 33-31, limiting the Bobcats to just 13 second half rebounds while the Broncs pulled in 19 second half rebounds, eight on the offensive glass. The Broncs boast a roster full of veterans with seven upperclassmen, including Khalil Thomas who finished with a game high 12 rebounds to go with 14 points.
“They played like a team that started four seniors,” Moore said. “(It was a) disappointing second half really for us. I didn’t expect to go minus six on the glass in the second half. I thought they were a little tougher than us, a little bigger than us, a little hungrier to the ball on a couple of their second shot opportunities and obviously that is something that we don’t usually have happen to us.”
The Bobcats never give up attitude was lead by Ford Jr. who scored nine of his 12 points in the final nine minutes of play. Ford Jr. has been tasked all season with defending some of the best players in the MAAC, and today was no different as he was able to shut down Okereafor, who averages over 12 points per game, limiting him to just five points today.
The Bobcats have fought through adversity all season long, from injuries to inexperience, Moore’s team battled right to the very end of not only the season, but this game as well.
As for star point guard Gio McLean, who had an unusually quiet night scoring wise, he still found other ways to impact the game. Thursday nights game could have been his final in a Quinnipiac uniform. McLean finished with four points, five rebounds, and five assists. Back on Senior Day, McLean was asked to describe his time at Quinnipiac in one word.
“Amazing,” he said. “The best choice I ever made in my life.”
The Bobcats finish the season a disappointing 9-21, but the team will return 12-of-15 players next season. That number could increase if McLean is given an extra year of eligibility.
Next up for Rider is the top seeded Monmouth Hawks on Friday at 7 p.m.
