Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
Throughout the season, Q30 Sports’ Quinnipiac basketball beat reporters Dylan Fearon and Josh Silverman will dissect the past week for both the men’s and women’s teams. They will provide insight into the latest trends, updates on player injury’s, and quotes from head coaches Tom Moore and Tricia Fabbri.
Below is the second edition:
Men’s Basketball (4-7, 1-1 MAAC)
By: Dylan Fearon
Maine had a hot shooting night en route to a 98-95 overtime victory over Quinnipiac Tuesday in the Bobcats’ final non-conference game. Here’s the good and the bad, by the numbers.
The Good
23: The number of points scored by Abdulai Bundu. We heard about his video game-like numbers at Largo High School, and the freshman from Maryland looked like Dwight Howard in NBA 2k16. Coming into Maine, Bundu was averaging 3.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, but had a night to remember against the Black Bears. Along with his career-high in points, Bundu grabbed 15 rebounds, including 11 offensive off the pine. The raw, athletic forward continues to show how talented he is inside, and with conference play starting up again, just earned himself some more playing time and possibly a starting job.
2: The number of consecutive double-doubles recorded by Donovan Smith. The junior college transfer continues to impress with his ability to naturally slow the game down offensively and corral rebounds on both ends. After registering 16 points and 12 rebounds at Oregon State last Monday, Smith had 18 points and 11 boards in Bangor. In his last three games, albeit all Quinnipiac losses, the Chicago native is averaging 16 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Even though he has only played 11 games in a Bobcat uniform, Smith has shown he can be one of the best big men in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, ranking fourth in rebounds per game (7.5) and second in blocks per game (2.0).
47: Quinnipiac’s field goal percentage. Last week against Oregon State, the Bobcats shot 32 percent, their worst shooting performance of the season. But Tuesday was Quinnipiac’s best shooting 50 percent from three (9/18) and more importantly, 73 percent from the free throw line, a place the Bobcats have really struggled at this season.
+17: Quinnipiac’s rebounding margin over Maine. Even with sophomore Chaise Daniels sidelined with an injury, the battle on the boards was no contest. Bundu and Smith dominated inside as the Black Bears could only muster up 31 rebounds. Quinnipiac’s 24 offensive rebounds were a season-high.
12: Points scored by Ayron Hutton, a season-high. Along with Bundu, Hutton provided a spark off the bench. The sophomore added five rebounds and four assists to his stat line. Consistency has been his biggest thing, but Hutton has been very productive as of late.
The Bad
7: Combined points from Giovanni McLean, Daniel Harris and James Ford in the second half. I understand that the Quinnipiac big men were dominating inside, but your three best shooters have to be better than just one-for-six from the field. Harris and Ford combined to play 23 second-half minutes, only attempting one shot. Both have to better offensively on Saturday.
67: Maine’s first-half field goal percentage. You read that right. No typo. The Black Bears hit two-thirds of their shots in the opening stanza, and 56 percent overall. Quinnipiac hadn’t allowed that many points since its double-overtime thriller at Niagara last year. The Bobcats defense has been great at times this season, and will have to be better than it was Tuesday if it’s going to win a lot of games in the MAAC.
0: Minutes played by freshman Andrew Robinson. I’m really surprised by this. Robinson had a career night against Oregon State (10 points in 18 minutes), and then didn’t play a second against Maine. A little odd if you ask me, considering it was the first game all year he didn’t seen action. We’ll see how Moore uses him in conference play.
21: Quinnipiac’s turnovers, tied for the most this season. Sophomore Dimitri Floras turned it over six times in just 15 minutes. Maine’s ability to press and trap at times confused the Bobcats. Quinnipiac averages 16.2 turnovers a game, while their opponents average 13.5. Has to better.
Tough one to swallow for Quinnipiac. Conference play resumes which means things are about to get real. No place to run, no place to hide. Numbers never lie and the 4-7 Bobcats face an injury-plagued Iona squad in Hamden on Saturday.
Women’s Basketball (5-6, 0-2 MAAC)
By: Josh Silverman
Older Leadership
Adily Martucci. Wow did the junior step up. Covering this team I have not seen a player take over a game like she did. You could see her motivating her team because they knew that they were better than they were playing. This team desperately needed a leader and I think they found it. Her three-pointer with eight minutes left was huge and it put Bobcats within two. It changed in the game. A few minutes later she hit another triple, to put Quinnipiac up one with six minutes to play. The team rallied behind her play. In the second half she was five-for-eight from the field and three-for-five from behind the arc. She also had three important rebounds. She lead by example, and her team followed. Although it lost by one, the team played great in the second half. Credit Martucci.
Resiliency of the young team
Sometimes the numbers don’t tell the entire story, but in this game they did. It was almost as if two different Quinnipiac teams showed up. In the first half, Quinnipiac shot 34 percent from the field and 27 percent from the three. Nothing was going right. It trailed by 14 points at the end of the first quarter and then by seven points at the half. What was said at halftime worked. The team shot 44 percent from the field and 45 percent from behind the arc. Coach Tricia Fabbri’s squad is very young, which is why she has to be extremely pleased with this game. Even though they lost in overtime, seeing the team rally back is encouraging, especially after the way they played against Drexel. Coach Fabbri hopes this is a glimpse into the bright future.
Where do they go from here?
Yes the Bobcats lost to Florida Gulf Coast, but it’s a great tune-up for the next game. The play at Monmouth on Jan. 2. The Bobcats haven’t played a conference game since Dec. 6 and haven’t won a MAAC game all year. This is a huge game for the Bobcats. Will they be able to carry the momentum from the end of the Florida Gulf Coast game, or will they go back to their old ways like the Manhattan game? Although Monmouth is only 3-7 overall and 1-1 in the MAAC, this would be a huge win for the Bobcats moving forward.
