By Morey Hershgordon and Tom Cunningham
For only the second time in his nine Quinnipiac seasons, Tom Moore failed to walk away with a win on opening night. Sacred Heart used a Cane Broome 27-point performance to pull away late from a pesky Quinnipiac squad en route to a 76-64 victory in the Connecticut 6 Classic.
Quinnipiac did itself no favors as it shot just 42.4 percent from the free throw line, committed 33 personal fouls, and turned the ball over 21 times. It also played without star guard Giovanni McLean, who served a one-game suspension.
Despite the rocky performance, the Bobcats improved second-half shooting included four 3-pointers from junior-transfer Daniel Harris to keep their winning hopes alive. After an 8-0 run to cut the Pioneers advantage to only one, the Bobcats would not get any closer. Sacred Heart closed the final 5:31 of the game on a 17-6 run.
Quincy McKnight, Jordan Allen and Eyimofe Edukugho all chipped in double-digit scoring performances for Sacred Heart.
For Quinnipaic, Harris led the way with 13 points. James Ford, Jr. delivered 11 points and nine rebounds and Dimitri Floras added 10 points.
Its next game is Wednesday Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. against the University of Vermont.
