By Kevin Noonan, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats avenged a 103-95 loss to the Bryant Bulldogs in January by returning the favor on their home court with a 69-58 victory Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Tom Moore said that limiting the Bulldogs’ offense was the key to the victory.
“We played a heck of a better defense than we did the last time we played at Bryant … to hold a team that talented to 58 points and shooting 39 percent from the floor are some numbers I’m really proud of,” Moore said.
Quinnipiac (14-13, 10-5 NEC) led by as many as 14 points at the beginning of the second half but had to hold off a furious Bryant (17-9, 10-5 NEC) rally to defeat the Bulldogs. Bryant had pulled within four points with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
With the victory, the Bobcats move into a second place tie with Bryant and LIU-Brooklyn in the Northeast Conference.
Juniors Ike Azotam (Boston, Mass.) and Shaq Shannon (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the Bobcats offensively with 16 points each, and four players total double figures for Quinnipiac.
Sophomore Ousmane Drame (Boston, Mass.) continued his hot performance by scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds, and Moore said after the game that Drame has been key to the Bobcats six game winning streak.
“I think he’s the best big in the league right now … He’s made his length tough for a lot of NEC frontcourts to deal with, sometimes in the first half and even in the second half on the offensive glass, the six that he got are a loud six, there are times when you have him boxed out but with his long arms he can still get balls,” Moore said.
Despite limited minutes coming off the bench, Drame said he likes his role and has thrived in it.
“It’s less pressure on me coming off the bench because when I start I feel like I have to set a certain tone but when I come of the bench I just have to come in the game and do what I’m good at and get us a win,” Drame said.
Bryant was led offensively by Frankie Dobbs with 15 points and six rebounds, while Alex Francis dropped 14 points and collected seven rebounds.
Moore said senior Jamee Jackson (Newark, N.J.) was the reason why Francis was so limited and frustrated in the game.
“I think Jamee is the defensive player of the year in this league because he can guard threes, fours and fives. I’ve said it, he’s got great timing, he’s got great intelligence, he gets boards. I’ve been saying it since the beginning of the year; today was just an example of that,” Moore said.
Quinnipiac was focused on defense coming into the game, especially after allowing the 103 points back in their Jan. 10 matchup.
“The goal was to stop them, we know they are a very offensive minded team. We just tried to get stops and what we do offensively just comes naturally,” Drame said.
Since starting NEC play with 1-4 record, the Bobcats have won nine out of the last 11 games and have their eyes set on remaining in the top third of the standings with just three games remaining in the regular season.
