Quinnipiac men’s basketball shot lights out in path to their 79-53 win over the Marist Red Foxes in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matchup.
This is the third straight win for the Bobcats (8-13, 5-7 in MAAC), and it puts them a game and a half away from the fifth place spot in the MAAC to get a bye in the conference tournament. The Red Foxes (4-1 7, 1-11 in MAAC) have now lost 11 straight games.
The Bobcats shot 46 percent from the field and 50 from three point range in one of the team’s strongest offensive performances. Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore says that the strong shooting made every part of the team’s game better.
“We played better defense and ran the court better because of our shooting tonight,” Moore said.
Senior guard James Ford Jr. is seeing a different chemistry in the locker room from the entire team.
“Everything is starting to gel together and our confidence is getting bigger,” Ford said. “There’s a lot of energy in the locker and everyone is feeling it.”
The bench made a huge impact in every aspect of the game. Andrew Robinson led all scorers with 15 points and Donovan Smith finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and four blocks.
“We’ve been waiting for a night like that for Andrew Robinson,” Moore said.
Led by Daniel Harris and Aryon Hutton, Quinnipiac held the MAAC second-leading scorer Khallid Hart to 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field. Due to the strong Bobcat defense, Marist only shot 27 percent from the field.
It was all Quinnipiac in the first half. Shooting 50 percent from the field and going 9-for-15 from beyond the arc. Daniel Harris helped Quinnipiac get an early lead scoring eight of the team’s first 10 points in the game.
However, Robinson stole the show in the first 20 minutes. The six-six guard shot 5-for-7 from the three-point line in the opening period with just seven minutes of playing time off the bench.
“It felt good,” Robinson said. “It was first three since [Dec. 21] so it just was good seeing it hit the first one hit the rim and go in.”
In the second half every active member of the Quinnipiac roster saw time and all but two contributed to the scoring.
The Bobcats now travel to Saint Peter’s and Manhattan for two conference games that can affect the middle of the MAAC standings.
“We’re a big team, we’re athletic, we’re capable of shooting,” Ford said. “I see that carrying forward for us in the conference.”
