The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Brown University Bears Monday night, 79-72. The Bobcats (1-1 overall, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) were unable to overcome an early deficit and sloppy play en route to the defeat, especially in the first half, when the Bears (2-0 overall, 0-0 Ivy League) forced 12 Quinnipiac turnovers.
“They were ready to play from the start, and they jumped on us a little bit,” head coach Baker Dunleavy said about his team’s opposition.
Every Brown player seemed to contribute, but they would not have won this game without the stellar performance of sophomore guard Brandon Anderson. He was a dominant force all game, finishing with 23 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
The Bears had things working from the tip, immediately opening up a 21-8 advantage over Quinnipiac. After withstanding a 7-0 Bobcat run, Brown took control for the rest of the half. Anderson was unguardable, consistently driving to the rim and either getting fouled or making layups. An increased defensive focus on him left other Bears open, and they took advantage. Joshua Howard and Desmond Cambridge were the main benefactors as they dropped 19 and 12, respectively. The first half was punctuated by a Brown buzzer-beater, as David Erebor put home a second-chance layup, giving Brown a 44-34 advantage at the break.
Quinnipiac could not grasp the concept of “free” throws in this one. As a whole, both teams attempted 27 free throws. Brown went 19-for-27, while Quinnipiac shot an ugly 13-for-27 at the line.
“I didn’t realize the numbers were that staggering,” Dunleavy said after the game.
Although no team is perfect, shooting free throws under 50 percent will never be a formula to victory, and it was a major detriment to Quinnipiac’s game on this night.
After watching the first half, it didn’t seem like Quinnipiac could play much worse; they went out and did exactly that to open the second frame. A modest 10-point lead quickly grew to a dominant 58-39 lead. Anderson and Howard continued to impress, while Bobcats’ guard Rich Kelly found little space to run the offense amidst Brown’s physical defensive effort.
With the score 65-47 with just over 10 minutes to play, all hope seemed lost. Then, the real Quinnipiac Bobcats showed up. Dunleavy switched to a backcourt press defense. This threw the Bears into confusion, especially Anderson, as he committed multiple turnovers and violations to set up easy buckets for the Bobcats.
After the monster game to open the season against Dartmouth, many expected Chaise Daniels to back it up against Brown. For the first 30 minutes, he was nowhere to be found.
“Coming in, I was pumped up for the game, but, I wasn’t me,” Daniels explained. “The second half… I was more alive… my presence was felt. But the first half, I mentally wasn’t there.”
This Bobcats team has gone only as far as Daniels can take them, and he took them to a new level late in the second half. Quinnipiac went on a 23-12 run, mostly led by the newfound aggression in Daniels. In addition, Cameron Young pounded the rack and drew plenty of fouls, and Andrew Robinson came alive with a trio of three-pointers. Perhaps the X-factor to the run, though, was Kelly. He made two big threes, got a steal, and completed a circus shot on the drive to bring the team to within six points at 74-68 with 2:16 left. There was conviction in every dribble, pass, and shot, and the crowd had exploded. But when Brown needed him most, Brandon Anderson stepped up again.
The stud guard slowed the game down, created space, and hit three huge free throws to ice the game. After a few more missed free throws by Quinnipiac, the Bears held on for the 79-72 win, as Quinnipiac suffered their first loss under Dunleavy.
The coach himself summed it up best.
“We’ll all watch the tape regretting how we approached the overall game.”
Quinnipiac’s next game is against Colorado Friday at 6 p.m. as part of the “Paradise Jam” in Lynchburg, Virginia. Brown travels to face St. Francis Brooklyn Sunday at 1 p.m.
