The Quinnipiac Bobcats beat the Manhattan Jaspers in double overtime, 84-79. The Bobcats improved to 3-2 overall and got their first win in MAAC play.

Despite the Bobcats coming off a long lay-off, having not played a game since December 6 due to COVID issues, Quinnipiac jumped out to a quick 12-0 start in the opening five minutes.

The Bobcats’ fast start was mainly due to an outstanding defensive effort, drawing four offensive fouls against the Jaspers in the first five minutes.

Manhattan was able to counter with a run of its own, cutting the Quinnipiac lead to single digits with seven minutes to go in the first half.

The two teams went back and forth over the remaining seven minutes, but the Jaspers were able to get the lead down to four, trailing 37-33 at halftime.

Tymu Chenery led the Bobcats scoring effort in the first half, scoring 11 points and grabbing a rebound.

The Quinnipiac defense, led by Seth Pinkney, who grabbed five rebounds and had one block, was stellar in the first half, holding the Jaspers to under 40% shooting and forcing eight turnovers.

Manhattan took its first lead of the game six minutes into the second half on a layup from Elijah Buchanan. The Jaspers lead swelled up to 11 points with 6:20 remaining before the Bobcats came storming back to tie the game with under two minutes left.

A huge corner three from Tymu Chenery, his 17th point of the game, gave the Bobcats a three-point lead with 35 seconds left.

Manhattan countered with a monstrous and-one dunk from Warren Williams, who sunk the ensuing free throw, tying the game at 64.

Chenery, Quinnipiac’s leading scorer in regulation, fouled out with 18 seconds left. Both the Bobcats and Jaspers traded bizarre inbound plays towards the end of regulation and headed to overtime tied at 64.

Quinnipiac and Manhattan went back and forth through the first half of overtime. Brendan McGuire‘s tough turnaround jumper with 2:27 remaining gave the Bobcats a 70-68 lead.

Manhattan’s Warren Williams was able to hit one of two free throws to cut the Quinnipiac lead to one with a minute left.

Following a Quinnipiac turnover, Anthony Nelson drew a foul on Seth Pinkney and made one of two free throws to tie the game at 70 with eight seconds left. The Bobcats were unable to score on their final possession, sending the game to a second overtime.

In the second overtime, Jacob Rigoni knocked down an open three with 1:04 left, giving the Bobcats a four-point lead.

Despite Rigoni starting off the game 0-4, he said he remains “confident” in his shot, even if he starts off cold like he did today.

Quinnipiac never looked back after that, finishing off Manhattan in the final minute, winning 84-79.

Seth Pinkney took over in overtime in Tymu Chenery’s absence; he finished the game with 16 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. Seth described getting big minutes in the overtime periods as one of the “biggest moments” of his college career.

Head coach Baker Dunleavy was proud of how “mentally tough” the team was to fight through double overtime and come out with the win.

These two teams face off again tomorrow at 3:00 PM on ESPN3.