It was opening night tip-off around college basketball, as the Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s basketball team lost 83-69 to the No.21 Maryland Terrapins at the Xfinity Center. Despite the loss, the Bobcats may have their heads up higher than when play began.

“We fought,” said senior guard Tyrese Williams. “That’s the one thing I can say about us we fought. Versus previous years when we would have played other opponents, I felt like we would have died down, but we fought out there to get that under 20 at some points…. under 15 at some points. Just that nature of grinding out possessions and trying to make sure that we get the best action out of every possession out there.”

Coming into the Xfinity Center against Maryland is no small task even for bigger programs, especially with fans back after an almost two-year hiatus. The fans are regarded as some of the crazier fans in the country, and the Bobcats understood that coming in.

“When you come into a building like this with fans, we haven’t played with fans for a long time,” said head coach Baker Dunleavy. “To play in an environment like this at Maryland, we try to approach it like it’s an honor. It’s a great honor for us to play on a Big Ten court. It’s a team with great tradition. Incredible talent and coaching. The start of the game was difficult for us in terms of matching the level of discipline that we needed to play well. Certainly, a lot of adrenaline to start the game.”

Coming home is always big for any player, and senior guard Matt Balanc made sure to put a statement back in Maryland. With his hometown in Silver Spring, Maryland, about a 15-minute drive east from College Park, Balanc scored a career high with 25 points and a career high five steals. He also ended up on the SportsCenter Top 10 plays after a poster dunk in the first half. Being back home meant something for him, and he wanted to show out in front of the fans.

“I was just excited to come home,” said Balanc. “Usually once I see that first shot go in, I get that adrenaline. The crowd got into it. I’m there to perform so I’m playing my best and I’m involved so that’s really what got me into it.”

Williams also had a solid night. He ended the night with 19 points off five threes and six of 10 shooting from the field. Both Williams and Balanc were the only ones who scored in double digits, but the team feels any player can show out like that any given night.

“The word is consistency for us,” said Dunleavy. “I feel like we’re a team that can have different guys do that on different nights. We can have really good balance. A lot of guys that can kind of be the go-to guy on that night based on who’s making shots and how the other teams defending.”

Quinnipiac is coming into the season with three first years and three sophomores on the roster. Having leadership is key for Quinnipiac to compete on a nightly basis, and the seniors and upperclassmen know that and need to keep working on that to be successful.

“We had a very young team last year,” said Balanc. “I think seniors are me, Tyrese, Savion, Jacob, Kevin. We all just got to step up and show the senior leadership. I’m happy to have these guys on the team, they’re great players and they’re young. They’re going to have great careers and because of them we are going to get better. I think with the group of us five it’s going to be really good.” 

Quinnipiac’s next game will be against Western New England at the People’s United Center on Friday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m.