The Battle of Whitney Ave hit the hardwood on Monday night, as the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team fell to its rivals down the road, the Yale Bulldogs, by a final score of 73-66.
Although only a 12 minute drive separates the two campuses, this is only the sixth time the schools have faced off against one another, and this particular meeting marked the first between the two since 2014.
“First and foremost, I think it’s a really important game that needs to be played all the time…I think it is a game that needs to be played for the community, for Connecticut basketball, and it just makes too much sense.” head coach Tom Pecora said postgame.
Although Quinnipiac was down two rotation players in Rihards Vavers and Daemar Kelly, the Bobcats flew out of the gates early on, with Matt Balanc hunting his shot early and hitting a few threes. Doug Young also provided a much needed spark off the bench for Quinnipiac, having 18 points of his own in a key reserve role.
“(Doug) played with great toughness and intensity, he made some shots,” Pecora said of Young’s performance. “In Doug’s case, he brings great energy and is a bugger on the defensive end, and that’s what you need from him.”
As the Quinnipiac faithful cheered loud and created a tough atmosphere, the Bobcats rode the wave and stretched their lead up to nine at one point. However, Yale continued to fight back, taking the lead in the second half, with sophomore forward Danny Wolf hitting a three pointer in transition, followed by a three point conversion by sophomore forward Casey Simmons. Ever since that point in the game, Yale did not look back or give the Bobcats any opportunity to get themselves back into the game.
“I think we had a couple guys get gassed, and I tried to give them short blows, but (Yale is a) good team, we need to take a couple days off, (because we) had a couple guys under the weather.” Pecora said.
Speaking of Wolf, he constantly gave the Bobcats defense some problems, hitting two threes and finishing around the rim in tough fashion. He finished the game as Yale’s leading scorer with 22 points on the evening.
“Wolf is a handful at seven foot, he’s very skilled out on the perimeter, he’s involved in every play. He draws you away from the basket and creates great space. He does a great job of that for them,” Pecora said.
Quinnipiac will now finish out their non-conference schedule with three road contests, facing Holy Cross, Lafayette and Florida, before heading back to Hamden to continue MAAC play against Rider.
“Winning on the road is a challenge, no matter who you play against,” Pecora said. “Right now, our focus is on getting healthy and getting ready for next Monday night.”
The Bobcats fall to 7-3 on the season, suffering their first home loss in M&T Bank Arena, and they will have a week to recover before they head to Worcester, Massachusetts for a non-conference battle with Holy Cross. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
