Last year, the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team earned the No. 3 seed in Atlantic City, New Jersey and fell in the quarterfinals to No. 11 Marist in ugly fashion, marking the end of the Baker Dunleavy era in Hamden.
This time around, the No. 1 Bobcats flipped the script and advanced to the semifinals of the MAAC Championship for the second time in three seasons after head coach Tom Pecora’s squad defeated No. 9 Canisius 76-52 on Wednesday evening in Atlantic City.
“The whole experience has been off the charts,” Pecora said of the run his team has been on. “We have fun in practice. We get on them and they respond.”
The Bobcats have proven they can win games in many different fashions all season. Against the Golden Griffins, it was a mixture of consistent three-point shooting and a dominant paint presence inside. Senior forward Paul Otieno picked up his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds on an efficient 9-for-12 shooting.
“I was shocked he didn’t make an all-conference team,” Pecora said on Otieno. “As a group, we talked about that and said ‘Let’s dedicate this weekend to Paul’ because of his ability and what he’s done all season.”
“Not being named (to an all-conference team), I don’t really mind,” Otieno said. “I just want to play for my teammates and have fun out there.”
From the perimeter, Quinnipiac only attempted 14 threes but shot 43% from deep. Graduate student guard Matt Balanc and first year forward Rihards Vavers each made a pair of triples.
Balanc, recently named MAAC Player of the Year, had a typical night you’d come to expect from him. 17 points with some timely jump shots and a highlight reel slam in the second half to increase the already large advantage.
Graduate student guard Savion Lewis lived up to his second team All-MAAC selection against the Golden Griffins. He had 11 assists, marking the fourth time this season he eclipsed double digits. Lewis also had some key drives to the lane for some important buckets early in the second half.
“It’s a blessing being here,” Lewis said. “Having an opportunity to be here with the guys and try and win the MAAC Tournament.”
Pecora played his starters a majority of the time, a luxury he was able to do due to the way the schedule of the tournament worked. The Bobcats don’t have to play Thursday and have the day off, allowing for the team to get some rest before a potential back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.
“Sprinkled in our subs,” Pecora said. “But I really wanted these guys to get in a groove and hopefully stay in that groove through the weekend.”
The game was back and forth in the first half and the Bobcats led by seven at the break mostly due to a late 6-0 spurt to close the half.
“The last four minutes of a half we always want to dominate,” Pecora said.
That 6-0 run turned into an 18-0 run early in the second half. The Golden Griffins had no answer for Balanc and Otieno and the Bobcats broke it open, never looking back and securing Pecora his first postseason win as Quinnipiac head coach.
“We want to win this whole thing for him,” Lewis said.
As mentioned, Quinnipiac will have Thursday off as the remaining quarterfinal matchups are played. The Bobcats will take on either No. 4 Rider or No. 5 Saint Peter’s on Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Boardwalk Hall with the winner advancing to the MAAC Championship on Saturday.
