The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team fell to the Niagara Purple Eagles 76-75 at M&T Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon. In a game the Bobcats led on multiple occasions, the Eagles victory was backed by timely shooting behind the arc and fuel from the bench.
“They’re a better team than their record shows,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora said following the loss. “We’re struggling with the ability to put people away.”
The Bobcats hit their stride quickly to begin the game, with graduate forward Paul Otienno scoring nine points in the first four minutes. Coming off a career high performance, junior forward Amarri Monroe picked up right where he left off, connecting on his first five shots from the field en route to 14 first-half points. First year guard Jaden Zimmerman also added seven points off the bench.
The Purple Eagles started off sluggish, however, they quickly tightened up as the first half progressed. In a gutsy decision, head coach Greg Paulus opted to pull his starting lineup just two minutes into the game. This proved to be the right decision as the bench scored 35 points to come back and keep Niagara afloat.
The first half saw neither team with an advantage as they were knotted up at 37 after the first 20 minutes of play.
The second half opened with each team firing away offensively. Otienno connected on his third field goal from long range, tying his career high. Monroe also reached the 20-point mark for the sixth time in the last seven contests. Still, Niagara stayed in the game with a steady offense of their own.
The Bobcats seemingly began to pull away halfway through the second half. With just under five minutes to go, Zimmerman slammed one home to bring the Bobcat faithful to their feet. Still, the Purple Eagles refused to go away as they stormed back to tie the game at 70 with less than two minutes to go. Two huge threes by Niagara graduate winger Justice Smith gave the Eagles the late lead.
“They had good looks from three, and that’s what let them come back in the game,” said Pecora. “We haven’t learned from our ability to be up double digits and let people back in the game when they get grittier.”
Despite a career high 28 points from Otienno and Monroe’s ninth double-double of the season, it wasn’t enough to defeat Niagara. Pecora observed the lack of second chances on offense as a difference maker in the Bobcat’s loss.
“Obviously, Amarri, 20 and 10 again, Paul had 28 but only three rebounds,” said Pecora. “They did a great job of checking us out and making sure we couldn’t get to the offensive glass, and second shot opportunities have been a strong suit for us.”
Quinnipiac falls to 10-3 in the MAAC with the loss. The conference is expected to have another shakeup following Merrimack’s victory over Canisius and the result of Marist’s game against Iona Saturday night.
Quinnipiac looks to rebound as they head to Sacred Heart for a Valentine’s Day showdown slated at 7 p.m.
