The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team ran away with a 71-49 victory over Central Connecticut State on Thursday night in the home opener of the 2025-26 season.
Not surprisingly, Quinnipiac senior forward Amarri Monroe began the home season’s scoring with a two point mid-range. Sophomore guard Jaden Zimmerman, who would be the co-star of the first half, accounted for 12 of Quinnipiac’s first 27 points in the game.
Zimmerman also added his name to the statsheet with a free throw stemming from a CCSU technical foul. Just two minutes in, Blue Devils junior forward Max Frazier hung on the rim for a split second too long after a dunk, resulting in the tech.
“It all starts off the court. With everything I do I just try and stay consistent,” said Zimmerman postgame. “Just going to the gym, working out, shooting my free throws. Just working on my game and every day trying to stay consistent in everything I do.”
Quinnipiac’s first minutes came with a bit of stress though, as CCSU kept things close over the first 12 minutes. The teams entered the final eight minutes of the first half deadlocked at 17, with the Bobcats in a bit of foul trouble. The Bobcats committed seven fouls compared to just four from CCSU in that time. Fouls would continue to be an issue for Quinnipiac in the first half, as they ended the frame with 12.
Two first years, redshirt forward Braylan Ritvo and guard Keith McKnight ended the first half in the most trouble, with McKnight’s two early fouls sending him to the bench for a period, and Ritvo leading the team with three. Monroe and Zimmerman also had two each in the first.
Both sides tallied mini scoring runs over the first 12 minutes of action, taking advantage of rough shooting periods for either side. A three pointer from graduate student guard Jay Rodgers extended CCSU’s run to 6-2, but this was quickly ended by another Monroe mid-range. This run came just after an 8-2 Quinnipiac run was silenced by a three from graduate student forward Nico Ashley.
Quinnipiac started to find their rhythm in the final eight minutes of the first half. Zimmerman, Monroe and Sophomore forward Grant Randall totaled ten points over four consecutive possessions. Zimmerman nailed two three pointers in the span of two minutes. Right as the Bobcats got hot, the Blue Devils cooled down.
CCSU mustered just one made field goal over a nearly six minute span toward the end of the half, as Quinnipiac had the longest run of the half by either side at 14-3 over five minutes. Zimmerman and Monroe finished the half with a combined 26 points, serving as the primary providers of Quinnipiac’s 37.
“It felt great. When it went in…I was a little bit shocked,” said Monroe postgame, describing his thoughts on a dunk to swing momentum. “That second one was for sure wide open, and I was like ‘yeah this is the one’.”
Both sides came out firing to begin the second half. After a stop on defense, senior guard Melo Sanchez nailed a three for CCSU to cut the lead back to single digits. However, Randall would answer with a deep three of his own to bring the game back to a ten-point Bobcat lead. A Monroe dunk followed by a layup on the next possession brought about the first CCSU timeout of the half, just two minutes in.
The first six and a half minutes served as the setting for another Quinnipiac run, capped by yet another Zimmerman three. Even after Ashley silenced yet another Bobcat scoring run, a Randall dunk brought M&T Bank Arena to life, and put Quinnipiac up by a game-high 19 points with 11:52 to play.
As much as Zimmerman and Monroe took control of the Bobcat offense, Randall put on a show of his own. His 14 points now stand as a career high, going along with a career high in rebounds with eight. A Randall three pointer extended the Bobcat’s most dominant run of the night, a 25-6 stretch, deep into the second half.
“I feel like I’m playing with a lot more confidence,” said Randall postgame. “Showing my energy helps me play a lot better. Obviously I’m a quiet guy off the court but on the court I need to be vocal for us to win games.”
CCSU fought hard for any type of run late in the second, and mustered a 6-2 stretch powered by a three from first-year guard Elijah Parker. McKnight would have a vicious answer for the Blue Devils’ mini run, as he would throw down a two-handed jam, putting Quinnipiac up by 24 late in the second half.
Believe it or not, the 23-point lead with 90 seconds left would not be what brought Quinnipiac fans to their feet. After chants of “we want AK” plagued head coach Tom Pecora for a good bit of the second half, fan favorite junior forward Akintola Akinniyi entered the game. He was joined by redshirt first-year Samson Reilly, who nailed a three pointer to close out Quinnipiac’s scoring.
“The crowd was outstanding…that’s a huge advantage,” said Pecora postgame. “We have this beautiful arena and when we have crowds like that it just makes it that much more special.”
Looking for revenge from last year’s road loss, the Bobcats will stay at home to face Yale on Tuesday, Nov. 11th, at 7:30pm at M&T Bank Arena.
