Tom Pecora’s Bobcats entered Monday’s game against the Jaspers hoping to snap a two-game losing streak. Tensions were high as this was a rematch of a matchup on Jan. 2 when both Pecora and Manhattan head coach John Gallagher were ejected from the game late in the second half after a scuffle from a hard foul on Quinnipiac’s Asim Jones.
The Bobcats came into the game sitting in fourth place in the MAAC while the Jaspers held seventh place. Both teams were in the top four of the Preseason MAAC Coaches Poll with Quinnipiac being picked as conference favorites.
“We were all hyped before the game and we had a morning meeting, and we talked about forgetting the losses and pushing through adversity,” Keith McKnight said after the game.
The game started with a hard layup by Jones out of the gate and a three-point play by Amarri Monroe. Jones kept contributing with a block off the glass followed by a pull-up three pointer on the other end. Jones hit another three later on and had eight points at the first media timeout.
The Quinnipiac offense then began to slow down, going over three minutes without scoring, but their defense helped keep Manhattan at bay, despite six early points by Anthony Issac. The score was 17-13 at the second media timeout.
At the 9:05 mark, an inbounds pass to the Jaspers’ Erik Oliver-Bush with less than three seconds left on the shot clock went in off the boards after a nifty move and poor inbounds defense by the Bobcats, cutting the Quinnipiac lead to three.
A mid range jumper by Manhattan’s Jaden Winston would make the score 22-21 Quinnipiac with 7:53 to go in the half. Winston had another nice finish to tie the game at 23. After a steal by Marko Ljubicic, Manhattan flew down the court and got the ball to Devin Dinkins to give Manhattan its first lead.
The lead changed hands a couple times until the Bobcats’ Tai Turnage and Grant Randal hit back-to-back threes. Manhattan’s Terrence Jones sank a three of his own to make the lead 33-32 with just over three minutes to go. Jones would hit another to tie the game at 35, but Asim Jones would hit a three right away to give the Bobcats the lead back.
A last second shot by Dinkins would go off the rim and the Bobcats would head into halftime up 38-37.
Terrence Jones led the Jaspers in points with 11 while Asim Jones led Quinnipiac with 10.
“I hope he gets 30 points every night,” Pecora said of Asim Jones. “His ability to get us into the offense and shoot well from deep, it really makes a big difference.”
Asim would pick up where he left off with a three to begin the second half, but a three from Dinkins would respond for the Jaspers. Two free throws from Issac and a three from Winston would give Manhattan an early eight point lead. Manhattan would lead 54-47 at the first media timeout.
Manhattan would continue to pour it on, moving its lead to 12 after a turnover by Asim Jones that let Terrance Jones score on the other end. The Bobcats would not back down as Jaden Zimmerman drew a foul and converted the free throw to end the Jasper run. Zimmerman would then slam down a two-handed jam to keep the momentum going. Two fouls on Manhattan’s Fraser Roxburgh allowed the Jaspers to maintain a 10 point lead.
After a crazy sequence that included a missed layup by Nate Gurengomba and a miss on the other end by Issac, Zimmerman would hit a three to cut the Jasper lead to four.
With five minutes to go, McKnight would hit a three to make the score 71-68 Jaspers. After a Terrance Jones layup, Zimmerman would follow with a jumper to keep the lead at three. Jaden Winston would respond with a three of his own to increase the Manhattan lead to six
Out of a timeout, Randal would lay it in under the basket and follow with a two-handed slam dunk to cut the Jasper lead to two. Issac would draw a foul on the other end and hit both free throws. Asim Jones would follow with a three to make the score 78-77 Jaspers.
Asim would then take the ball right of the hands of a Jasper and give the ball to Monroe who would give the Bobcats their first lead in what seemed like an eternity.
With 16 seconds left Dinkins would bank in a jumper to give Manhattan a 80-79 lead. Monroe would be fouled on the other end but would go 1-2 from the line and this game would go to overtime.
Although Monroe had a rough night shooting Pecora still praised his star forward saying “He’s a special player and that’s what veterans do. Young players get caught up in the moment and they get disappointed in themselves. You got to have a next play mindset.”
Monroe would open the scoring with a three from the corner with Roxburgh responding with a hard layup under the basket. Randall responded later with a mid-range jumper.
After a miss on a three from Roxburgh, Asim Jones would drive to the basket and lay it in to give the Bobcats a five point advantage. Jones would have the ball taken by Dinkins who would have a layup denied on the other end.
With 1:15 to go in the extra frame, Asim Jones would head to the line and hit both free throws to extend the Bobcats’ lead to three. Winston would get a chance to respond but would miss a wide open layup.
After an intentional foul on Monroe we would miss the first of a one-and-one to give the Jaspers another chance, but Asim Jones would pick up another steal. After Asim hit two free throws, Jaden Winston would drive down the court and be fouled, hitting both free throws.
Former high school quarterback Monroe would have McKnight go long and draw a foul. McKnight would hit the first free throw, miss the second, grab his own miss and lay it in to keep it a two possession game. Manhattan would not respond as Quinnipiac would take it 98-92.
“We went on a bad stretch, but we didn’t panic. We had a great team meeting, and talked about our needs, but we turned a corner and got the win,” Pecora said. “It would not have been the end of the world if we lost but I would much rather win.”
Asim Jones would lead the Bobcats with 30 points followed by Zimmerman with 17. McKnight picked up the first double-double of his career, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Devin Dinkins led the Jaspers with 25 points.
“It was a great team effort, I thought we showed great guts after being down and battling back,” Pecora said.
Quinnipiac will be back in action in Emmitsburg, Maryland to take on Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday Jan. 22 at 7:00 p.m.
