Quinnipiac’s determination, defense pays off in upset of URI

Dezi Jones brings ball up for Quinnipiac during Bobcats’ upset of Rhode Island Monday. (Photo by Quinnipiac Men’s Basketball)

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

Year six of the Baker Dunleavy era in Hamden got off to a resounding start Monday night, with the Quinnipiac Bobcats defeating the University of Rhode Island by a score of 67-62. All the tough times the program had endured in recent seasons dissipated on this night in Kingston, where the Bobcats had eight players get on the scoresheet. And, most notably, they were able to do it despite only getting three points from senior guard Matt Balanc on what was a rare off night for the preseason first team all-MAAC selection. 

The Bobcats’ impressive scoring depth was on display right from the jump, with the first eight points coming from four different Quinnipiac players. It started with Columbia transfer Ike Nweke, who backed down his defender and got a baby hook shot to fall for his first two points in the blue and gold. With Nweke anchoring the paint, the Bobcat offense found good pace and spacing early, which in turn created room for its guards to go to work. 

“He was a beast,” Dunleavy said of the newcomer Nweke, who produced 13 points and 11 rebounds. “And he could do that every time he steps on the court. It’s just a decision he has to make to be consistent.” 

The bench sparks were a big part of Quinnipiac’s success as well. Junior guard Luis Kortright cooked the URI defense all night, using a balanced repertoire of drives, midrange looks, and dishes to teammates. Alexis Reyes and Savion Lewis were active in their own right and combined for 10 points. 

“This is certainly the first time we’ve played nine or ten guys not by necessity, but by choice,” Dunleavy said of the newfound depth of his Bobcats team. “It will give us the ability to play different teams in different ways and to stay fresh on the court.”

Then, there was Dezi Jones, who opposing defenses still have to deal with before getting to the aforementioned trio of guards off the bench. Jones has a killer stroke from three and midrange which he victimized URI with no matter who was guarding him. His efforts yielded 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and two of three 3-point attempts.

The Quinnipiac defense was aggressive and got enough stops to close out the game. In his Quinnipiac debut, Paul Otieno was inserted at the four spot in the starting lineup and did yeoman’s work on defense. With Quinnipiac up only four with two minutes left, Otieno stalked Sebastian Thomas’ fast break and swatted his layup off the glass to keep it a two-possession game. Almost fittingly, Otieno was able to retrieve the game-sealing offensive rebound with 40 seconds left and his team ahead by six.

When Quinnipiac went up by as many as 11 points in the second half, there was still no guarantee a lead of that margin would be enough against a bigger school playing on its home court. To their credit, the Bobcats had answers even though URI did make a late-game push. 

“We knew it would be a game of runs,” Dunleavy said. “And for us, we were able to hang our head on defending and rebounding and finding a way to win.” 

Time after time, it was Kortright who came up big for the Bobcats after only averaging 3.5 points per game last season in a reduced role. He walked away from the opener with 15 points, of which 11 came during the second half to go along with five steals. On one possession in the second half, Kortright maneuvered his way to the hoop for a sweet reverse finish, evoking flashes of former Manhattan star Jose Perez. You could call it basketball poetry in motion. 

In past seasons under Dunleavy, the Bobcats have been a team that would beat you with the 3-point shot. Three times they have finished top five in the country in threes per game. On Monday night, Quinnipiac sunk six threes on 20 attempts, but was more effective getting to the hoop or feeding off Nweke’s aggressiveness down low. 

“Our guys’ ability to find ways to make plays and contribute when shots weren’t falling was a big part of our attitude during the game,” Dunleavy said. 

The MAAC may not be known for having the tallest teams in college basketball, but together, the 6’7” Nweke and 6’8” Otieno outplayed their counterparts from the Atlantic 10 Conference. Just wait until Nweke gets his chance against Fairfield’s Supreme Cook, Manhattan’s Josh Roberts, or Iona’s Nelly Junior Joseph.

The other notable off-season acquisition was Elijah Taylor, a Philadelphia native who played his freshman season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Unfortunately for Quinnipiac, his debut will have to wait until next season after he tore his ACL during a preseason practice. 

“He’s not traveling with us right now, but he soon will be,” Dunleavy said of Taylor. “We have an athletic trainer who works around the clock with him and he’s doing a really good job rehabbing.”

Dunleavy will take the confidence-building win like the one over URI on Monday night, while being the first to acknowledge that there are still 30 games left. Just last season, Dunleavy’s team had a stretch of losing nine of 10 games in the MAAC. He knows far too well the nature of the beast that is the MAAC schedule to get ahead of himself. 

“First game of the year, so you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself,” Dunleavy said. “But going forward, that experience of knowing what you can do to do things well is a confidence builder. We don’t want this to be a flash in the pan.” 

Early Wednesday evening, Quinnipiac departed campus en route to Easton, Massachusetts for a matchup with a Stonehill on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Stonehill will be looking to prove something after suffering a 31-point loss at UConn in its Division I debut.

“There’s gonna be a lot of excitement around it,” Dunleavy said of it being Stonehill’s first ever Division I home game. “They will make it hard on us.”