Bobcats grab 9th win in takedown of Lafayette

Luis Kortright shot Quinnipiac past Lafayette Saturday with near-triple-double. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

HAMDEN, Conn. — It’s only December, but Baker Dunleavy’s Quinnipiac team is getting very used to the feeling of scoring more than its opponent on any given night. It happened again on Saturday against a struggling Lafayette team, and this time, it was Luis Kortright’s turn to lead the charge with his near triple-double performance that came just one assist shy from the renowned statistical feat.

“To get 10 rebounds and that many assists, you have to have great teammates,” Dunleavy told reporters after Quinnipiac’s 76-63 home win that lifted the Bobcats to 9-2 on the season. “When you have a guy like Luis who can make any play, then you have a chance for something special with him.”

Behind Kortright’s exploits, the Bobcats built as much as an 18-point lead in the second half and had to stave off a late comeback attempt from the Leopards to officially register their ninth win in 11 tries. When in doubt in this game, Quinnipiac marched to the beat of Kortright, who seemed to always have something up his sleeve to terrorize Lafayette. After all, it was his 4-point play that pushed the lead back to 13 with 2:44 left and proved to be the final dagger.

“I wanted to get (the triple-double) personally, but the team is first,” said Kortright, who was entrusted with the point guard duties and made the most of it. “If we would’ve lost the game, the stats wouldn’t have mattered.” 

Talk of the potential triple-double was nothing more than external noise, according to Dunleavy. He knew Kortright was on track for the achievement after one of his assistants brought it to his attention at halftime. All it did was reinforce what already met the eye test, that Kortright’s teammates were able to benefit equally from his play.

“It’s not healthy for the mindset of a team that talks about process,” Dunleavy said, dismissing an inquiry about the extent to which the triple-double watch seeped into his team’s consciousness. “We were talking about what needed to be done on the defensive end to pull away.”

Even after a 13-6 Quinnipiac run to start the second half put the Leopards on blowout notice, Lafayette didn’t panic and stayed true to its identity as a team that lives and dies by the three. All in all, the Leopards took 36 threes and hit 12 of them. Their rapid fire from long range was the catalyst behind a 13-4 scoring run that featured three threes and cut the Quinnipiac lead to 56-49 with 11:47 left. The Leopards hung around some more, getting as close as seven two more times before Quinnipiac’s size and athleticism down low finally wore them out. 

Ike Nweke was a force down the stretch, scoring nine points in the final 14 minutes to cap off his 17-point, nine-rebound effort. While Kortright was busy orchestrating everything, Nweke and first team preseason all-MAAC pick Matt Balanc carried the scoring load for the Bobcats with 17 apiece. Balanc was unstoppable at the game’s outset and poured in eight of his team’s first 11 points, showing off his usual impressive range while also mixing things up with his soft touch from mid-range.

Mostly everything went right for Quinnipiac in the early going, which was a testament to its aggressive style of play that enraptured those in attendance on Saturday afternoon at the M&T Bank Arena. When the pace plays into the Bobcats’ hands, such as the fast and athletic brand of basketball they showcased for solid stretches in the opening stanza, the game comes easy for their guards. The higher the tempo, the more dangerous a threat this team becomes to score points in a hurry, and that was the driving force behind Quinnipiac’s 11-2 run that closed the half and put them up 11 at the break.

The attack mode from Quinnipiac carried over into the second half, which saved the Bobcats from growing complacent and playing down to the level of their opponent. Still, Dunleavy and his squad still weren’t afforded much of a break as the Leopards stayed within striking range with their high volume of threes, which saw six treys drop in each half. Thanks to a strong finish, the Bobcats managed to outscore Lafayette by just two over the final 20 minutes.

Through 11 games, this Quinnipiac team is making a good case that it is built differently with the way it handles adversity. The newfound maturity the Bobcats have shown this season is why the current times, in a nutshell, feel fundamentally different than previous seasons under Dunleavy. One stretch last season saw the Bobcats lose nine of their last 10 regular season games before experiencing a sudden resurgence in Atlantic City.

“We didn’t have the ability to concentrate last season and withstand runs,” Dunleavy said when reflecting on his team’s growth. “We don’t have that many new players, but we have guys who returned with a different mindset, wanting to channel different results.”

It’s part of this cultural reset that helped Quinnipiac send Lafayette back home to Easton with its tenth loss on the campaign. The end result gives Dunleavy’s squad almost the same number of wins as the Leopards have losses, a telltale sign of the good times the Bobcats have enjoyed so far this season.

“I think we have a lot of guys who are choosing to buy into the identity of the team and it’s going to be different guys on different nights,” said Dunleavy, the architect behind Quinnipiac’s best start to a season since 1969-70, when the then-Braves were still a Division II program. “They’re happy for each other.”

Before arriving in Hamden, Lafayette already played a difficult non-conference slate featuring a trio of high majors in Miami, St. John’s and Penn State. The Leopards lost all three games yet weren’t close to being humiliated by any of those behemoths. Dunleavy spoke highly of his opponent after Quinnipiac had to dig deep to weather Lafayette’s dangerous three-point attack. 

“We’ve struggled defending multiple shooters, and I thought today overall, our communication was really good,” said Dunleavy. “I saw a lot of the things we’ve been working on happen.”

The Bobcats are trending up thanks in large part to their dynamic guard play. Depending on the night, the Bobcats can lean on Kortright, Balanc or Dezi Jones for big performances without putting too much pressure on them to perform. On Saturday afternoon, it happened to be the Kortright show.

“I see him do that everyday,” Balanc said with a laugh before turning more pensive with his postgame comments. “Last year, he was coming off an injury and he was a little bit into himself trying to come back, but I think this year he came in with a different mindset and is putting the work in a bit more, and it’s starting to show.” 

Dunleavy is the first to acknowledge the talent mixed with depth at the guard sport, and just how important those traits will be if the Bobcats are to make a deep run in March. Saint Peter's laid the blueprint last March with a guard-heavy system. For Dunleavy, the main objective is getting his guards to consistently buy in on the defensive end. 

“I think it dictates on the defensive end who we are,” Dunleavy said about the integral role of Quinnipiac’s guards. “We have really talented offensive players and when they choose to get into their stance and commit on the defensive end is when we’re at our best.”