Which Bobcats impressed, disappointed in Saturday’s loss to CCSU?

Jaden Zimmerman has been among bright spots in Quinnipiac’s non-conference season, which reached penultimate game Saturday against Central Connecticut. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — The non-conference slate for Quinnipiac has been as wonky as can be.

Saturday’s installment—an 82-80 loss to in-state rival Central Connecticut State—was just that. A frantic, come-from-behind effort fell just short, in which the Bobcats almost climbed back from 10 points in the final moments.

“If your team plays really hard and you have the ability to defend and rebound the basketball, and you got a couple guys who can make shots, you're gonna have a chance to win most games,” head coach Tom Pecora said. “We're still not shooting the ball well, but today we defended our tails off in stretches, and that's what kept us in the game.”

The Bobcats’ second straight loss dropped them to 5-7 on the young season, all seven losses coming against non-MAAC opponents. For context, last year’s Quinnipiac team lost its seventh game of the season on February 23 against Fairfield. Those Bobcats lost just 10 games all season, two of which came in postseason play.

“I think we got spoiled a little bit last year,” Pecora said. “We played a lot of home games, and now this is the payback.”

So with the Blue Devils defending their home floor, here are a few Bobcats that shined in the losing effort, and some who struggled:

Impressed: Ryan Mabrey

It’s no surprise, the Miami University transfer has struggled to kick off his Bobcat career. On Saturday, he found the scoring spark that brought him to Quinnipiac. Mabrey’s 12 points were his most since scoring 17 on November 9 at St. John’s, and second-highest all year. Nine of those 12 came from beyond the arc, something Pecora wanted to get involved in the offense. 

“He’s a great three-point shooter,” Pecora said. “We got to get him back to being a great three-point shooter, but he can also pass the ball, he’s got great size. He does some good things.”

He came off the bench in the loss, a move he’s been relegated to in recent weeks, but was the Bobcats’ third-highest scorer in the game. Only teammate Amarri Monroe (three made threes) and CCSU’s Devin Haid (five made threes) bested him in the long-range department.

Disappointed: Alexis Reyes

After starting the season as one of Quinnipiac’s four captains, it appears that Reyes is no longer. 

The senior forward has seen his minutes dip in the Bobcats’ recent skid, some of which was impacted by a nagging back injury. The senior forward mustered just two points—a first half jumper from the wing—and only played 10 minutes, his lowest total all season.

“Lex hasn't been playing great, you know, we need him to,” Pecora said. “He's one of the guys who I talked to about, over break here, clear your head, come back and play the way you were playing last year.”

Pecora mentioned that with a calmer schedule ahead of the team, he expects Reyes to go back to his ways of his junior season. Now, the hope is that Reyes can find the bottom of the net—he’s only scored more than eight points once this year, in Quinnipiac’s season-opening loss to Yale on November 4.

Impressed: Jaden Zimmerman

Zimmerman—far and away Quinnipiac’s best freshman to start the year—found the scoring touch he had earlier in the season. The Bronx native dropped 10 points, including getting two shots to fall from beyond the arc.

Today’s game was Zimmerman’s second straight in double figures, and sixth overall throughout his freshman season. He’s started to get more comfortable shooting the ball along the perimeter, and with that, the points will come. Zimmerman also got some good looks down the stretch, where the Bobcats were on the verge of stealing the win.

“I thought we were going to steal it, to be quite honest, at one point,” Pecora said. 

Disappointed: Khaden Bennett

Back in the starting lineup, Bennett has arguably been Quinnipiac’s most impactful player through the first 11 games. Against the Blue Devils, he struggled to find that same impact.

With just six points, Bennett saw his streak of scoring in double figures snapped at six games. He had a few strong drives to the rim during the Bobcats’ late comeback, but just like the rest of the team, it was too little, too late.

“One or two plays, one or two whistles, but, you know, too late, obviously,” Pecora lamented. “But that doesn't mean you know, as a coach, you're always looking at those last few minutes and you're thinking, how can that help prepare me for the next game.”

For the Bobcats, that next game is a home date with Hofstra in eight days. For Pecora, it’s a reunion, as the former head coach of the Pride for nine seasons closes out the Bobcats’ non-conference schedule a week from Sunday against his former employer.

“Hofstra is a different animal than the two teams we just played,” Pecora said. “They’re good.”