Get used to this Quinnipiac, the team that’s better when it’s down

Amarri Monroe reacts as Quinnipiac comes back with resurgent second half to retake MAAC lead after defeating Saint Peter’s. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

HAMDEN, Conn. — There are things that are just better with age. 

Your mind may go to wine, or even cheese. For the MAAC-leading Quinnipiac Bobcats, their team gets better with age.

Another comeback win—this one a 69-64 thriller against Saint Peter’s Friday night—proves that this team, for some reason, is just better when it’s down in the second half.

“They're different than when I was younger, but I mean, now I’m out of my mind, but older,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora said on his emotions. “Look, it's different. Once we get that flow, we’re dangerous.”

That flow didn’t come until halfway through the second half. It really started with an Amarri Monroe slam or two. After allowing his matchup to score on three straight possessions, Pecora mentioned his junior forward. Once he checked back in, the Bobcats rattled off a 19-2 run and fed off the crowd’s energy to once again, coming from behind to steal a win.

“We're confident that, like, if we're down, we're gonna come back,” graduate guard Savion Lewis said. “But obviously, no player wants to be down to begin with. We have to have better starts in the first half. I'm glad that we have such a talented and experienced team that we can come back in the second half.”

But it’s not really stealing when it was obvious what was going to happen. 

The Peacocks—just like their thrilling postseason win over these same Bobcats a year prior—had a similar game plan, to force Quinnipiac into tough shots after stifling the passing lanes. They wanted to keep it a low-scoring game, a rock fight, as Pecora called it. The thing is, this was the Bobcats’ third win in four games after trailing by double digits at halftime. It happened against Fairfield, Sacred Heart, Manhattan, and now again on national television against a Saint Peter’s team fighting for its postseason life. 

“We're playing with fire, I told them that,” Pecora said. “But when you do that, it's empowering. You can't depend on it, but you know you can do it because you've done it before, like anything else.”

It felt like a typical Bobcats win this year. Monroe and graduate forward Paul Otieno both grabbed double-doubles, their 13th and 12th of the year, respectively. The defense tightened down the stretch and big plays on the offensive glass flipped the game's momentum on its head and then some.

“We just got desperate,” Otieno said on the team’s second half switch. “The game was almost over, we were gonna lose. Pick it up, pick it up.”

And once the proverbial air was out of the Peacocks’ balloon, it was all but over. The abysmal three-point shooting (4-for-20) didn’t matter, nor did the two early fouls Monroe picked up in the first half. Neither did the self-induced holes the Bobcats put themselves into. For them, because they had come back before, it was just another game.

“I wish I had an answer for (why we’re so good when we’re down),” Monroe said. “I guess we just played better when we're down. I mean, I hate that. That's the type of team we are, but it's going to hurt us if we continue to do this. Going into this tournament, you have to learn to play 40, quick.”

Sure, it may take a fiery halftime speech from Pecora to rattle their cage, albeit not as intense as Sunday’s halftime message, the team admitted. It’s a testament to a Bobcats team that used to fold in games like this. But not this year.

“We dug in on defense, and when he gets into guys, like none of us take it personal,” Monroe said. “So we kind of need that every now and then.”

So in his seventh season, Lewis (15 points, five assists) took part in yet another senior day. It’s just a reminder that the past is just that. It’s not about the heartbreaking loss to these Peacocks from last year’s trip to Atlantic City. It’s just about their self-titled one-game winning streaks.

“I'm waiting until we win the whole thing, and then maybe I'll rest and look back and reflect,” Lewis said. “But right now, I have one mission, and that's to win the whole thing.”

These Bobcats could in fact win the whole thing, and punch their ticket to March Madness for the first time in program history. You might just want to wait until the second half to turn the TV on.