Inside the mental makeup that catapulted Quinnipiac to comeback win over Manhattan

Savion Lewis brings ball up for Quinnipiac. Bobcats overcame double-digit deficit Sunday to beat Manhattan. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

NEW YORK — Amarri Monroe wouldn’t go into specifics, but by the look on his face, it was fairly obvious how head coach Tom Pecora’s halftime speech went.

“It was not a conversation, very one-sided,” Monroe said following Quinnipiac’s come-from-behind 74-71 win over Manhattan. “We were playing bad, and he just let us know about it. Not gonna say what he said, but he let us know about it for sure. That's why I love him.”

The junior forward had a tale of two halves, as did all of the Bobcats. A 23-point first half, littered with sloppy turnovers and a myriad of missed shots, pushed the Bobcats into a corner that could only be rectified with some hard coaching. 

“Our physicality and athleticism kicked in, but it shouldn't have to take us getting down (17) for us to do that,” Pecora said. “We gotta grow up. That was our discussion after the game.”

That hard coaching—which graduate guard Savion Lewis admitted he was more than used to—clearly worked. Monroe had bounced back, finishing the afternoon with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Two of those points came on an emphatic, momentum-shifting dunk that gave the Newburgh, New York native his 1,000th career point.

“We're going to celebrate him,” Lewis said. “He's a humble guy, and he doesn't worry about his individual achievements. But, like, it's just the true testament of all his work.”

The humbleness that the Bobcats’ best player exudes is evident. He appreciates the individual accolades, and the healthy rebounding competition with graduate forward Paul Otieno. But it’s about winning games with him, as is the rest of the team that just seems to play better from behind.

So what helped the Bobcats claw into the lead? After playing 17 minutes in the first half, Otieno played just three minutes before spending most of the second half on the bench. Manhattan head coach John Gallagher was semi-surprised with the decision, saying that it comes down to one or two possessions a half, regardless of whether the Bobcats’ starting center is in the game.

“They went small,” Gallagher said. “Our offensive system for a guy like Otieno is going to be hard. They did a good job. They took him out of the game, and what we didn't do a good job of is going inside more.”

Like his coaching counterpart, Pecora was surprised about Otieno, this time for a different reason. 

“Paul looked tired to me, and, you know, we had Friday off, so I'm surprised by that,” Pecora said. “We all knew it was coming, just he's played so many minutes. They did a great job, you know, congesting the lane and really going after him when he put the ball on the ground.”

The mental fortitude of Quinnipiac was evident all of the second half. The team scored 51 points in the final 20 minutes, including some massive three-pointers from sophomore guard Khaden Bennett. 

After starting the year hot, Bennett had struggled in recent weeks. Today was a new version of him, as Bennett drilled shot after shot, often in immediate response to some of the Jaspers’ makes. His last one was the dagger. Sitting in the corner, Quinnipiac’s fast-paced perimeter passing left Bennett uncovered, and he buried it. He finished the day with 18 points (second only to Monroe) and brought life to the bench, the same one that looked lifeless just an hour prior.

“Everyone thinks it's just a talent base,” Pecora said. “Your ability to compete on a very high level and shake off bad plays, and I've been talking to him about (not playing) scared. You can't live scared, you can't play scared. You gotta go out there and you gotta have confidence.”

Quinnipiac is now riding a three-game winning streak ahead of a nationally-televised bout against Saint Peter’s on Friday. Does a win of this magnitude change the mindset of this team?

Lewis doesn’t think so.

“Obviously, the goal is to win the whole entire thing, but we know that we’re capable of winning everything,” he said. “So why settle and fall short? Nah, let's just go win this whole thing.”