Quinnipiac rests stars, ends regular season with loss at Fairfield

With Quinnipiac resting its star players for regular season finale, Richie Springs posted 22 points and 14 rebounds as Bobcats fell short against Fairfield. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Once the Quinnipiac Bobcats clinched the MAAC regular season title, their second in as many years, the decision was made to rest their best players.

Saturday’s finale, an 83-74 loss to the Fairfield Stags, was a fairly competitive game between two teams that were in dramatically different spots. The Stags needed a win to punch their ticket to the conference tournament, while the Bobcats’ Amarri Monroe, Savion Lewis and Paul Otieno all watched the game from the bench.

All three of them were inactive for rest, according to a team source. But head coach Tom Pecora made note of the fact that all three of them were banged up in some capacity.

“They're banged up, you know? They’ve been playing hurt,” Pecora said. “Amarri has got a back (injury), and Sav’s got two thumb injuries, and Paul’s just beat up because you know, he's in the mix every night. So I have no worries about them bouncing back and being fresher.”

In their stead, the team got an extended look at some of its reserves. Graduate forward Richie Springs had a super day replacing Otieno, recording a career-high 22 points and 14 rebounds in the most minutes (30) he’s played all year. Freshman Grant Randall also played a larger role on the wing, sometimes slotting in as the Bobcats’ primary big man.

“I thought the guys really rose to the occasion,” Pecora said. “Guys who never played that many minutes, Grant Randall played 30 minutes, you know? Richie Springs obviously rose to the occasion, (he) played at a very high level.”

The Bobcats also got 14 points from junior Ryan Mabrey, whose shaky season from beyond the arc seemed to turn a corner against the Stags. Without Otieno and Monroe running the court, Mabrey’s three-point shooting became a focal point in the first half, something not seen since the second game of the season at St. John’s.

“Ryan Mabrey shot the ball well, so now we have an opportunity where we can play Richie and Ryan more in the tournament,” Pecora said. “When you go into a tournament, you gotta play three games in four days. The more depth you have, obviously the better.”

Without having to face Monroe—a frontrunner for MAAC Player of the Year honors—and Otieno, the Stags were able to slowly grind their way into the game, and ultimately sneak into the postseason as the No. 10 seed.

“None of these games are instant coffee,” Fairfield head coach Chris Casey said. “(You) just gotta keep grinding them out. We made some plays offensively and got some stops on the other end.”

And while Fairfield celebrates moving onto the conference tournament, Saint Peter’s will miss out on the chance to repeat as MAAC champions. With a Quinnipiac win, the Peacocks would have snuck into the bracket ahead of the Stags. Though the game didn’t mean much to Pecora’s squad, the Bobcats still came out firing.

“I think they played their balls off,” Pecora said. “You got three all-conference players that didn't play.”

All three of those players will be ready for the games that do matter next week in Atlantic City. The Bobcats are set to face the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 8 Rider and No. 9 Siena at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. So how will the team prepare for a matchup where the opponent isn’t known yet?

“We're gonna go hard on Monday,” Pecora said. “We'll go short, but hard on Tuesday, and then we take our show down the road. Then you see what we can do on Wednesday. This is the most competitive league in the country when you look at point differential, night in and night out, so it's going to be a great tournament.”