By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)
HAMDEN, Conn. — One would think after going into halftime up 28 points, Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora would have been a lot happier in his postgame press conference.
Instead, a sloppier—relative to the game—second half let Siena back into the game, and the Bobcats left M&T Bank Arena with a 72-53 victory Friday night.
“You win by 20, great,” Pecora said. “But when you’re a coach and you looking at the big picture, adding on a Sunday (game) and then games down the road, if you don't nip this shit in the bud and stop being selfish at times out there, which is really what it came down to, it’ll bite you in the tail again later in the year.”
The first 20 minutes were some of the best basketball the Bobcats had played all year. Entering the game in the bottom five nationally in three-point shooting, underclassmen Jaden Zimmerman (13 points, career-high five rebounds) and Khaden Bennett (14 points) knocked down a pair of threes to kick things off. A few minutes later, Quinnipiac's lead had ballooned all the way up to 31.
“(It’s) still early, I’m excited,” junior forward Amarri Monroe said. “We show spurts of how good we can be. Today, we really showed how good we can be.”
Monroe grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his team-high 16 points, good for his fourth double-double on the season. Right alongside him was graduate forward Paul Otieno. He also tacked on 12 points and 10 rebounds, eight of which came on the defensive end of the floor.
“That’s my job, that’s what we get paid to do,” Otieno said.
The second half was a lot closer, relative to the blowout first half. Siena—led by junior guard Justice Shoats—started to make shots and within a quick amount of time, the once-insurmountable Bobcat lead had dwindled down to 15.
“It's kind of hard playing when you're up 30 points in the second half,” Otieno said. “It's really hard to play the same with the same consistency.”
“We just have to be that much more disciplined, that much more attention to detail and everything we do, and not play selfish,” Monroe added. “You know, you got to continue to play as a team, and I think that's pretty hard for a lot of guys, including myself at times.”
Despite strong showings from Monroe, Otieno and Zimmerman, who played a whopping 36 minutes on the floor, there were still a few holes in the backcourt. Junior Ryan Mabrey put in his fourth straight game without hitting a field goal, and junior Doug Young was a DNP.
“(Ryan’s) a shooter. He's not making shots, but he's a good passer,” Pecora said on Mabrey’s diminished role. “Next time you get good looks, (if) you're taking good shots. I'll be fine with it. He's just got to keep working.”
Instead of those two veteran guards, Quinnipiac got major minutes off the bench from forward Grant Randall, one who Pecora thinks will be taking a massive leap during the next few months.
“I thought (he) was outstanding, did a good job. (He) got six rebounds as well, and 16 minutes. He's going to be really good,” Pecora said. “He's got a chance to be really, really special. And he's such a great kid, just the way he handles it, goes about his business.”
Next up on the Bobcats’ docket is a feisty Iona team, one that Pecora knows will require a full 40 minutes of consistency.
“Can we do it again on Sunday at Iona?” Pecora asked. “That's going to be mayhem, because they're going to run and press every possession, and they're going to try to make it look like a pickup game. We got to punish them for their pressure.”
As for the players on Pecora’s team? They just know Friday was just a glimmer of what they hope to prove and build on.
Otieno said it best.
“We’re never complete.”
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