Miles away, here’s how Quinnipiac reacted to Fairfield’s buzzer-beating win over Marist

Amarri Monroe was scoreboard watching after posting career-high 28 points for Quinnipiac Thursday, immediately checking on Marist and Fairfield. Red Foxes’ loss moved Bobcats back into MAAC lead. (Photo by Ethan Hurwitz/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

HAMDEN, Conn. — Quinnipiac junior forward Amarri Monroe—fresh off an 89-71 win over the Canisius Golden Griffins Thursday night—finished his postgame availability, walked out of the media room and instantly shoved his face into his phone. He wanted to watch the ending of the Fairfield-Marist game on ESPNU.

He wasn’t alone, we soon found out.

Just seconds after Fairfield’s Deon Perry drilled a full-court, buzzer-beating three to upset the MAAC-leading Marist Red Foxes, it was clear the Bobcats were just as invested in their rivals’ game as their own.

The entire Quinnipiac locker room erupted in cheers. Monroe sprinted into the locker room. The 10-2 Bobcats had just taken sole possession of first place in the MAAC.

“I know there’s a lot of one-point games going on,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora said just moments before. “We’ll see what the wacky MAAC looks like tonight.”

Earlier in his press conference, Pecora broke down his team’s seventh conference win in eight games and how its depth played a role. He praised Monroe—who scored a career-high in points for the fourth time in five games—and previewed the Bobcats’ upcoming game in two days. He still let it slip that the rest of the conference was on his mind.

“That’s not what we’re looking for,” Pecora laughed after learning that Marist’s lead was three with under a minute to play. “Not that I’m checking.”

Others weren’t so subtle with their scoreboard watching. When Monroe (who got his eighth double-double of the year) and senior forward Alexis Reyes (12 points) walked in for their postgame interviews, Monroe told his teammate to go first. He was enthralled with the game. While Reyes praised his teammate, Monroe’s eyes stayed locked in.

“Mari’s different,” Reyes said. “He don’t take plays off. He plays hard every play, and that’s why I have to respect him. Every day, he comes and works hard.”

When Monroe took his turn at the podium, Reyes scurried away, eager to get back into the locker room. Monroe took his phone and hid below the microphone, trying to watch the game mid-interview before realizing it wasn’t going to work. He moved it to the side table. In between questions, he took some quick glances at the phone. 

When he wasn’t trying to catch a peak, he was fielding questions on his career night and the Bobcats’ winning effort, one that came after another team-wide illness struck during the week. 

“(I’m) pretty locked in, shot selection is way better,” Monroe said. “I’m not trying to force anything, you know? (The) game’s kind of just coming to me, and I just get the easy buckets.”

For now, the Bobcats will remain in first place. They have played more games than Marist, but based on how the team reacted in the locker room, it’s a safe guess that they don’t care.