A balanced scoring attack by St. Francis, along with injuries and foul trouble for Quinnipiac, caused the men’s basketball team to lose Saturday’s game, 83-75.
The Terriers (11-7 overall, 10-1 in Northeast Conference) had six players in double figures, including a 20 point effort by Richy Dominguez, which helped them pull away in the second half.
Efforts by Kareem Lee, who had 16 points, and Vernon Thompson, who scored 14, helped Quinnipiac (4-13 overall, 1-9 in the conference) hold a lead throughout much of the game.
The match-up looked positive for the Braves when St. Francis was assessed a technical foul before the game even began and the momentum carried Quinnipiac for much of the first half. St. Francis did not score for the first 4:45 of the contest.
But the Braves lack of depth from the bench was evident as Jared Grasso (sprained back) missed the game and Collin Charles played only one minute. With that much firepower missing, it was necessary for someone to step up to the challenge and carry the team. However, only Lee and Thompson scored in double figures.
“We were just hurt. Guys were limping in to play this game. There was nothing we could do about it,” said Braves Coach Joe DeSantis.
DeSantis emptied what was left of his of his bench in an attempt to keep pace with the Terrier attack, but fouls kept Quinnipiac from overcoming the uphill battle.
Jason Rosato fouled out with 5:06 to play and Alphah East was tossed, receiving two technicals for hanging on the rim.
The 42-37 halftime lead Quinnipiac held proved not to be enough, as St. Francis took the lead with 14:40 to play in regulation.
The two teams traded momentum throughout much of the contest, with the second half opening fast. East had a break away off an in-bound pass for an uncontested jam, firing up his team and the crowd at the Burt Kahn Court, but the rush was silenced when he was whistled for his second technical for rim-hanging.
With just over eight minutes to play, St. Francis began to pull away when the Braves went over the foul limit for the rest of the game.
A great defensive effort helped Quinnipiac erupt for a few comebacks. A Jamar Fields steal and dunk on the other end brought the Braves within four with 5:20 to play.
“We showed tremendous effort today,” DeSantis said.”They definitely played like the top team today.”