While most Quinnipiac students were at home over break the Men’s Basketball team was still in Hamden, practicing and playing games. The team played eight games over the break, winning only two of them and bringing their record for the 2001-2002 season to 5-10.
The team’s first game of the break was on Dec. 18 against Dartmouth. Quinnipiac was down 42-35 at the half but managed to rally back and take the lead on two separate occasions in the second half. Dartmouth pulled ahead in the last minute of the game making the score 70-68. Senior co-captain Jared Grasso, of Syosset, N.Y., tried to answer back with a three-point toss at the buzzer that fell just short of taking the win for Quinnipiac.
On Dec. 21, Quinnipiac took on in-state rival, the UCONN Huskies at the Hartford Civic Center. QU managed to keep up with the UCONN men, and trailed by only 11 points at the half, (51-40). Quinnipiac cut the difference to 69-63 with 11:31 left in the game before the Huskies clenched the win after going on a 13-0 scoring run, making the final score of the game 95-79.
The St. John’s Red Storm racked up the first nine points of the game on Dec. 29 and kept the lead all the way through the end. Quinnipiac managed to come out strong in the second half of the game, but St. John’s still came away with a 97-60 win.
Quinnipiac picked up their first win of the break and snapped the three game losing streak in their first game of the New Year against Binghamton on Jan. 4. Sophomore Kason Mims, of Astoria, N.Y., Grasso and freshman Rob Monroe, of Lanham, Md., all scored in the double digits to take the 89-65 win over the Bearcats.
The Quinnipiac men picked up a second consecutive win on Jan. 10 against Sacred Heart. Quinnipiac led most of the first half of the game but the Pioneers managed to go to the half with a one-point lead (44-43). With only 6:30 left in the game Sacred Heart led 73-70.
It wasn’t until the final minutes that Quinnipiac went on a 15-0 run and managed to pull off an 86-78 win. Mims scored five of his ten points in the last 15 point spurt to help Quinnipiac come up from behind.
On Jan. 12, Quinnipiac battled it out on the court with Wagner College in a close game, and a good comeback that unfortunately fell just short of a win. Wagner managed to sink a last minute shot with 4.7 seconds left in the game to take the 77-75 win.
Mims had 27 points in the efforts against Wagner, tying his all time high, and freshman C.J. Vicks, of Springfield, Va., played a key role in Quinnipiac’s comeback attempt with a career high 13 points, all scored in the last 20 minutes of the game.
On Jan. 16 the Quinnipiac Men’s Basketball team took on Central Connecticut and suffered another loss, 84-74. Quinnipiac was down by 27 points going into the half, but rallied back scoring 16 uninterrupted points quickly in the second half. Unfortunately, the rally was not enough for the win.
Central Connecticut has won 14 consecutive games against Quinnipiac, the last time Quinnipiac beat the Blue Devils was in 1982. Monroe, 5’10”, led Quinnipiac with 18 points in the game, and Mims, 6’3″, followed close behind with 17.
Quinnipiac stretched their winless streak to three games when they played St. Francis (N.Y.) on Jan. 1 and lost 112-102. Two Quinnipiac players posted double points and rebounds. Senior co-captain Bill Romano, of Wethersfield, Conn., had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Jeremy Bishop, of Cohoes, N.Y., had 20 points and 17 rebounds, and Monroe had 17 points. The streak ended Jan. 23 against Fairleigh Dickinson, in the team’s first game after the winter break.
Quinnipiac trailed in the contest with 7:29 remaining in the game, when a spurt of points came just in the time to help pull Quinnipiac ahead to take an 84-79 win over the Knights. Five players scored in the double digits for QU and Grasso sunk all four of his free throws in the final minute of the game to help seal the victory.
Oh Jan. 21, freshman guard Rob Monroe was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week. Monroe is currently ranked 1st in the NEC for assist/turnover ratio (2.5/1).
He ranks first among freshmen with points (11.9 per game), assists (3.5 per game), three-point percentage (.410) and three pointers made (32). Monroe follows co-captains Bill Romano and Jared Grasso and Jeremy Bishop in scoring on the team.
Bishop is currently the number one rebounder in the nation, with 173 total, averaging 12.4 per game.
The Men’s Basketball team takes on Robert Morris away in Moon Township, PA on Feb. 2. The team’s next home game is Feb. 7 against Monmouth.