Garvey Young went to the line with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, and a 50-49 Quinnipiac lead. Young hit both free throws, giving Boston University 12 seconds to work with down by three.
Those 12 seconds would be all they needed.
Terrier John Papale raced up the court, before draining a three pointer to tie the game at 52 and send the contest into overtime. Boston outscored the Bobcats 17-10 in the five-minute stanza, winning their fifth of their last six games in the process by a final score of 69-62.
“The better team won,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore said. “Papale made some huge shots; obviously the biggest one at the end of the game. They got up six; it’s hard for us to come back because we’re not a three point shooting team.”
Quinnipiac turned the ball over 20 times in the contest, their second highest total of the season, trailing only Nov. 16 against Iona at the Paradise Jam.
“It hurts a lot. All the turnovers we had, we paid for them in big ways just like tonight,” sophomore Zaid Hearst said. “It hurts us.”
Zaid Hearst and Ike Azotam were bright spots on the day for the Bobcats, notching 18 and 19 points to their credit. Azotam also recorded 10 rebounds, good for his fourth double-double of the year.
Quinnipiac started strong in the first, leading for the first 10 minutes of play before Boston knotted the game at 11 with 9:56 remaining the half. Later, Kendrick Ray hit two consecutive shots to the tie the game at 26 with 50 seconds left. Young then hit a layup to give the Bobcats a 28-26 lead after 20 minutes.
In the second half, Boston controlled most of the floor before a Jamee Jackson layup gave Quinnipiac the 50-49 advantage.
“We got to win,” Moore said. “The biggest thing that helps confidence is winning games. We haven’t been in this situation too many times. Nothing good comes with losing. We need to snap off some wins. We’ve played a tougher schedule we’ve ever played in our nine games.”
Quinnipiac takes the week off before playing at Albany on Friday Dec. 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
