After defeating Maine at home on Monday, the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team looked to stretch its winning streak to four straight games when Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe Saint Peter’s came to town.
Both teams entered the game 0-2 in MAAC play, tied for last in the conference standings.
Quinnipiac had only one player, Zaid Hearst, score in double figures, and the Bobcats fell short against Saint Peter’s by the final score of 66-60 on Friday afternoon at the TD Bank Sports Center.
“Hard loss for us, and there was a lot at stake with both teams being 0-2 in conference play,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore said. “We knew we were going to be playing a really tough team defensively. But they were the better team today.”
Heading into action, Saint Peter’s ranked first in opposing field goal percentage, while Quinnipiac ranked second.
Quinnipiac managed to hold the Peacocks to just 36.2 percent from the floor, but shot only 32.2 percent themselves.
“They are a tough defensive team,” Moore said. “We are mirror images of each other on that side of the ball.”
The Bobcats shot just 2-for-18 from 3-point range on the night.
“They don’t give up a lot of good looks,” Moore said. “When we did get some, we just couldn’t make them.”
Hearst, the senior captain, finished with 26 points (24 in the second half) and 11 rebounds on the night. The Bobcats fell behind once he picked up his second foul halfway through the first half, as Saint Peter’s immediately went on a 14-4 run once he was forced to the bench.
“It was a huge call in the game,” Moore said. “His offense could have helped us in the last 10 minutes of the [first] half.”
Outside of Hearst, the Bobcats struggled to find consistent scoring production. Ousmane Drame and Justin Harris finished with seven points each, tied for second on the team.
Drame, shot just 2-of-7 from the floor, and was benched by Moore to begin the second half.
“I expected more out of Ous, he didn’t have a lot of energy to start the game,” Moore said. “I thought he played really poorly and we needed someone to bring us more energy.”
With the loss, the Bobcats fall to 6-6 on the season, and 0-3 in the MAAC. Quinnipiac is back in action on Tuesday, when it travels to Iona in search of its first win in MAAC play. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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