The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team’s (10-15, 7-8 MAAC) shooting was about as cold as the weather in its 76-45 loss to Saint Peter’s (13-12, 9-6) at home on Thursday night.

[media-credit id=2148 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

The Bobcats’ 45 points were a season low as they shot just 27.4 percent from the field.

The Peacocks were able to jump to an early lead when they went on a 14-0 run in the opening minutes. The run started with a three-pointer from senior guard Trevis Wyche, followed by eight straight points scored by Samuel Idowu. Sophomore guard Antwon Portley hit a three before Bobcats junior guard Reggie Oliver made a three to end the 3:43-long run.

“Saint Peter’s was terrific with their focus and their purpose and did what they do very well,” Bobcats head coach Tom Moore said. “As good as they were, we were equally as bad.”

The Bobcats weren’t able to get a rhythm going after that though, failing to get within single digits for the rest of the game. Their three leading scorers, Chaise Daniels, Mikey Dixon and Pete Kiss, had to spend time on the bench in the first half after getting into early foul trouble.

“No excuses,” Daniels said. “I just didn’t have it tonight.”

[media-credit id=2148 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

The Bobcats had 20 offensive rebounds, but only had 10 second-chance points to show for it. Kiss led the Bobcats with nine points, making it the first time all season that the Bobcats were held without a double-digit scorer, according Quinnipiac Athletics.

“[Saint Peter’s] is the best half-court man defensive team in the league. That’s their thing,” Moore said. “They’re really well-coached defensively. They do a good job on their scouting reports, and they’re really big on toughness on the ball.”

Idowu and Wyche, along with senior center Quadir Welton, had 14 points to lead all scorers.

The Peacocks went on a 17-0 run in the middle of the second half to give them a 69-32 lead with 7:23 remaining. Redshirt senior guard Cavon Baker led the run with eight points and finished the game with 12 points himself. Welton added another six points on the run.

[media-credit id=2148 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

“You can’t have a night against a good team where the ball’s not going in and you don’t guard with energy,” Moore said. “It’s not going to happen for you… that’s why the score was what it was.”

The Bobcats will next play on Saturday afternoon at Rider, the eighth-place team in the MAAC.