The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team dropped its third straight game on Saturday night, falling to Brown University, 80-74. It marked the end of a tough week for the Bobcats, who also lost games to New Hampshire and Colgate. The ‘Cats now stand at 2-4 on the season.

Brown held a 39-33 lead going into halftime thanks to 26 made free throws in the first frame. The ‘Cats were able to pull even, however, after an Adam Gonzalez lay-up made it a 48-48 game with 14 minutes remaining in the second half. Another Gonzalez lay-up, this one coming with 7:34 left to play, gave Quinnipiac a 61-59 lead. But two Brown free throws from Marcus Becker knotted the game at 61. Brown never relinquished the lead from that point on.

Although the Bobcats repeatedly came back, the Bears were able to hold them off, converting 47 of 60 free throws. The 47 free throws were a record for any Quinnipiac opponent. It also set a new Brown record.

Gonzalez paced Quinnipiac with 18 points. He has scored 50 points in the Bobcats last three games and currently leads the team at 13.2 points per game. Dale Meinbresse also chipped in with a career-high 16 points, hitting three of five shots from beyond the arc.

After the game, Quinnipiac head coach Joe DeSantis knew that all the fouling eventually doomed his team.

“Sometimes we think that for us to play hard, we have to foul,” DeSantis said. “They shot 32 free throws in the first half; it must be some kind of record.”

DeSantis also thinks that his team will right the ship in its upcoming games.

“It’s a tough game, but we play hard and it’s early in the season, so we have to get better,” he said. “We’re going to take a day off and then get back to work. If we win [Thursday], we’ll be in first place in the league.”

The Bobcats open up league play on Thursday night at Mount St. Mary’s. That game is set to tip at 7 p.m. in Emmitsburg, Md.