In front of a raucous student section and the largest crowd all season at the TD Bank Sports Center, the Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s basketball team defeated their in-state rival, the Sacred Heart Pioneers, for the second time in three days by a tally of 90-87.

With today’s win Quinnipiac remained undefeated on their home court, a perfect 9-0. The atmosphere in the building was electric and head coach Tom Moore noticed.

“It was awesome,” Moore said. “That’s the first time since I’ve been a coach here that I felt we had a home-court advantage that you could feel.”

The 2,778 in attendance received a thumbs up from Moore and clapping from the rest of the team after the win.

Senior James Feldeine carried the Bobcats (16-7, 10-2 NEC) offensively in the second half. After going 0-for-5 from the field and only scoring four points in the first half, Feldeine exploded for 12 in the first 10 minutes of the second frame. He finished with 22 points for the game while also contributing eight rebounds.

The Bobcats attacked the rim throughout the game which helped send them to the charity stripe an astounding 52 times. Quinnipiac converted on a Division I program record 45 of them (86.5 percent).

The turning point of the game came midway through the second half when the Bobcats turned a six-point deficit into a six-point lead. This 12-0 run gave Quinnipiac a lead they never relinquished and really sent the crowd into a frenzy.

For Sacred Heart (12-11 5-7 NEC), Jerrell Thompson led all scorers with 30 points while Corey Hassan filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

With a sweep of Sacred Heart this week, the Bobcats did their best to keep pace with the first-place Robert Morris Colonials (15-8, 10-1). Quinnipiac returns to action and to the TD Bank Sports Center this Thursday at 7 p.m. against NEC-foe St. Francis (N.Y.).

Photo credit: Charlotte Greene