HAMDEN – Thanks to a dominant offensive display, the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team secured a commanding 80-69 victory over Stonehill Sunday afternoon.
The Bobcats set the pace early, exploiting Stonehill’s zone defense with sharpshooting from beyond the arc to take an 11-3 lead within the first five minutes.
“Their zone, it was the weirdest zone I’ve ever seen,” graduate student guard Matt Balanc said. “If you got a dude in the middle, either he was open or the dude in the corner was wide open, it was an easy offense for us.”
As the first half progressed, Stonehill managed to keep the game within reach. A bad pass from redshirt senior forward Richie Springs allowed sophomore guard Tony Felder to get an easy layup on the other end to cap off a 7-0 run, trimming the Bobcat lead to just two, and forcing Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora to call a timeout.
Quinnipiac responded with a 5-0 run of its own, heading into the under-four media timeout leading 37-29.
The Bobcats continued to manufacture offense after the media timeout, taking a 16-point lead into the break. Balanc and junior forward Alexis Reyes were instrumental for the Bobcats in the first half, combining for over 20 points on perfect shooting.
“I thought Matt Balanc was great shooting the basketball and Alexis Reyes gave us great minutes,” Pecora said.
The second half saw the hosts continue their dominance. A 7-0 run — highlighted by another Balanc three — forced a Stonehill timeout as the Bobcats extended their lead to 22. Quinnipiac’s offensive rhythm remained unchallenged, with Stonehill struggling to find its mark, making just one of its first seven shots to open the frame.
Sophomore forward Amarri Tice got himself involved midway through the second half, throwing down two monster jams as Quinnipiac led 68-44 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
Stonehill was able to get a couple stops on the defensive end, but even as the Bobcats experienced a scoring drought for over three minutes, leading to a 6-0 Stonehill run, their advantage remained significant at 72-50.
The visitors attempted a late comeback, going on a 13-0 run thanks to three three-pointers from freshman guard Jackson Benigni, cutting the deficit to 77-63 with just over two minutes left. However, Quinnipiac held on to secure an 80-69 victory.
“I think It was 77-50 with five minutes to go,” Pecora said. “Good teams don’t let that team get back into the game and that’s the way I see the game … Part of that is on me with the substitutions and some of that is some of the decisions we probably made offensively … It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”
With the victory, Quinnipiac moves to a 5-1 record to open the season. The team now looks forward to the beginning of MAAC play on Dec. 1, when it travels to face Canisius.
