HAMDEN — After falling behind by as many as 15 points, the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team used an elite full-court press and world-class efforts from their three captains to come soaring back to beat Rider 88-84 Friday night.
“It gives you confidence as a team,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora said. “As a coach it’s a point of reference. I can say to them ‘We’ve been down 15, we know how to get back in this game one possession at a time’.”
The Bobcats got off to a good start in their first MAAC home contest, two-man game from graduate student guard Savion Lewis and senior forward Paul Otieno dominating in the opening minutes. Otieno scored six of Quinnipiac’s first 11 points, while Lewis either scored or assisted on each of the Bobcats’ first five makes.
“We work on it together every day,” Otieno said. “In the gym, in practice, just every day we’re building confidence.”
However, the tide quickly shifted. The Bobcats got sloppy with the ball and lazy on defense, which the Broncs took full advantage of. The hosts went scoreless for almost six minutes, allowing Rider to go on an 18-0 run and take a 29-16 lead in the process.
Everything was coming easy for the visitors in the first 20 minutes, shooting over 50% from the field and 62% from three. Sophomore forward Tyriek Weeks torched the Bobcats in the first, providing 14 of the Broncs’ 43 first half points to help Rider head to the locker room with a 43-32 advantage.
Quinnipiac battled to open the second half. Five minutes in, a Balanc four-point play cut the deficit to just eight. The bucket was just the spark the Bobcats were looking for as just minutes later, another and-one — this time by junior guard Doug Young — got the hosts within five, and M&T Bank Arena was rocking.
“We just had to keep chipping away, play-by-play, next play mentality,” Otieno said.
Rider was simply overwhelmed by a full-court zone press from the Bobcats. After forcing turnovers on back-to-back possessions, Lewis knocked down a wide open three to get Quinnipiac’s deficit to just two.
Freshman guard Khaden Bennett was everywhere on the defensive side of the ball, forcing two jump balls in a matter of minutes. Moments later, a return of the Lewis-Otieno connection got Quinnipiac another bucket and the hosts had its first lead since early in the first half.
Otieno was a wrecking machine in the paint all game, racking up a season-high 24 points. Lewis continued to showcase why he’s widely considered to be one of the best passers in the nation, contributing a season-high 18 assists.
“We play off (Savion),” Balanc said. “Our offense is based on movement, and when we’re all moving and helping him and moving around, it’s easy to find us. Savion loves basketball, he studies the game, so credit to him.”
Redshirt senior guard Mervin James, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, wasn’t going to let Rider go down without a fight. James cooked the Bobcats in the second half, converting an and-one to give the visitors a 68-63 lead with just over eight minutes to play while bringing his point total to 25 for the night.
“We threw the kitchen sink at him,” Pecora said. “We tried to defend him in so many different ways … he still ended up with 31 (points).”
Lewis got another three to fall with 3:22 to go, the first time he’s hit multiple threes in a game in his entire collegiate career, to bring the Bobcat deficit to just one.
The two teams continued to go back-and-forth, but in the final minute, Balanc took over. The Maryland native hit a fadeaway jumper to put the Bobcats up two with 50 seconds to play.
Seconds later, a Young steal allowed Balanc to spring for a breakaway jam, his 29th point of the night, to put an exclamation point on a spectacular finish for Quinnipiac.
“My confidence is high because I put in the hours and I put in the work,” Balanc said. “I never get discouraged when I miss a shot … towards the end, I know Savion’s going to find me so I just know I have to hit it.”
The gutsy 88-84 victory moves Quinnipiac to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the MAAC. The Bobcats return to action on Jan. 7 when they host Manhattan at 2 p.m.
