The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team traveled to Knott Arena last Saturday to battle Mount Saint Mary’s. went into a tough game against Mount Saint Mary’s (5-15) on Saturday. The Braves (4-14) have struggled on the road this season (0-8), and havent fared well at Knott Arena, with a 1-4 record.
Knowing that his team was going to a place that hasn’t been all too friendly, Braves coach DeSantis used his 12th different starting line up this season hoping to spark some chemistry among his team. The Braves have been in some close games this season, and seemed poised to take this game. Mount Saint Mary’s seeming to have the upper hand throughout most of the contest, until a pair of back to back three pointers by Collin Charles and Jared Grasso tied the game (71-71) with three minutes and fifteen seconds left on the clock. Melvin Whitaker then came back with a jump shot in the lane to put Mount Saint Mary’s back on top.
The Braves battled back, and Collin Charles’ acrobatic, reverse layup evened the score with only 1:27 left on the clock. With spirits high our Braves fouled Mount Saint Mary’s rookie Pat Antangana. Making the second of two free throws Antangana put Mount Saint Mary’s up by one. Down by one the Braves turned the ball over with 51 seconds remaining. A missed three pointer by Mount Saint Mary’s as the shot clock ran out was last touched by Quinnipiac, giving Mount Saint Mary’s the ball back again.
After the inbounds was thrown in to Whitaker, Quinnipiac had no choice but to foul to stop the clock. Whitaker missed both foul shots keeping the Braves’ hope alive with only 13 seconds left. After pushing up the floor Quinnipiac’s Jamar Fields was stripped of the ball with only 7 seconds left in the game. Having no other choice the Braves were forced to foul once again in order to stop the clock. Mount Saint Mary’s rookie Keith Price went to the foul line and sank both foul shots putting the Quinnipiac Braves down by three. A missed shot at the buzzer ended the game with the final score of 74-71, with Quinnipiac losing another close game on the road, falling to (4-15) and boosting Mount Saint Mary’s to (6-15).
Grasso lead the Braves with 20 points, putting him on the Quinnipiac all time leading scorers list as 39th by scoring his 794th point, Bill Romano 14 points, Charles 11 points, and Alpha East chipped in 9 points and 9 rebounds.
The leading scorer for Mount Saint Mary’s was Melvin Whitaker, scoring a career high 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Braves are in action again Thursday, February 8 against Wagner, and Saturday February 10 versus Sacred Heart. Thursdays game will be televised, and both games are at Burt Kahn Court.