HAMDEN — On the same night Quinnipiac men’s basketball recognized its MAAC regular season title from the previous year, the squad started to resemble its former championship-level self — at least for 35 minutes — hanging on to defeat Maine 58-55 Friday night. 

Hanging on might be putting it loosely — more like nearly missing a catastrophic car crash.  

“Good teams find a way to win,” head coach Tom Pecora said. 

The Bobcats were cruising in the latter stages of the second half with a controlling 56-41 lead — their largest of the game — and then they fell asleep at the wheel. 

Quinnipiac went 0-4 from the field and committed two turnovers as the Black Bears mounted a thunderous 14-0 run to draw the game back within a single point. 

“We’re a veteran team, I got a sixth-year point guard out there,” Pecora said. “Good guards can control time and score at the end of games, and we didn’t do a good job of that.” 

Graduate student guard Savion Lewis has been running the operation in Hamden for quite some time now. But Friday night showed that there are ebbs and flows to the game, and for 49 minutes, Lewis was struggling. 

The Dix Hills, New York native was 0-5 from the field, and in the midst of Maine’s furious last minute full-court press, he committed a costly turnover — his third of the night — that led to senior guard AJ Lopez making it a two-possession game.  

The Bobcats would then turn it over again, this time at the hands of senior forward Alexis Reyes. The Black Bears capitalized once again, with Lopez burying a corner three to bring the game within one. 

“You’ve got to be able to get shots up to the rim, you’ve got to be able to understand where you’re at on the floor as things are happening,” Pecora said. “Obviously some things we need to work on in that regard.” 

But with 22 seconds remaining, despite the mistakes and not hitting a shot all night, Lewis’ veteran presence shined bright as he rose up and sank a mid-range floater to push the lead back out to three. 

“He takes nothing for granted,” freshman guard Jaden Zimmerman said. “He’s playing bad, he’s still going to be Savion. He’s still going to be vocal, he’s still going to be a leader, he’s still going to put his team on his back.” 

The Black Bears still had their chance to tie it up though, and they came close too. Lopez and senior forward Christopher Mantis both saw good looks from beyond-the-arc bounce off the iron, and they almost had a third too before the final buzzer sounded and Pecora and Co. could breathe again. 

But, as Pecora reminded everyone after the buzzer — it’s only game four, these situations are learning opportunities, confidence builders. 

“It gives us confidence,” junior forward Amarri Monroe said. “We were just so excited all week to play in front of a great crowd and turn the page. It got a little sloppy at the end, but we’ll take it, it’s in the win column.” 

Friday’s performance wasn’t all that bad either. For the first 45 minutes, Quinnipiac was putting together its best performance in its first four games. 

The Bobcats were searching for a spark to get them their first Division I win of the season. Reyes provided that spark, especially in the opening minutes. 

“He did a great job just keeping things together,” Pecora said. “He’s a glue guy man, at the end of the night he may not have the most points and most rebounds but he’s always getting things done.” 

The senior forward was a lightning rod, snatching his own miss and putting it back up for the team’s second bucket. As the Black Bears were bringing the ball up the court, the Roxbury, Massachusetts native forced the steal, his first of four.

Quinnipiac was dominant on the glass early with Reyes and Monroe both converting on their offensive rebound chances. 

Monroe returned to the lineup after exiting Saturday’s loss to St. John’s in the second half with a lower-body injury. The Newburgh, New York native didn’t show any signs of injury early, setting the pace for the Bobcats with six points in the first ten minutes, including a handful of tough finishes at the rim. 

“Amarri only plays 20 minutes and still gets 21 (points) and seven (rebounds) and that was key for us,” Pecora said. 

Another bright spot for the Bobcats was Zimmerman, as the freshman finished with 12 points on 5-8 shooting, 11 of those points coming in the second half. 

The Bronx, New York native had a major spring in his step in the second half, and was the main reason Quinnipiac built its 15-point lead. He started his second half onslaught by raising the defensive intensity and blocking a shot into the crowd. 

“I got a lot of blocks but that’s probably top three,” Zimmerman said. “I take a lot of pride on the defensive side, like my uncle told me, that’s going to keep you on the floor, whether you’re playing bad or not scoring, you’re playing defense and stopping other people from scoring is going to keep you on the floor.” 

Zimmerman filled the offensive statsheet too, going on a solo 7-0 run in the second half, capping it off by sticking a big-time three that pushed the lead to 15. 

“They trust me to make plays (like) that,” Zimmerman said. “They cleared it out three times, and that’s huge for a freshman because freshmen don’t really get that trust.” 

Quinnipiac will be back in action Nov. 19 when it travels down to Annapolis, Maryland to take on Navy. Tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. 

“If you play the academies, it’s hand-to-hand combat, no pun intended,” Pecora said.