ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — After answering questions from the media, senior guards Jalen Barr and DeJour Reaves along with freshman guard Adam Njie Jr. all got up and hugged and laughed with Iona head coach Tobin Anderson as they walked out of the press conference.
The Bobcats didn’t think they would walk in second at the press conference again after the MAAC Semifinals, but they faced that reality, and it was clear it hurt them.
For the second-straight season, the Bobcats had their hopes vanish in the MAAC Semifinals, this time not by a buzzer beater, but by a 50-28 in the paint by Iona 81-73.
Graduate student guard Savion Lewis entered first, followed by junior forward Amarri Monroe. Both were visibly emotional after their hopes of winning the elusive MAAC Championship slipped from their grasp just 30 minutes prior, much like last year. Monroe started starring at the ground while Lewis did his best to manage his emotions as they walked in.
“It feels terrible,” Lewis said. “(I’m) trying to hold my emotions right now. Just knowing that this was my last time playing with Quinnipiac, I wasn’t able to finish the job.”
For Lewis, it was his last chance to accomplish the biggest thing left for him. But his legacy will be ingrained in the young guys that will succeed him.
“I believe that I left a legacy here for the young guys that they’re going to carry on and be able to finish it in the next year’s (MAAC Championship),” Lewis said.
The Bobcats seemed to be back into the game, coming all the way back from a 16-point deficit to get it within two after a pair of free throws by Monroe brought it to a one-possession game.
But then an errant dribble by Reaves fell into the hands of senior guard Doug Young, who tossed it to Monroe, who slammed it home to tie the game and cap off a 10-0 run.
“(Young) had such an up and down year,” Lewis said. “He faced a lot of adversity, and although we lost today, he showed what it means to be persistent. And I hope that everyone was able to see that you know his attitude, his energy was very contagious.”
The Bobcats faithful were elated, and Quinnipiac looked like a comeback was in the works — a comeback that has helped them win 20 games this season. But the Gaels relied on their strength inside, dominating the paint, where the Bobcats couldn’t keep up. Iona won the battle thanks to its fluidity of the pick-and-roll and the overpowering strength in the paint.
“(Junior forward Yaphet Moundi) just a beast in there, you know, he’s so strong, so physical,” Anderson said. “He finished some shots from the basket. But I thought, yeah, we did a great job of the paint and being big, physical and imposing our will that way on the game.”
The pick-and-roll between Njie Jr. and Moundi was unstoppable. When the Bobcats focused on Moundi, Njie Jr. either beat them to the cup or pulled up for mid-range shots. When the defense shifted to the freshman guards, Moundi dominated the paint.
“He’s a force of nature,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora said. “At about the 12-minute mark, we talked about just getting in deeper gaps and force him to beat us over the top, but he’s relentless. His ability to get into the lane is so impressive.”
Njie Jr., Reaves and Moundi accounted for 16 of the final 24 points for the Gaels, highlighting the Bobcats’ inability to counter them throughout the whole game. The trio wreaked havoc in the MAAC Tournament, playing a major role in the Gaels’ advancement to the MAAC Championship.
Desperation and frustration set in for Quinnipiac as time dwindled down to the final buzzer, with the uncertainty around the future of many of its players. With question marks hanging over graduate student center Paul Otieno and Monroe regarding next season, the Bobcats played with a sense of urgency, trying to win by any means necessary, and it had to come fast.
“I definitely felt like (Quinnipiac) was getting frustrated because they were the number one seed, and they felt like it wasn’t supposed to come in the game and lose,” Reaves said. “So I feel like down at the end of the game, they definitely got frustrated because especially, we were playing great defense on them, we were forcing them to take tough shots.”
First it was Monroe, then Young with missed three-pointers, then, to make matters worse, sophomore guard Khaden Bennett was blocked attempting a three-pointer. That led to the game-sealing dunk by senior guard Jalen Barr.
Quinnipiac entered Atlantic City, New Jersey, with its pockets full of aspirations and optimism, hoping to change the narrative of not making the MAAC Championship. Instead they left the table empty-handed asking themselves, “What went wrong?”
