ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Quinnipiac men’s basketball was down 10 at halftime against the Marist Red Foxes in the Quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament. The offense was abysmal in the first, shooting 10-30 from the field.
Senior forward Amarri Monroe went to the line early in the second, hitting both free throws to make it an eight-point game.
“He felt the responsibility that he had to get it done,” head coach Tom Pecora said.
Much has been made of Monroe’s decision to return to Hamden for his senior season after drawing more lucrative and financially incentivized offers upon entering the transfer portal last spring. Surely, he returned to the Bobcats with a more celebratory finish than tonight provided.
Thirty seconds later, sophomore forward Grant Randall knocked down his second three of the night to cut the lead to seven.
Bobcats would go to the line again. This time, sophomore forward Spence Wewe would take the trip. The Bristol, England native started every game but one this season for Quinnipiac, but faltered against the Red Foxes. He would miss the first free throw and hit the second, the only two shots he took all night.
Freshman forward Sam Nosakhare would replace him, and Wewe wouldn’t return to the court. A decision that seemingly worked out for Pecora. Less than a minute later, Nosakhare made it a four-point game on a layup.
For the next eight minutes and 39 seconds, the only Bobcat to score was Randall. The Bobcats went on a 15-7 run, powered solely, offensively, by the Queens, N.Y. native.
After his next three pointer, he was thrown to the floor by Marist senior forward Trace Salton, in what Pecora called a “cheap shot.” Randall was slow to get up and Salton would be ejected after a review confirmed a Flagarant-2.
Randall secured both free throws, and was sent to the line again, and again, hitting both, tying the game at 49 and giving life to the Quinnipiac faithful that made the trip to Atlantic City.
He hit another three pointer and another free throw. He grabbed a rebound and a put back bucket on a missed shot by Monroe, giving him his tenth rebound for his fifth career double-double. Quinnipiac actually took a four point lead.
For as bright as Randall shone, he was not the premier story of the night. Red Fox sophomore guard Justin Menard caught fire. He finished four straight Marist possessions with a swish, three from beyond the arc and each more demoralizing than the last.
When his last shot fell in, the Bobcats were down six with 87 seconds left to play. The Bobcat bench fell quiet. It looked like that would be that, but Grant Randall had one more trick up his sleeve.
The Bobcats put the ball in Randall’s hands. Why wouldn’t they? Marist clearly couldn’t defend him. He put up a three-point attempt, was fouled in the air and watched from the floor as it rolled in the hoop.
There was no question he’d nail the free throw, giving him 26 points on the night, setting a new career high.
That made it a one point game, and he would trade a pair of free throws with Marist junior guard Jadin Collins-Roberts, giving Quinnipiac possession down just two with ten seconds remaining.
The ball handler on the final play for the Bobcats was freshman guard Tai Turnage.
“That wasn’t what we wanted,” Pecora explained. “Part of the issue is you’d like to have (senior guard) Asim Jones on the floor, who is your senior point guard and not your freshman point guard.”Jones was on the bench because he got into foul trouble late in the second.
Despite the point guard label, Turange didn’t pass the ball to Randall in the midst of a career night. He didn’t pass the ball to Monroe, the MAAC Player of the Year from last season. He didn’t pass the ball to anybody.
He cut in on the left side, dribbled through the key and then tried to put up a floater.
There were no more miracles. The ball didn’t miraculously fall through, as a matter of fact, it didn’t even make it to the hoop. Marist senior forward Jaden Daughtry swatted it out of the air, upsetting the Bobcats final chance to tie the contest.
The final scoreboard read ‘Marist 77 – Quinnipiac 75’.
As Marist will take on No. 1 Merrimack tomorrow night, on the other side,
it is the end of an important chapter in Quinnipiac’s men’s basketball program.Randall would finish with 28 points, 15 rebounds and a perfect shooting percentage from three, draining all five attempts.
Pecora was choked up afterwards, heartbroken for his players. His Bobcats fell short in Atlantic City once again.
“We were a roller coaster for a while, especially that last month of the season, and it kind of bit us in the tail tonight,” Pecora said.
