DeMario Anderson's Half-Court Buzzer-Beater Lifts Bobcats Past CCSU In Overtime
2/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – DeMario Anderson (Oxon Hill, Md.) made a half-court buzzer-beater in overtime as the Quinnipiac men's basketball team snapped an eight-game losing streak to intrastate foe Central Connecticut, 76-73, Thursday night at Detrick Gym. With the win, the Bobcats improve to 15-13 (11-6 NEC), and continue to grasp the fourth, and final, home NEC Tournament position with one game to go. Quinnipiac has also clinched no worse than the No. 5 position.
Anderson scored a game-high 28 points and added seven rebounds. Louis Brookins (Silver Spring, Md.) added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds while James Feldeine (New York, N.Y.) scored 12 points.
Ken Horton led Central Connecticut with 25 points while Joe Seymore came off the bench to score 20. Seymore capped a double-double with 10 rebounds. Tristan Blackwood added 11 points and eight assists in 44 minutes on Senior Day.
The Blue Devils drop to 13-15 (9-8 NEC), and are now locked into the No. 6 position. Mount St. Mary's (10-7 NEC) is currently challenging the Bobcats for the last home playoff game in the eight-team field. Should the two teams finish tied in the standings, the Mount would take the No. 4 seed by virtue of their 1-0 record against Central Connecticut, to the Bobcats' 1-1 mark.
Quinnipiac plays at second-place Wagner Saturday night while Mount St. Mary's plays host to Monmouth (4-13 NEC). The Hawks are battling for eighth, and final, position in the NEC Tournament. They're currently tied for eighth.
After the teams were tied through regulation, the Bobcats immediately created a four-point cushion. Feldeine took the opening tip right to the bucket and scored a quick two. After a missed Blackwood triple, Anderson scored in the paint. Quinnipiac kept the lead for nearly the remainder of the overtime period before Horton nailed a three from the right wing with 2.5 seconds left. But the Bobcats inbounded the ball to a remarkably open Anderson, who released the ball at the half-court stripe and drew nylon on a high-arcing shot.
After CCSU came out of the gates quickly, scoring the first five points of the game, Quinnipiac responded with 15 of the next 17. Each of the Bobcats' starters scored in the stretch. The lead swelled to 11 points on Anderson's jumper at the 10:32 mark.
But the Blue Devils came back to take a one-point lead on Blackwood's trifecta at the 1:10 mark of the period. After James Feldeine (New York, N.Y.) made a pair from the charity stripe and Seymore connected on one-of-two with 1.8 seconds left, the game was tied going into the locker room.
Fouls were a major factor in the first half, as the Bobcats were whistled for 12. Evann Baker (Washington, D.C.) took three in a span of four minutes while Karl Anderson (Chester, N.Y.) was strapped to the bench with two by the 15-minute mark. DeMario Anderson sat the final 6:32 with a pair of fouls.
Central's Horton sat the final 14:38 with two fouls while Shemik Thompson also didn't get off the bench in the final eight minutes with a pair. The duo accounted for four of CCSU's seven first-half fouls.
Seymore led all first-half scorers with 11 points while Blackwood added nine. Nine different Quinnipiac players scored in the first, led by seven apiece from DeMario Anderson and Casey Cosgrove (Andover, Mass.).
The Bobcats return to action Saturday at Wagner. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Staten Island, N.Y. The game will be televised on tape delay on Time Warner Sports in the New York/New Jersey area.
