Quinnipiac University
Lehigh
QU Men's Basketball Cruises To 80-65 Win Against Lehigh; Drame, Harris Finish With Double-Doubles
12/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HAMDEN, Conn. – Nothing really went wrong for the Quinnipiac men's basketball team Thursday night.
Ousmane Drame (Boston, Massachusetts) and Justin Harris (Paterson, New Jersey) dominated the post, and Zaid Hearst (Bethesda, Maryland) flirted with a triple-double as Quinnipiac coasted to an 80-65 victory over Lehigh University at the TD Bank Sports Center.
The win snapped at three-game slide for the Bobcats which was their longest losing streak since the 2012-13 season. It also broke a three-game skid against Lehigh – climbing back to the .500 mark (4-4) in the all-time series. Both teams moved to 4-5 on the season.
Drame led the way with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. He picked up his 31st career double-double and trails Ike Azotam's record of 44 by 13 with at least 21 games to play. Drame went 7-for-17 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. Harris finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds to collect his first career double-double in the win. He went 4-for-7 from the field and 3-for-5 from the free-throw line.
In perhaps his best all-around game at Quinnipiac, Hearst was the x-factor. He finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists – nearly becoming the first player with a triple-double since James Feldeine did it back in 2010. He went 6-for-11 from the floor with his eight assists setting a new career high. All of this came in just 30 minutes of action as well.
It all clicked quickly for Quinnipiac who jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Drame won the opening tip, and Hearst knocked down a jumper for a lead that they would never relinquish. Quinnipiac opened a 10 point advantage with a 12-4 run midway through the first half, and carried a 12 point lead into halftime.
Timely rebounding factored in extending the lead, as Quinnipiac's relentlessness on the boards prohibited a comeback for Lehigh. James Ford, Jr. (Hopewell, Virginia) pushed the lead to 20 points with a three-pointer at the 10:29 mark, and Mountain Hawk head coach Brett Reed began calling off the pressure soon after.
Lehigh carried a positive rebound margin into the game, something Quinnipiac had yet to see this year. Nonetheless, the Bobcats stayed true to its identity nabbing a 53-30 edge on the backboards by games end. Quinnipiac totaled 27 offensive rebounds – a season high – and converted those into 24 second chance points.
Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore, who picked up his 132nd career win, was most impressed with the team's 22 assists in the game. That figure helped five players into double digits as Ford and Kasim Chandler (Newark, New Jersey) joined Drame, Harris and Hearst. Ford finished with a career high 12 points while Chandler posted 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Moore also noted the team's depth and getting a boost from his reserves. Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Connecticut) notched a career high with six points and four rebounds and Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Virginia) added career bests in points (5), rebounds (4) and assists (5). Evan Conti (Bayside, New York) wrapped up the scoring summary with four points.
Lehigh was led by Corey Schaefer and Kahron Ross who finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Lehigh heads to Arizona State tomorrow for a game on Saturday.
Quinnipiac returns to the court on Sunday, Dec. 21 when they host Oregon State University. It'll be the first time in program history hosting a Pac-12 opponent in Hamden. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center.
Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the 2014-15 campaign can call the QU Ticket Office at 203-582-3905, visit the official website of Quinnipiac athletics, www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com or make a trip to the TD Bank Sports Center Ticket Office.
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