Quinnipiac University
Iona
Ousmane Drame Becomes Division I Career Rebound Leader in Loss to Iona, 60-57
2/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
- Box Score
- Season Stats
- Quinnipiac vs. Iona - Game Replay
- MAAC Men's Basketball Standings
HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac men's basketball team was on the brink of an impressive upset Sunday afternoon, but the MAAC's top team Iona College persevered in the closing minutes to escape with a 60-57 victory at the TD Bank Sports Center. Ousmane Drame (Boston, Mass.) led the Bobcats with 16 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks in the losing effort - becoming Quinnipiac's Division I leader in career rebounds.
Many believed that the game would come down to the wire, and for all 2,544 fans in attendance, they were treated to just that – a tremendous basketball game in Hamden.
Trailing by four points, 55-51, with 2:05 left in regulation, Drame hit a pair of free-throws and a layup to tie the score, bringing the crowd to its feet with 1:15 showing on the clock.
Iona turned to freshman sensation, and MAAC Rookie of the Year frontrunner, Schadrac Casimir. Casimir let the clock wind down, drove to the rim and flipped up a circus shot in traffic that fell through with 40 seconds left. Fouled on the play, Casimir completed the three-point play, leaving the Gaels in front, 58-55.
Quinnipiac came up empty on its next possession, and Casimir netted a pair of free-throws to go up by five, 60-55. Things got interesting in the waning seconds, when Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Va.) closed the gap to three on a layup with 10 seconds left. AJ English, who was fouled and sent to the line for the one-and-one, missed the front end and Evan Conti (Bayside, N.Y.) corralled the rebound. Conti carried the ball over the timeline and found Zaid Hearst (Bethesda, Md.) on the wing, but his off-balance three as time expired rimmed out – leaving Iona with its eighth straight win.
Third in the nation in scoring before the night started, Iona was held in check offensively, well below its season averages. The 60 points was a season-low for the Gaels, only shooting 31.5 percent from the floor – another low of the season.
Despite the stellar effort defensively, and a terrific effort on the glass, Quinnipiac's offense didn't click when it needed to. The Bobcats were held to just 33.8 percent shooting and hit just 2-of-19 from long range. Quinnipiac got to the line just eight times in the game too.
Individually, Drame picked up his nation-leading 18th double-double of the season. He was 6-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Drame (1,044) surpassed Justin Rutty (1,032) and Ike Azotam (1,043) for the career lead in career rebounds. He (42) also trails Azotam's (44) career double-double record by just two.
Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.) impressed again with career highs in points (12) and rebounds (9). He was 6-of-7 from the floor and blocked a pair of shots as well.
Hearst (1,530) finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, moving past Justin Rutty (1,521) into 14th place all-time among Quinnipiac's career scoring leaders. Hutton netted nine points on 4-of-9 shooting; Justin Harris (Paterson, N.J.) had five points and four rebounds; Conti hit a three and James Ford, Jr. (Hopewell, Va.) knocked in a jumper.
Iona, who improved to 21-6 overall and 14-2 in league play, was led by 18 points and nine rebounds from David Laury. Casimir had 16 and AJ English finished with 15. Iona goes to Marist on Friday night.
Quinnipiac powered past a slow offensive start to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room at halftime. Drame, who had eight points and 12 rebounds in the opening stanza, banked home a layup with six seconds left to cap off a 16-4 run for the home team. Quinnipiac went up by nine early in the second half, but an 8-1 Gael run pulled them close.
Quinnipiac is back in action on Thursday, Feb. 19 when they travel to Rider University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J.
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.
The 2014-15 season culminates at the 2015 MAAC Men's Basketball Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York March 5-9. Tickets for the championships are available online at www.ticketmaster.com.
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