Quinnipiac University
Rider
QU Men's Basketball Comeback Bid Falls Short at Rider, 94-83
2/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
- Box Score
- Season Stats
- MAAC Men's Basketball Standings
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Despite a valiant second half effort from the Quinnipiac men's basketball team, Rider held serve on its home court Thursday night and defeated the Bobcats, 94-83, at Alumni Gymnasium.
Trailing by as many as 22 points in the second half, Quinnipiac mounted a furious comeback to make things interesting down the stretch. Quinnipiac chopped its deficit to just three, 74-71, with 5:23 remaining, but an 8-0 run followed for the Broncs and Rider held on for its 19th win of the season.
Arguably the most difficult place to play in the MAAC, Quinnipiac met a confident Rider bunch that fed off of a raucous crowd of 1,650. Rider, who improved to 9-2 at home this year, shot 51.9 percent for the game and 55.6 percent from long range.
Ousmane Drame (Boston, Mass.) was the high scorer of five players in double-figures for Quinnipiac. He finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, going 7-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Drame (201) also blocked two shots which makes him the first player to block 200 shots in a career.
James Ford, Jr. (Hopewell, Va.) helped Quinnipiac's comeback, matching a career high with 18 points in the game. He went 5-of-9 from long range – a career high – scoring 15 of his points in the second half alone.
Zaid Hearst (Bethesda, Md.) finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists; Evan Conti (Bayside, N.Y.) had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists; and Justin Harris (Paterson, N.J.) had 12 points and eight rebounds. Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.) chipped in with four points and two rebounds.
Rider did most of its damage from the guard position, getting 22 points from Jimmie Taylor and 21 from Teddy Okereafor. Okereafor helped secure the victory by hitting 6-of-7 free-throws in the closing minutes, going 8-for-10 for the game.
Quinnipiac suffered its first substantial deficit after a 7-0 run gave Rider a 24-16 advantage with 8:51 left in the first half. Ahead by six, 26-20, three straight threes aided Rider's largest lead of the stanza, 35-22, with just over four minutes to go before the break. Behind six threes and 48.3 percent shooting, Rider led 41-31 at the break.
Rider came out on fire in the second half, shooting 73 percent before the first media timeout - opening a 22 point lead. Quinnipiac followed with a 31-12 run over the next 10 minutes, hitting four threes during the spell.
Offensively, Quinnipiac turned it over 18 times which resulted in 21 points on the other end for Rider. The win moved Rider to 5-1 all-time against the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac will celebrate its senior class on Saturday, Feb. 21 when the Bobcats host Canisius College on Senior Day in Hamden. Prior to tip-off, Quinnipiac will recognize 10 senior class members with a brief ceremony for their hard work and dedication to the program. 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.
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.
Student-athletes, parents and fans can download the QU Athletics schedules to your laptop and mobile devices for free by clicking in the iCalendar link at the bottom of each sport's homepage or the master schedule page. Please follow Quinnipiac Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@QUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates.
