Quinnipiac University
Niagara
Long Range Shooting Helps QU Men's Basketball earn Comfortable Win over Niagara, 91-69
2/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
- Box Score
- Season Stats
- Quinnipiac vs. Niagara - Game Replay
- MAAC Men's Basketball Standings
- QU vs. Niagara Photo & Video
HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac men's basketball team coupled hot shooting with a stingy defense on Sunday afternoon, coasting to a 91-69 victory over Niagara University at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden.
In one of the most impressive performances of the season, if not the most impressive, Quinnipiac shot 54.4 percent from the field which featured 14 threes by games end – the most threes in a game since hitting 14 at Robert Morris on Dec. 4, 2004. Quinnipiac made 37 of its 68 attempts, assisting on 28 of those, which served as the most assists in a game since having 28 against Robert Morris on Feb. 22, 2002.
Scoring came from every position for the Bobcats, who improved to 13-10 overall and 7-7 in league play. Evan Conti (Bayside, N.Y.) paced the offense with his third career 20-point game, totaling in 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the triumph. He had five threes against Niagara for the second time this year – each matching a career high.
Justin Harris (Paterson, N.J.) led the front court with a career high 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. James Ford, Jr. (Hopewell, Va.) added his second straight double-digit game with 11 points and six rebounds while Zaid Hearst (Bethesda, Md.) had 10 points in just 19 minutes of play (rest).
From the opening tip, Quinnipiac seized control of the game, sparked by a 10-0 run out of the gate. The spurt was capped off by a three from Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Va.), which saw a 0-for-3 start from Niagara and four missed free-throws as well.
By halftime, Quinnipiac's lead had ballooned to 17 points due in large part to five threes and just 26.7 percent shooting from the Purple Eagles. After the break, it was a 20-0 run midway through the stanza that had put the game out of reach. Quinnipiac's largest lead of 35 came with 10:55 remaining after a steal resulted in a fast-break layup for Conti (68-33).
Difficult for any team to defend, Quinnipiac featured 10 players in the scoring column which exposed Niagara's league-worst 47.3 defensive field goal percentage. The Bobcats haven't had 10 players score in a game since doing it at Monmouth on Feb. 4, 2012.
Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Va.) had nine points, five assists and three rebounds; Ousmane Drame (Boston, Mass.) finished with eight points, five rebounds and three blocks in just 19 minutes (rest); and Kasim Chandler (Newark, N.J.) and Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.) each had six points. Dimitri Floras (Nashua, N.H.) and Samuel Dingba (Yaoundé, Cameroon) each scored as well.
Entering the game with 1,497 career points, Hearst became the 15th player ever to record 1,500 career points at Quinnipiac. Hearst reached the milestone with a three-pointer in the first half of play. This comes one game after Drame corralled his 1,000th career rebound at Quinnipiac.
Niagara's bright spot was Emile Blackman who finished with 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting. The Purple Eagles dropped to 4-19 overall and 3-11 in league play – falling to 1-6 all-time against Quinnipiac.
Quinnipiac is back in action on Friday, Feb. 13 when it takes on in-state rival Fairfield at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. with all the action live on ESPN3.
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.
Quinnipiac's 'Go For 3' package is still available throughout the remainder of the 2014-15 season. The package allows fans to purchase three men's basketball tickets at a special discounted rate. The 'Go For 3' bundle is $30 for adults and $12 for children and senior citizens.
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.
