QU Men's Basketball Builds Big Lead, Holds Off Marist For 77-63 Win

Sunday, December 4

Hamden, CT

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

2-5, 1-1MAAC

Marist College

4-5, 1-1MAAC

Marist

Quinnipiac

QU Men's Basketball Builds Big Lead, Holds Off Marist For 77-63 Win

12/4/2016 4:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Conn. - Freshman guard Mikey Dixon (New Castle, Del.) scored six straight points after Marist cut a 19-point second half lead down to five, and the Quinnipiac men's basketball team was able to maintain a double-digit lead down the stretch and take a 77-63 win over Marist in a MAAC contest on Sunday afternoon at TD Bank Sports Center.

With the win, the Bobcats improve to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in the MAAC, leveling their conference record after dropping their opener to preseason favorite Monmouth on Thursday. Marist, which sees a three-game winning streak snapped, falls to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in the MAAC with the loss.

Dixon finished with 14 points on 6-10 shooting, with his six quick points putting the Bobcats up 54-43 with 12:06 to go. Junior forward Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.) led the Bobcats with 17 points, while freshman guard Peter Kiss (New York, N.Y.) had 13 points and nine rebounds, joining Dixon to help Quinnipiac to a 40-6 edge in bench points.

The Bobcats held a 42-25 lead at the break and scored on their first possession of the second half as Daniels scored down low off a post feed from junior guard Reggie Oliver (Apopka, Fla.) to extend the lead to 19. Marist, though, roared back into it and used back-to-back threes from Ryan Funk (17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half) to close to within 48-43 with 14:40 left, capping off an 18-4 run.

After a timeout, though, Dixon got the rim for a layup and then leaked out in transition to score off a long outlet pass from junior forward Donovan Smith (Chicago, Ill.). Dixon extended his run to 6-0 with another layup at the 12:06 mark and Daniels hit two foul shots to make the run 8-0 for the Bobcats, increasing the lead to 56-43 with 11:25 to go.

Marist kept rallying back, and got as close as seven points with 7:17 to go on two foul shots from Kristinn Paulsson. Senior forward Alain Chigha (Yaounde, Cameroon) then found senior guard Daniel Harris (Tampa, Fla.) in the corner for a big three to get the lead back to 10. After Khallid Hart (18 points) hit a jumper, Chigha got to a loose ball in the paint and floated in a two-footer to make the score 67-57 with 5:46 to play. Harris then hit an 18-foot jumper to make it a 12-point lead, and the Bobcats led by double figures the rest of the way.

The Bobcats never trailed, jumping out to a 7-0 lead as Daniels scored off the opening tap and Oliver followed with a three-pointer. A dunk from Smith off a Harris pass gave Quinnipiac its first double-digit lead at 16-6, and after a Funk jumper made the score 25-20 with 6:10 left in the half, the Bobcats exploded on a 17-2 run to take a 42-22 lead, with Smith capping it off with six of the last eight points around a breakaway dunk from Kiss.

Quinnipiac finished with a 42-32 advantage on the glass, the second time this year it has outrebounded its opponent by 10 or more (accounting for both of the team's wins). In Head Coach Tom Moore's 10 seasons, the Bobcats have outrebounded their opponents by double digits 109 times, and been outrebounded by 10 or more only five (two of which have come this season against Vermont and Gonzaga).

The Bobcats will be back in action on Wednesday when they step out of conference to face local rival Hartford for a 7 p.m. contest at the TD Bank Sports Center.