Giovanni McLean's Career High Leads QU Men's Basketball To Road Win Over Fairfield

Monday, February 1

Webster Bank Arena - Bridgeport, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

7-13, 4-7MAAC

Fairfield University

12-10, 6-6MAAC

Quinnipiac

Fairfield University

Giovanni McLean's Career High Leads QU Men's Basketball To Road Win Over Fairfield

2/1/2016 9:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Senior guard Giovanni McLean (Bronx, N.Y.) had a career-high 25 points, while other players stepped up in a key 11-0 run in the second half, to lead the Quinnipiac men's basketball team to a 64-59 road win over Fairfield on Monday evening at Webster Bank Arena.

With the win, the Bobcats improve their record to 7-13 overall and 4-7 in the MAAC, capturing their second straight victory after also defeating Niagara at home on Saturday. Fairfield, which saw its three-game win streak snapped, falls to 12-10 overall and 6-6 in the MAAC with the loss.

Quinnipiac led by two at the break, and the second half was closely contested until an 11-0 run from the Bobcats midway through the second stanza, after Fairfield went ahead 49-45 and McLean went to the bench with his third foul. Junior forward Donovan Smith (Chicago, Ill.) hit two foul shots, and senior guard James Ford, Jr. (Hopewell, Va.) hit a three-pointer off an offensive rebound to put the Bobcats ahead. Sophomore guard Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Fla.) followed with a floater, Smith scored on a tip-in and Ford followed with a runner with 6:05 left to make the score 56-49.

Fairfield answered right back, though, with a 6-0 run to pull within a single point, when McLean stepped up and knocked down one of his five three-pointers on the day to stretch the lead to four with 3:18 left. After Fairfield scored to come back within two points with 1:47 to go, junior guard Daniel Harris (Tampa, Fla.) hit a tough one-handed runner in the lane with 1:22 left to once again stretch the lead to four.

Marcus Gilbert hit two foul shots for the Stags to cut it to two, and after the Bobcats turned it over against the press, Hutton jumped into the passing lane to deflect a pass away and get an important steal with 35 seconds left. McLean picked up the loose ball and made the first of two foul shots before having the second one rim out. McLean was 8-10 at the foul line on the day, with his first miss ending a streak of 25 straight makes at the line.

Fairfield had one final chance to tie, but sophomore forward Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.) switched out on Gilbert and Hutton provided help on a screen, forcing Gilbert into a tough off-balance attempt that hit off the top of the backboard and went out of bounds with 1.5 seconds left. McLean then capped off the day with two foul shots to eclipse his old career high by one.

Quinnipiac didn't lead in the first half until the final minute, when McLean knocked down a three-pointer to cap off a 12-0 run and give the Bobcats a 30-28 advantage at the break. Fairfield jumped out to a 7-0 lead early and then used an 8-0 run in the middle of the first half to turn a 20-18 lead into a 28-18 advantage by holding the Bobcats scoreless for a span of 6:30.

After Smith and Daniels each went 1-2 at the line, McLean scored eight of the last 10 Bobcat points in the first half on two three-pointers and two foul shots to cap off a 12-0 run. It was the second game in a row that Quinnipiac has ended the first half on a 12-0 run, after turning a 30-26 deficit vs. Niagara into a 38-30 lead at halftime on Saturday.

McLean shot 6-12 from the floor (5-9 from three) and shot 8-10 from the line to score his 25 points, which passed his previous career high of 24 set on December 13 against Boston University. Smith finished with nine points and 10 rebounds, just missing his fourth double-double of the season. Harris and freshman forward Abdulai Bundu (Upper Marlboro, Md.) each had eight points and six rebounds. Tyler Nelson had 13 points to lead Fairfield, while Gilbert had 11 but shot just 2-10 from the floor, missing his last eight shots after hitting his first two.

Fairfield ended the game 7-23 from three-point territory after starting 4-5, as Quinnipiac continued its success defending the arc, coming into the game ranked 20th nationally and first in the MAAC by holding opponents to just 30.3 shooting from three-point territory. The Bobcats also improved to 39-10 in February games since the 2008-09 season.

Quinnipiac will be back in action on Thursday for a home contest against Marist at 7 p.m., which will be televised on ESPN3 as part of the MAAC Game of the Week package. For ticket information for the Marist contest and all Quinnipiac home games, contact the TD Bank Sports Center box office at 203-582-3905 or visit QuinnipiacBobcats.com.