QU Men's Basketball Defeats Saint Peter's By Narrowest Of Margins

Thursday, February 18

Hamden, CT

8:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

9-17, 6-11MAAC

Saint Peter's University

12-14, 10-7MAAC

Saint Peter's

Quinnipiac

QU Men's Basketball Defeats Saint Peter's By Narrowest Of Margins

2/18/2016 10:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Conn. - Freshman forward Abdulai Bundu (Upper Marlboro, Md.) broke a 55-55 tie with a free throw with eight seconds left, and sophomore forward Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.) sealed it with a blocked shot just before the final buzzer as the Quinnipiac men's basketball team overcame a slow start to capture a 56-55 win over Saint Peter's on Thursday evening at the TD Bank Sports Center.

The win only became official after a lengthy replay review. After Daniels blocked a shot from Trevis Wyche out of bounds with 0.4 seconds left, Saint Peter's inbounded to Quadir Welton 10 feet out in the paint. Welton caught the pass, and double-clutched as Daniels came out to challenge, and knocked the shot down. Originally, the officials signaled a made basket, but went to the video monitor and after a two-minute delay, waved off the basket and gave the Bobcats the win.

The victory improves Quinnipiac to 9-17 overall and 6-11 in the MAAC, snapping a four-game losing streak. Saint Peter's falls to 12-14 and 10-7 in the MAAC, while seeing its four-game winning streak snapped. Daniels, senior guard Giovanni McLean (Bronx, N.Y.) and junior guard Daniel Harris (Tampa, Fla.) tied for team-high honors for the Bobcats, with McLean scoring all 10 of his in the second half. Welton finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Saint Peter's.

After Saint Peter's tied the game on a Welton free throw with 22 seconds left, and the Peacocks trapped the ball at the top of the key looking to force a turnover. The Bobcats used some quick passing to get the ball to Daniels at the foul line, and Daniels dumped the ball down low to Bundu unguarded, where only a foul could prevent him from a go-ahead lay-up. Bundu made the first foul shot to give the Bobcats the lead, but missed the second, giving Saint Peter's one final chance to win, which was erased by Daniels.

Quinnipiac went on a 21-2 run spanning both halves, holding Saint Peter's to only two points over a span of over 12 minutes, to come back from a 16-point deficit. After the Peacocks went ahead 33-17 with 4:41 left in the half, the Bobcats closed out on a 7-0 run to get back within single digits, keyed by a three-pointer from senior guard James Ford, Jr. (Hopewell, Va.). The momentum carried over to the second half, as Quinnipiac held Saint Peter's to only two points in the first nine minutes. A three-pointer from sophomore guard Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Va.) closed the deficit to 35-32, and sophomore guard Dimitri Floras (Nashua, N.H.) scored on a putback to make it a one-point game.

Daniels then gave the Bobcats the lead for good with a short jumper off a feed from Ford, and then puished the lead to three at 38-35 on a reverse with 11:56 left, capping off the 21-2 run. Chazz Patterson finally ended the drought for Saint Peter's with a pair of foul shots.

After Saint Peter's cut the lead to one point at 43-42, Harris and Ford each hit three-pointers to extend the margin to 49-42 with 7:37 to go. A pair of foul shots with 5:35 left from Harris gave the Bobcats their largest lead at 53-43 with 5:35 left, but Saint Peter's responded with the next eight points to make the score 53-51 with 2:46 left on a high-arcing layup from guard Antwon Portley. Ford found Daniels for a lay-up to respond, but Patterson had a desperation shot in the paint go in, and then Welton tied the score when he split two foul shots with 22.0 seconds left, setting up the winning free throw from Bundu.

Quinnipiac held Saint Peter's to only 22 points in the second half on 25.9 percent shooting (7-27) to forge ahead and earn the win. The Bobcats held a narrow 42-40 edge on the boards, and is now 109-6-4 in the rebounding department since the start of the 2012-13 season. Ford finished with nine points on three three-pointers and matched his career high with six assists.

Quinnipiac will be back in action on Sunday, when it hosts Manhattan at 2 p.m. That game will be preceded by the program's Senior Day, as McLean, Ford and graduate student Will Simonton (Vienna, Va.) will be honored.