QU Men's Basketball Explodes For 79-53 Win Over Marist

Thursday, February 4

Hamden, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

8-13, 5-7MAAC

Marist College

4-17, 1-11MAAC

Marist

Quinnipiac

QU Men's Basketball Explodes For 79-53 Win Over Marist

2/4/2016 9:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's basketball team roared out to a 47-25 halftime lead and led by as many as 36 points in the second half, as it captured a 79-53 win over Marist for its third win a row on Thursday evening at the TD Bank Sports Center.

With the win, the Bobcats improve to 8-13 overall and 5-7 in the MAAC, after its third win in six days, including an 82-68 home win over Niagara on Saturday and a 64-59 road win over Fairfield on Monday. Quinnipiac is also now 40-10 in February games (.800 winning percentage) since the 2009-10 season. Marist falls to 4-17 overall and 1-11 in the MAAC.

Freshman guard Andrew Robinson (Takoma Park, Md. - pictured) hit five three-pointers in the first half to set a new career high with 15 points, which held up as the high total for the Bobcats. Junior guard Daniel Harris (Tampa, Fla.) was the only other Bobcat in double figures on the day with 13 points, as 12 different Quinnipiac players scored overall, the first time that has happened since a win over Monmouth exactly four years ago on Feb. 4, 2012.

For the third game in a row, Quinnipiac closed out the half with a big run to take momentum into the locker room. The Niagara and Fairfield wins both featured 12-0 runs to close the half, while tonight's game featured an 18-6 run that turned a 29-19 lead into a commanding 47-25 advantage. Sophomore guard Dimitri Floras (Nashua, N.H.) started that run with a tough step back jumper, and Robinson followed with a three-pointer. Junior forward Donovan Smith (Chicago, Ill.) then blocked a Marist shot at one end, and freshman forward Abdulai Bundu (Upper Marlboro, Md.) finished a fast break at the other end with a dunk to make it 36-19.

After Marist scored the next four points, Robinson hit two three-pointers in the last two minutes of the half, sandwiched around a Floras three-pointer as the Bobcats pushed the lead up to 20 at 45-25. Smith then capped off the half with a jump hook in the paint to make the score 47-25 at the break, which was the largest lead that Quinnipiac had all season. Its previous high-water mark was a 20-point lead against North Carolina Central back on Nov. 24.

The Red Foxes scored the first basket of the second half, but Quinnipiac left no hope for a comeback by scoring the next eight points to take a 55-27 lead, as Smith started it with a three-point play, Harris knocked down a three-pointer, and senior guard Giovanni McLean (Bronx, N.Y.) capped it off with a running bank shot.

Quinnipiac set a season-high in three-pointers made with 13 on 26 attempts, and also played its best defensive game of the season statistically, holding Marist to only 27.1 percent shooting (16-59) and only 2-19 from three-point territory (10.5 percent). It was the first time since 2012 against Central Connecticut that the Bobcats held an opponent below 30 percent from the floor.

Quinnipiac will try to keep the momentum going when it heads to Saint Peter's on Monday for a key MAAC road contest, as the Bobcats have a chance to move up near the top five in the conference standings (the top five earn byes in the conference tournament).