By Connor Wilson
With the calendar hitting mid-to-late February, there’s a feel of March Madness creeping up ever so slowly. That feeling was evident on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Arena when the Quinnipiac Bobcats defeated the Rider Broncs 90-88 in a double overtime classic.
“I’m really proud of our guys. It was different guys that stepped up and I think that’s been a theme this season,” Quinnipiac head coach Baker Dunleavy said.
The Bobcats’ ended up victorious in the end, but it certainly wasn’t a sure fire thing during the second half. The Broncs exploded out of the locker room at halftime and built their lead up to as many as 16. Quinnipiac never lost hope and continued to claw its way back in it and forced overtime.
“It was back and forth and we just stayed together and locked in and when we had to get stops we got stops,” Quinnipiac forward Alexis Reyes said.
Quinnipiac forward Alexis Reyes attempts a shot
Reyes was one of the unsung heroes for the Bobcats, as the sophomore played a career high 30 minutes off the bench and scored a career high 12 points, including a go-ahead four-point play to give the Bobcats their first lead since the first half.
“My opportunity came and my name was called and I took advantage of it,” Reyes said. “Today was that day and all these guys believed in me.”
Reyes wasn’t the only Quinnipiac player with a new career high after the game, as guard Dezi Jones dropped 28 points on 8-of-16 shooting and shot 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Dunleavy gave Jones the keys to take all of the important shots down the stretch and he delivered.
“It’s a big win for us,” Jones said. “They handed it to us in the beginning and we fought back. Playing in double overtime is something that doesn’t happen often so to finish it out I’m proud of ourselves.”
Jones’ backcourt mate Matt Balanc also had a very solid performance, as on the day he was honored for joining the 1,000 point club he scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, good for the redshirt senior’s fourth career double-double. Guard Tyrese Williams was the fourth and final Bobcat in double figures, as he finished with 11 points in a season high 33 minutes.
Rider was led by guard Dwight Murray Jr., who scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a whopping 48 minutes out of the possible 50. Fellow guard Allen Powell also played 48 minutes and registered 13 points, four rebounds and five assists.
“There’s so many good guards in this league like Murray, (Niagara guard Noah) Thomasson, (Siena guard Javian) McCollum that if you do one thing you’re dead,” Dunleavy said.
Quinnipiac guard Dezi Jones drives to the hoop
There were a lot of foul calls, even for a double overtime game, with the whistle favoring the Bobcats. Quinnipiac went 29-41 from the free throw line compared to Rider’s 11-for-17. Two Broncs fouled out - guard Corey McKeithan and forward Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson. Rider head coach Kevin Baggett was frustrated with the officials pretty early on, as he was hit with a technical foul less than four minutes into the game for arguing a foul call.
The win is a big one for Quinnipiac, as it's both the 10th MAAC conference win and 19th overall win. It also moves the Bobcats to fourth in the standings when the Top 5 get a first round bye in the MAAC Tournament. It’s also a significant game for Rider, as with the loss the Broncs fall into a tie with Siena and, due to the tiebreaker, pushes them down to third place.
At the end of the day, the Bobcats came away with a hard fought victory that will go a long way in defining how far they will go in the postseason.
“We’ve given away some leads this year,” Dunleavy said. “It’s nice to go get one back and it says a lot about the mindset of our team.”
Up next for both teams: Quinnipiac has a week off before welcoming Manhattan for its final home game of the season and Senior Day. Rider welcomes Siena for a crucial seeding game on Friday night.