Scrappy Bobcats beat Mountaineers for OT win

Scrappy Bobcats beat Mountaineers for OT win

By Gilbert A. Celaya, QBSN Staff Writer

The Quinnipiac Bobcats (11-9, 4-5 NEC) fought a hard and scrappy game on Thursday night defeating the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (4-16, 2-7 NEC) 69-66 in overtime.

In a tough battle that saw the end of regulation tied at 61, James Johnson (Queens, N.Y.) missed a half court shot trying to win the game for the Bobcats.  The missed attempt sent the game into overtime.

To start overtime, Ike Azotam (Boston, Mass.) rocked the bank for the first points of OT as he rattled the rim with a two-handed jam.  Azotam lead the Bobcats in scoring with 20 points as he was 8-for-17 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free throw line on Thursday night.

Overtime seesawed back and forth between QU and Mount St. Mary’s as the Mountaineers seemed to be back on their heels.  Julian Norfleet put up a three-point attempt to try and send the game to a second overtime as time ran off the clock.  But the shot fell short and time ran out on Mount St. Mary’s.  The fans at the TD Bank Sports Center cheered their Bobcats as QU evened up the all-time series at 13-13 versus the Mountaineers.  Norfleet lead all scorers with 26 points.

However the game was a tale of two different halves for QU.  The Bobcats were outscored 43-28 in the first half.  QU also seemed to lack intensity during the first half, as they were out rebounded 20-17.

“We were shocked and down going into the locker room at halftime.  I think we came out very nonchalant, I know I did, and it took us awhile to get going,” Azotam said after the game.

Led by the speed of Josh Castellanos, the high scoring Norfleet and with Kristijan Krajina dominating the inside, the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers seemed to have an answer for everything that the Bobcats threw at them.  Norfleet led all scorers with 12 points in the first half.

Most of the first half, the Bobcats seemed to hang in with the Mountaineers fast-paced offense.  However, the inability to convert lay-ups and grab rebounds hindered QU as they tried to stay in the game.

Quinnipiac Head Coach Tom Moore expressed his displeasure with way his team played in the first half.

“I was shocked and disappointed with our performance.  We looked sluggish and we allowed Mount St. Mary’s to dictate the tempo in the first half,” said Moore.

The Mountaineers always seemed to have an answer to QU’s full court press as Mount St. Mary’s easily handled the QU’s full court defense.  Mount St. Mary’s scored willfully as if the Bobcat defense seemed to not even stand in its way.

“I think I stayed with the full court press a little too long in the first half, and this allowed Mount St. Mary’s to get 10 offensive rebounds in the first half,” Moore said.

The big contributor for the Bobcats in the first half was Azotam, who was 4-for-6 from the field leading the Bobcats in scoring during the first half.  Halfway through the first half, Azotam was able to receive a pass underneath the basket for a thunder dunk that excited the QU fans.

“Ike’s had a lot thrown at him this year.  I think he spoiled us with all those double-doubles he had at the beginning of the season, and now we want him to keep doing it.  But he’s responded very well to the pressures that the team has faced this season,” said Moore.

Early in the second half, however, the tables seemed to turn and favor the Bobcats as they picked up their intensity and hustle.  While the Mountaineers only scored two points in the first six minutes of the second half, the Bobcats scored 14 points cutting the lead to 45-42.  Mount St. Mary’s did not score another basket until less than 11 minutes left in the game.

The Bobcat defense tightened their pressure in the second half, as they were able to slow down the Mountaineers and begin to out rebound Mount St. Mary’s.

“All we wanted to do was get pressure on the ball,” said Azotam of the Bobcats’ defense in the second half.

As the Bobcats applied pressure on the Mountaineers in the second half, Ousmane Drame (Boston, Mass), who was on the court for most of the first half for QU but did not make his presence felt, was able to throw down a dunk with nine minute and 37 seconds left in the game.  Less than a minute later, Azotam again skied over everyone for another thunder jam.  Azotam’s dunk put the Bobcats ahead of Mount St. Mary’s as both teams began to battle for the lead.  This sequence set up the game for the last minute shot taken by Johnson in the final seconds leading into overtime.

Drame finished the night with 13 points going 5-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.  However, it was Drame’s second half rebounding that help lift the Bobcats to the overtime victory as he lead all rebounders with 15 boards.

“Ouse is not too strong, but he’s good with his hands, knows how to use his body, and he’s got a great basketball I.Q.  He knows what he has and he’s using that to help us get the boards that we need,” said Moore of Drame.

As the Bobcats now look past Mount St. Mary’s, Azotam expressed his excitement of beating the Mountaineers after the game.  But he also knows what’s at stake for the team.

“We can’t afford to lose at this point.  We’re battling to get into the tournament at the end of the season.  Our moral went up after this win.  I think we can beat any team in the conference now,” Azotam said.

The next game for the Bobcats is on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. versus the Wagner Seahawks at the TD Bank Sports Center.