Men's Hoops Fail to Seal the Deal
Justin Downs
Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: Sports
Two games separated the (14-1) Colonials and the (12-3) Quinnipiac Bobcats who ranked #1 and #2 in the NEC.
The stage was set for celebration at the Sewall Center Saturday evening, as the men's basketball team looked to clinch the NEC regular season title for the third straight year, on senior night no less.
But for the first time since Dec. 4, 2008, the Colonials fell to an NEC foe on their home court. The Bobcats outperformed and outmuscled the Colonials, winning by a final score of 87-79.
"I give a lot of credit to Quinnipiac. I can't remember the last time that someone came into our building and put us on our heels for an extended period of time like they did tonight," said RMU head coach Mike Rice. "They came in determined and they took it to us."
That was especially evident when it came to rebounding and finding a way to stop the Bobcats from putting points on the board.
"We tried to execute precise, tough offense against the best defensive team in the NEC and we accomplished that tonight," said Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore. "I'm very proud of our guys."
The last time the two teams met was in last year's NEC Tournament semifinals, when the Colonials ended the Bobcat's season emphatically with a 75-48 victory, sealed by a 25 point, eight rebound night from former standout Jeremy Chappell.
On Saturday, it was Quinnipiac point guard James Johnson who came up with the big performance, scoring a career-high 28 points while adding six assists.
"Mainly, I just tried to go out and relax a little bit. I try to focus on defense and sometimes that translates to a good offensive night," said Johnson.
"James has been phenomenal," said Tom Moore. "I think he is an all-league type player and for a sophomore, that's a high compliment," he added.
More than anything, Moore stressed the value of Johnson's hard work and praised his conditioning. After all, he played 35 minutes against RMU.
Trailing 39-33 early in the second half, it appeared as though the Colonials had found their stride when freshman sensation Karon Abraham nailed a big 3-pointer that cut the Quinnipiac lead in half, setting off a momentous chain of events in the Colonials favor.
The stage was set for celebration at the Sewall Center Saturday evening, as the men's basketball team looked to clinch the NEC regular season title for the third straight year, on senior night no less.
But for the first time since Dec. 4, 2008, the Colonials fell to an NEC foe on their home court. The Bobcats outperformed and outmuscled the Colonials, winning by a final score of 87-79.
"I give a lot of credit to Quinnipiac. I can't remember the last time that someone came into our building and put us on our heels for an extended period of time like they did tonight," said RMU head coach Mike Rice. "They came in determined and they took it to us."
That was especially evident when it came to rebounding and finding a way to stop the Bobcats from putting points on the board.
"We tried to execute precise, tough offense against the best defensive team in the NEC and we accomplished that tonight," said Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore. "I'm very proud of our guys."
The last time the two teams met was in last year's NEC Tournament semifinals, when the Colonials ended the Bobcat's season emphatically with a 75-48 victory, sealed by a 25 point, eight rebound night from former standout Jeremy Chappell.
On Saturday, it was Quinnipiac point guard James Johnson who came up with the big performance, scoring a career-high 28 points while adding six assists.
"Mainly, I just tried to go out and relax a little bit. I try to focus on defense and sometimes that translates to a good offensive night," said Johnson.
"James has been phenomenal," said Tom Moore. "I think he is an all-league type player and for a sophomore, that's a high compliment," he added.
More than anything, Moore stressed the value of Johnson's hard work and praised his conditioning. After all, he played 35 minutes against RMU.
Trailing 39-33 early in the second half, it appeared as though the Colonials had found their stride when freshman sensation Karon Abraham nailed a big 3-pointer that cut the Quinnipiac lead in half, setting off a momentous chain of events in the Colonials favor.
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