Quinnipiac 68, Hartford 66: Growing Pains For Inexperienced Teams

Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The ball moved quickly, everyone seemed to touch it, extra passes were made, and – most importantly – shots were falling as Quinnipiac was rolling Tuesday night at intrastate rival Hartford.

At one point, the Bobcats were 8-12 and then 10-16 from three-point range, and after Gio McLean drove with ease to the hoop and scored, Quinnipiac led 60-47 with 10:30 left and appeared to be cruising to its second straight victory, even without its best post player, Chaise Daniels.

But the cruise hit the proverbial iceberg at that point. Possessions that didn’t end in turnovers finished wih rushed shots at the end of the shot clock. Hartford alowly started to gain momentum and scored 14 points the rest of the way. Quinnipiac showed a lot of guts and Gio McLean hit an eventual game-winning shot with 1:16 left to give it a 68-66 road win despite scoring just eight points in the final quarter of the contest, and – coupled with a win at Canisius Saturday – may tell us plenty about the mental makeup of the Bobcats going forward (certainly about McLean, more on him later).

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Can Masiello Turn This Manhattan Team Into Winners?

Looks can be deceiving, right? Steve Masiello and the Manhattan basketball team certainly hope so because right now no matter how you slice it, the two-time defending MAAC champions look a long, long way from making it three straight come March.

Manhattan (1-5, 0-2) didn’t play a terrible game Sunday and had a 82.5 eFG% in the first half against Marist. The Jaspers even led by 11 midway through the second half, using the running and jumping defense and pressure that had made them who they are in the Masiello Era to cause turnovers and give them easy opportunities in transition.

But even that wasn’t enough as eventually it was the Red Foxes who left Draddy Gym victorious for just the second time in 15 years (and third in 21 tries ever) with a 75-70 victory, just their second of the young season (2-4).

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