By Bill Cloutier


bcloutier@nhregister.com

Twitter @BillCloutier

BROOKLYN -- The sheer drama in Wednesday night’s Northeast Conference quarterfinal game between Quinnipiac and Long Island was right out of a motion picture.

In fact, the suspense grew so greatly that actor/director and basketball junkie Spike Lee left his seat and stood on the baseline directly under the Long Island basket for the game’s final minutes.

Unfortunately for the game Bobcats, they won’t be able to make a curtain call. Quinnipiac’s heart-breaking 91-83 loss in Brooklyn marked the second straight season that the Bobcats were eliminated by LIU in NEC tournament.

It won’t happen again. That’s because Quinnipiac is moving to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference next season.

Wednesday’s game turned into a foul-fest and the Bobcats’ free-throw shooting woes reared their ugly heads again. Ousmane Drame, who otherwise was brilliant and is generally one of the best Bobcats at the line, missed six of his eight attempts from the stripe in the second half as Quinnipiac squandered a nine-point lead in the game’s final 10 minutes.

“We were up good but we started fouling and they got back into the game with free throws,” Quinnipiac junior forward Ike Azotam said. “We didn’t execute and we lost our poise. Free throws lost us a couple of games this year and they won us a couple. In the second half it came back to haunt us.

Azotam fouled out of the game with over five minutes remaining. He was one of four Bobcats to foul out.

“It was tough to watch from the bench,” he said. “You never can guess that you’ll lose four starters in a game. I don’t want to say that the (officiating) was one-sided. They played better than us in the second half.

“I kept telling them to keep playing, that we’ve been down before. We started the season 5-11 and 1-3 in the conference. We were in close games all year.”

Moore wraps up his first six seasons at Quinnipiac with a 70-39 mark in NEC play. He is a bit disappointed about the past season but once his Bobcats proved their mettle down the stretch.

“I really wish we had won the Central (Connecticut State) game in particular,” Moore said. “That might have given us a better seed and we wouldn’t have had to start our journey at Long Island. Arguably this is as hard a place to win because of the belief they have. They’re going to be a tough out.

“I think our record should have been better than 15-16. I’m really proud of the hole we dug ourselves out of. We’ve prided ourselves, the last five years, of having strong Februarys with teams that continued to improve. This team carried the torch.

“I’m really excited about the individual improvements from a lot of our young guys. We had a lot of guys stuck with no confidence but we grew a great deal in January and February. They rattled off a great winning streak.”

Azotam, Quinnipiac’s rugged forward who led the team in scoring and rebounding and was named to the NEC second team, will be back as will Drame, who Moore called the best big man in the conference as the season progressed.

“Drame had a great end to his sophomore year and he’s terrifically talented,” Moore said. “The drive to win is coming out for him. I’m very excited about what he can do for us the next two years.”

The Bobcats will lose unflappable guard Dave Johnson who has been a court leader for the past few seasons as well as versatile forward Jamee Jackson, and oft-injured swingman Garvey Young. But guards Evan Conti and Zaid Hearst will return and both proved themselves in Quinnipiac’s biggest games.

“It’s hard to say because we lost in the first round but I was proud of how we played in the last month,” Azotam said. ”I’m looking forward to next year. We bring back most of our team and I’m confident about next year.”

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Ike Azotam scored 14 points and Ousmane Drame added 13 but it was the Bobcats' late defense which Quinnipiac to a crucial 81-74 win over Sacred Heart in an NEC game at the Pitt Center on Thursday night.
Quinnipiac tried everything hoping to silence Gibson. Finally it was junior college transfer Shaq Shannon who held the key to throttling the Pioneer guard who entered the game 11th in the nation in scoring at 20.5 points.

Ike Azotam

Gibson scored 36 points but was shut out for the final 8 minutes, 58 seconds of play as Quinnipiac posted a pivotal 81-74 win in a Northeast Conference game at the Pitt Center. It is the fifth straight win for the surging Bobcats and seventh victory in their last eight games. The recent hot stretch has vaulted Quinnipiac into the top half of the NEC standings with four difficult games remaining on the docket.

Shannon finished with 11 points and Zaid Hearst added 10 for the Bobcats which moved into fourth place in the NEC just a game and a half behind front-running Robert Morris. James Ford came off the bench to score a nine crucial points in just eight minutes.
It was the 64th meeting between the two teams and most likely the last time they’ll meet in conference play as the Bobcats will join the MAAC next year.
“Losing begets losing and winning begets winning and we’re on the good side now,” Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore said.
"We're bigger and we're deeper than they were."
They work really hard. We've had a lot of growth on this team."
Moore said his Bobcats hit the low point of the season in the second half of their last game against Sacred Heart, an 80-74 loss.
"We were awful then. Now we're the higest point we've been all season. They believe that anything is possible."

Recently, our Chirs Hunn spent a day with Quinnipiac men's basketball coach Tom Moore.

Here is a link to the story:

“For every single one of them you’re nervous,” says Moore, sitting in a chair seeming a bit jittery. “It’s a different type of job than most people have. A banker could have a good or bad day and his or her boss knows. A landscaper has a bad day and they lose a customer or something. In this profession if you go out there and play terrible, it’s a reflection on me. It’s that fear of, and Bill Parcells said this too, you remember the bad losses more than the big wins. I certainly do. It gets to the point where winning is good just because it’s not losing. Those are the feelings you have about an hour or so before the game.”

HAMDEN, Conn. -- Quinnipiac University Director of Athletics and Recreation Jack McDonald has announced that Men's Basketball Head Coach Tom Moore has signed a contract extension through the 2016-17 season. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The two-time Northeast Conference Coach of the Year kept the momentum going in his fifth season at the helm of the Bobcats, guiding Quinnipiac to its third consecutive national postseason appearance. Moore led the Bobcats to the 2012 CBI Invitational and their seventh straight Northeast Conference Tournament, adding to an impressive list of accomplishments thus far.

Tom Moore

"Tom and his staff continue to elevate Quinnipiac Men's Basketball with post-season appearances, academic success and community service,” said McDonald. “I and the entire Quinnipiac community are very pleased and grateful for their continued growth and success."

"I am thrilled to sign a contract extension with Quinnipiac University through the 2016-17 season,” said Coach Moore. “The support that I have received from our administration has been invaluable in helping us elevate our program. I'd like to thank President John Lahey, our Athletic Director Jack McDonald, and our entire Athletic Department administration for their continued commitment to men's basketball. I'd also like to thank my coaching staff and our student-athletes for all of their hard work and dedication. I am excited and energized about continuing our success in the future, both on the court and in the classroom."

Both on and off the court, Moore has transitioned the program into a perennial power in the Northeast Conference. Moore has guided the Bobcats to an average of 21 wins over the last three seasons, including two 20-plus win campaigns, compiling a 93-65 overall record. Just over the last three seasons alone, Quinnipiac has collected 63 wins, leaving Coach Moore with a .650 winning percentage during the stint.

Moore led Quinnipiac to an unprecedented 23 victories in 2009-10; guiding the Bobcats to the programs first-ever NEC Regular-Season Championship and national postseason tournament berth (NIT). Under Moore’s tutelage, Justin Rutty was named the program’s first-ever NEC Player of the Year. Rutty and James Feldeine were also named to the all-league first team under Moore’s direction.

A year later, Moore guided the Bobcats to a 22-10 record and a home game in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Rutty was named to the All-NEC First Team for the third straight year, while James Johnson joined him among the league’s top five players, giving Moore back-to-back years with a pair of All-NEC First Team members.

Most recently, Moore channeled the Bobcats to an 18-14 record and a trip to the CBI Invitational Postseason Tournament. James Johnson and Ike Azotam were selected to the All-NEC Second Team, while freshman standout Ousmane Drame was named to the All-NEC Rookie Team. With Moore instructing him every step of the way, Drame became Quinnipiac’s Rookie leader in rebounds and blocked shots in his inaugural season, a promising facet in relation to Moore’s coaching philosophy.

A large part of the Bobcats’ success over the past three years has been their prowess on the boards. Quinnipiac has established itself as a national power on the glass, evidenced by its consistency in three major categories. During Coach Moore’s time at Quinnipiac, the Bobcats have finished top 10 in total rebounding, offensive rebounding and rebounding margin 10 times. Most recently in 2011-12, Quinnipiac led the nation in offensive rebounding, while finishing second, only behind North Carolina, in total rebounding and rebounding margin.

In 2009-10, Quinnipiac was one of four teams – Kansas, Kentucky and Radford – to finish the year in the top 10 in the country in both rebounding margin and rebounds per game, before repeating the feat in 2010-11, joining Pittsburgh and Old Dominion. Quinnipiac finished 2009-10 behind only Michigan State (+8.6) in rebound margin at +8.5, while taking 10th in the nation in rebounds per game at 40.4.

Along with team recognition on the glass, comes individual accomplishments as well. Rutty, the NEC’s All-Time Career Rebounding Leader, finished second in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.9) for the second consecutive year in 2009-10. Azotam, who is on pace to challenge Rutty for the top spot in NEC Rebounding, finished 15th in offensive rebounding (3.6) and 30th in total rebounding (9.5).

Off the court and in the classroom, Moore led the greatest turnaround of any team in NCAA Division I during his first three years as head coach. According to a study prepared by FoxSports.com’s Jason Belzer, the Bobcats increased their Academic Progress Rate (APR), as compiled by the NCAA, by 219 points, more than any other program in the nation in that time. Over the last five years, Quinnipiac has boasted tremendous success academically among the Northeast Conference as well. At the end of the 2010-11 school year, the Bobcats accumulated the highest team GPA in the league.

In 2007, Moore became the sixth men's basketball head coach in Quinnipiac history and just the Bobcats' second coach at the Division I level. Moore took over after spending the previous 13 years as a member of the coaching staff at the University of Connecticut. After guiding Quinnipiac to their first non-losing season since the 2002-03 season, Moore was named the CollegeInsider.com Coach of the Year.

During his time in Storrs, Conn., Moore helped build UConn into a national powerhouse and played a major role in guiding the Huskies to the 1999 and 2004 NCAA Division I Men's National Championships.

Recognized as one of the top recruiters and evaluators of talent in the country, Moore either recruited or coached numerous current NBA players at UConn as the Huskies currently claim 15 active NBA players, the fifth most of any Division I program in the country. UConn's 2004 recruiting class was the consensus No. 1 by every major recruiting publication.

Moore currently resides in Tolland, Conn. with his wife, Eileen, and their three daughters: Elizabeth Rose, Catherine Grace, and Caroline Mary.

Quinnipiac University Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tom Moore has announced three additional signings that will join the Bobcats’ roster for the 2012-13 campaign. Guards Tariq Carey (Union, N.J.), Shaquille Shannon (Philadelphia, Pa.) and James Ford (Hopewell, Va.) will join the Bobcats’ quest for their first trip to the NCAA Tournament next season.

Tariq Carey, a 6-foot-2 point guard from Union, N.J., comes to Quinnipiac after wrapping up a stellar high school career at Newark Eastside and perennial powerhouse St. Anthony’s. Carey spent his first three seasons with the Red Raiders, where he averaged over 11 points per game through three seasons. He then transferred over to St. Anthony’s and enjoyed an outstanding senior season with the Friars. Carey led the team to a perfect 32-0 record, finishing the season as the #1 ranked team in the country. He averaged 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds along the way.
"I am thrilled to welcome Tariq Carey to our Quinnipiac Basketball family,” said Coach Moore. “He is a very good offensive player who has good strength and a college-ready body. We plan to use him as both a point guard and a shooting guard. He brings great shooting range, a tight handle, and an ability to get in the lane and create offense off the dribble."
Carey was regarded as one of the Top 10 players for the state of New Jersey, according to the NBE in 2011. His ability to attack the lane, finish and distribute makes him a viable candidate for playing time next year. In the 2012 NJSIAA Tournament of Champions, Carey proved his offensive capabilities with an 18-point performance in the championship game. Defensively, he is very aggressive and is adept at racking up steals and initiating fast breaks.
“Myself and every member of East Side High School would like to say how proud we are that Tariq is attending Quinnipiac University,” said ESHS Men’s Basketball Head Coach Troy Long. “Tariq is a personable young man that we watched grow up from the 7th grade. Quinnipiac is getting a combo guard who can score in bunches when you ask him to, play lock down defense, or run your team. He learned so much from a Hall of Fame coach and now I’m excited to see him play at the collegiate level. Quinnipiac just got a lot of fans from Newark!”
Shaquille Shannon, a 6-foot-2 guard from Philadelphia, Pa., will arrive on campus this summer with two years of eligibility for the Bobcats. Shannon was enrolled at Connors State Junior College in Warner, Oklahoma, where he played for two seasons. Most recently, he led the Cowboys to a 22-8 record and a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region II Tournament Quarterfinals. The Cowboys led the nation in field goal shooting percentage (54 percent) for the season, ranked #4 in three-point shooting (40 percent) and #8 in the nation in free-throw shooting (70 percent). Shannon played a large role in the offensive prowess, leading the team in three-point field goal percentage (56 percent), and ranked second in field goal percentage (52 percent) and free-throw percentage (75 percent). He averaged 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
"Shaquille Shannon is a great addition to our program,” said Coach Moore. “He is another combo guard who brings two years of experience at the highest level of junior college basketball. Shaq is a terrific three-point shooter and a great rebounder from the backcourt position. I expect his toughness and junior college experience to really help our backcourt."
Prior to Connors State Junior College, Shannon attended Communications Technology High School for four years. Shannon led the Blue and Gold to a strong finish in 2010, while picking up several individual achievements as well. He was named to the Daily News All-City Team and the Daily News All-Public Third Team in his senior season.
“Shaq is a great person that works extremely hard in the classroom and on the court,” said Connors State Men’s Basketball Head Coach Bill Muse. “He will be successful at everything he does. The fans will love to watch him play because he plays extremely hard.”
James Ford, a 6-foot-3 guard from Hopewell, Va., joins Quinnipiac after completing a prolific career at Quality Education Academy (QEA) in Winston-Salem, N.C. Ford led the Pharoahs to a 23-6 record, including a 9-1 mark in Greater Carolina High School Athletic Association (GCHSAA) competition. As the #1 seed in the GCHSAA Tournament, QEA went on to hoist the trophy after outlasting the Body of Christ Christian in the championship game. Ford averaged a team-best 18.5 points, six rebounds and five assists per game in his senior campaign.
"James Ford has a chance to be one of the best shooters that we've had here at Quinnipiac,” said Coach Moore. “His size, length, and touch from long range should help us right away. He was one of the best deep shooters that we saw in the scholastic ranks this season. He can also handle the ball, pass well, and has the potential to be a very good defender. I am very excited to add him to our perimeter rotation."
Due in large part to Ford’s offensive success, the Quality Education Academy’s men’s basketball team was ranked seventh in the state of North Carolina at the end of the year. Ford is a tremendous shooter, especially from long distance, and adds length on both ends of the court. Combined with athleticism, Ford soars above the rim with ease, evidenced by his six rebounds per game last season.
”James has been from the day he came to QEA a model citizen, excellent student, and a hard working basketball player,” said Quality Education Academy Men’s Basketball Head Coach Isaac F. Pitts Jr. "James is what I call shooters delight; his jump shot is a thing of beauty and picture perfect. He's an extremely loyal kid that will represent your university very well.”
The Bobcats will open the 2012-13 campaign with the Paradise Jam in the United States Virgin Islands. For all the latest news, scores and highlights pertaining to the men’s basketball program, visit www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com.

James Johnson had a heck of a senior day at Quinnipiac. The guard scored 28 points and hit two 3-pointers down the stretch to pace the Bobcats to the 73-69 win.

Here are some highlights and Johnson's thoughts on the game:

Let's face it, St. Francis (Pa.) has quit on this season which takes a little steam off Quinnipiac's dominant performance against the Red Flash on Thursday night.
Still, Quinnipiac hit 12 straight shots to start the second half and won by 33 points.
With the win Quinnipiac is still in a tie for 5th place in the NEC but holds the tie-breaker over both CCSU and Monmouth.
Here are some highlights and Dave Johnson and coach Tom Moore on the win.

By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
NEW BRITAIN – Central Connecticut State forward Terrell Allen pulled his jersey over his head with 10 seconds still left to play. His expression showed it all.
Allen couldn’t bear to look at the finish as Quinnipiac held Central Connecticut State to just two points in the final 10 minutes of the game on the way to a 67-59 victory in a Northeast Conference men’s basketball game at Detrick Gymnasium Sunday.
Quinnipiac (15-10, 8-6 NEC) has won six of its last seven games to move into fifth place in the conference. The opposite is true for the sinking Blue Devils. Central (10-14, 7-7) has lost six of seven and fell a game behind the Bobcats in the standings. Both teams have four games left.
James Johnson led Quinnipiac with 20 points and Ike Azotam had 15. Kyle Vinales led all scorers with 27 points for Central. But the rest of the Blue Devils made just 13 of 45 shots and star forward Ken Horton was the main culprit. The reigning NEC Player of the Year was 3-for-18 from the field.
Again playing to coach Tom Moore’s defensive demands Quinnipiac held Central to 29 percent shooting in the second half and the Blue Devils made just one of their final 20 shots from the field.
“We have a drill called ‘five stops’ where he have to stop them for five trips without scoring before we can get off the floor,” Johnson said. “I knew the guys had the determination to get five stops and that’s exactly what they did.”
Said Moore: “It sounds like a broken record but we’ve stressed holding our opponents under 40 percent shooting in the second half and we’ve done it for the last seven games and we’ve won six games. We’ve grasped our identity in the past three weeks.”
Central took a 57-52 lead on a long 3-pointer by Horton that brought the crowd of 2,557 to their feet with 10:22 to play. But the Blue Devils got just one more field the goal the rest of the way, a short jumper by Allen. At the time CCSU led 59-54 but they never scored again.
Quinnipiac scored the final 13 points of the game and the run started with a 3-pointer by Johnson. The Quinnipiac got the ball inside to Azotam for two quick baskets and another from freshman center Ousmane Drame. Johnson hit another jumper with 2:28 to go giving Quinnipiac a 63-59 lead.
Horton was then fouled on a drive to the basket. He landed on his tailbone and had to leave the game. Malcolm McMillan shot the free throw for Horton and missed it adding to the frustration.
“James Johnson I thought took the game over,” CCSU coach Howie Dickenman said. “He basically said, it’s my time to prove that I’m a senior leader and he went out and did it and I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
Johnson hit a huge 3-pointer with 4:15 to play to cut CCSU’s 59-54 lead to just two
Despite the loss, CCSU coach Howie Dickenman was pleased with his team’s effort. The Bobcats won Wednesday’s matchup 72-44. In that contest they raced out to a 15-2 lead and cruised to the easy win.
After that game Dickenman questioned their heart but on Sunday the Blue Devils hustled, dove and even out-rebounded Quinnipiac.
“I was very proud of our effort,” Dickenman said. “On Wednesday night I was discouraged and embarrassed. Today was a gut check for our team. We were good and solid but then we missed 19 of our final 20 shots and it’s hard to win a game that way. We might have settled for 3-pointers but they were open. We also missed a couple of alley-oops.”
“But if we play like we did today the rest of the year we’ll be OK and we’ll make the (NEC) tournament.”
Said Moore: “I tip my hat to them on how hard they played and how focused they were.”
Central came out with much more energy and got 17 first-half points from Vinales. But Quinnipiac went 6-for-7 from 3-point range and used a 21-4 run to erase a 17-9 deficit. The Bobcats got eight points in the first half from Garvey Young but later missed six straight free throws and led just 39-33 at the half.
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Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
The quest is quite different for the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team as it heads down the stretch this season. For the past few years Quinnipiac has waged a battle for the Northeast Conference regular-season title. This year they’re just hoping to earn a spot in the playoffs.

Quinnipiac plays host to Central Connecticut State tonight at 7 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center in the first of two crucial contests between the two teams this week. The Bobcats (13-10, 6-6 NEC) are currently in sixth place, while Central (10-12, 7-5) checks in at fifth place, a game ahead of Quinnipiac.
“We’re in a good place right now,” Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore said. “They feel good about themselves and I’m real happy how we’ve looked defensively lately.”
Central is led by NEC preseason Player of the Year Ken Horton who is second in the conference in both scoring (19.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.2 rpg). He scored 29 points in a recent loss at conference-leading Long Island. The Blue Devils have also gotten fantastic scoring from sharp-shooter Robby Ptacek (18.5 ppg) and freshman phenom Kyle Vinales (17.8 ppg) who are third and fourth in the conference in scoring.
“When you play a team with three great scorers it’s like pick your poison,” Moore said. “We usually play Horton straight up and we’ve had success against Ptacek but some of times we’ve played him he’s been injured.”
This will be Quinnipiac’s first look at Vinales, who scored a season-high 39 points against Niagara earlier in the season, but they do get back the services of forward Jamee Jackson who Moore called the best defensive player in the conference.
Quinnipiac has won five straight games in the series. More importantly, the Bobcats have won four of their last five games to climb up the NEC’s standings.
“It’s been good for us,” Moore said. “As a coach you can preach all you want about things but if they don’t see the results it’s not going to matter much. We’ve told them all along to focus on defense in the second half.
“In the past five games no team has shot over 40 percent in the second half and we’ve won four games.”
There are no easy spots the rest of the way. The Bobcats’ final six opponents are a combined 47-25 in conference play. After playing Central the Bobcats finish with Robert Morris, LIU, St. Francis (N.Y.) and St. Francis (Pa.). They’ve lost to all four teams already this season.
But they’re not shaken.
“It’s not like we’ve gotten pounded by anyone,” Moore said. “We played (the top two teams in the NEC) LiU to four points and Wagner by one. “The guys feel there’s not anyone in the league we can’t beat.”
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HAMDEN – Nothing is coming easy for the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team this year. But, after two straight overtime victories maybe the Bobcats have things headed in the right direction.
Quinnipiac spotted Mount St. Mary’s a 15-point halftime lead but roared back early in the second half and pulled out a 69-66 overtime win in a Northeast Conference game at the TD Bank Sports Center Thursday. The Bobcats got 20 points from Ike Azotam and 26 second-chance points on the way to the victory.

Ousmane Drame scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds and James Johnson added 15 points for the Bobcats (11-9, 4-5 NEC).
“The last three years we’ve closed the season 6-3, 9-1 and 10-1,” Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore said. “This is the time of the year we need more energy from them.”
They also need another big finish. The Bobcats entered play on Thursday in eighth place in the NEC and only the top eight teams qualify for the postseason tournament.
“We can’t afford to lose any because we’re battling for our spot in the (NEC) tournament,” Azotam said. “Each game is equally important.”
The Mountaineers (4-16, 2-7) got a game-high 22 points from Julian Norfleet but the flashy sophomore guard missed a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer which would have tied the game again.
Second-half defense has been Moore’s biggest concern in NEC play. On Thursday the Bobcats didn’t play any defense in the first half and Mount St. Mary’s took a stunning 43-28 lead at the half shooting 52 percent from the field.
“I was shocked and disappointed with our play in the first half,” Moore said. “But this is the second game in the row that we played much better defense in the second half and it led us to two wins.”
Quinnipiac opened the second half on a 16-2 run to get back in the game as the Mount managed just a dunk by Raven Barber in the first eight minutes after the break.
“I only had 11 minutes at half to give them a spanking, a pep talk and everything,” Moore said. “I had to talk quick and be a parent but I had to get them to understand that we weren’t going to get 15 points in the first minute. I told them to see where we were at the 10-minute mark.”
Said Azotam: “I like the way we came out in the second half. We knew we could come back because we did it against Boston University.”
The Mount tied the game at 61 at the end of regulation when Kelvin Parker rolled in two of his 16 points from close range in the final seconds.
Quinnipiac never trailed in the extra session. Azotam gave the Bobcats a 67-65 lead with 1:10 to play. After Barber hit one of two free throws to close the gap to 67-66, Drame had the biggest basket of the game with a putback of a deflected airball by Zaid Hearst with 20 seconds left.
“We send multiple guys to the glass and that’s just Ousmane having a great feel for the game,” Moore said.
Quinnipiac played without forward Jamee Jackson who missed the game with a strained Achilles tendon. Moore said he was questionable for Saturday’s game against second-place Wagner.
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FAIRFIELD — Mired in a dismal stretch the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team always felt it could count on one thing: rebounding.
Though second in the nation in that category, it was their rebounding that failed the Bobcats down the stretch as Sacred Heart pulled out a 78-75 victory in a crucial Northeast Conference game at the Pitt Center Thursday night.

The win capped a season sweep of the Bobcats for the Pioneers, who got a career-high 28 points from Louis Montes and 23 from Shane Gibson, 18 of which came in the second half.
Quinnipiac has lost four of its last five games and fell to 9-9 overall and 2-5 in the NEC, a precarious spot as only the top eight teams in the conference qualify for the postseason tournament. The Bobcats are surprisingly in a three-way tie for eighth place.
“It’s hard losing,” Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore said. “I can’t measure the team’s doubt. We had murderous practices and they responded well. It just came down to our second-half defense.
“This group has wins at Vermont, at Boston University and at Robert Morris. There’s great potential there, but it’s infuriating when we look like a young team.”
Dave Johnson led Quinnipiac with 18 points and James Johnson. But James Johnson missed a designed 3-pointer that would have tied the game with 21 seconds left. He finished 2 for 10 from 3-point range in the game and the Bobcats went 4 for 19 behind the arc.
But offense aside, Moore was more concerned with his team’s defense in the second half when Sacred Heart shot 58 percent from the field.
“They made huge plays down the stretch,” Moore said. “But the tale of our NEC play is our defense. We’re not guarding long enough in games and we’re not guarding long enough in possessions.
“We try to play 28 seconds of hard defense and then we stop guarding.”
Quinnipiac led by as much as eight in the first half before Sacred Heart took a six-point lead in the second half. The game was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way.
Montes gave Sacred Heart a 74-71 lead with 2:08 to play. James Johnson cut it to 74-73 with two free throws with 1:39 left. But that’s when their rebounding failed the Bobcats.
Twice Sacred Heart missed shots but both times the Pioneers got the rebound, chewing up valuable time. After the second miss the Bobcats fouled Montes with 31 seconds left and he buried both free throws.
“That’s the best shellacking in rebounding we’ve ever had,” Sacred Heart coach Dave Bike said. “They beat us by 11 but if we didn’t come up with four or five of those rebounds it would have been a different game.
“It started with Stan Dulaire’s rebound and then Nick Greenbacker got one and Phil Gaetano got involved in another one and they all were big. We respect their rebounding but we were able to come up with a couple of big ones.
“If Dulaire doesn’t get that rebound I think the whole game could turn around.”
Gaetano, a freshman from Wallingford, finished with seven points and had a big 3-pointer in the second half for Sacred Heart.
Quinnipiac hit 8 of its first 11 shots but only finished at 40 percent from the floor in the game and once again free throws were a problem. It went 13 for 20 from the line.
Ike Azotam finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bobcats, who got the services of forward Jamee Jackson back. Jackson finished with nine points and eight rebounds after missing seven games with a foot injury.

I will go through a list of RPI ratings and Sagarin ratings for the NEC and the Ivy League a bit later.

But a quick look has Harvard in at 44 in the Sagarin and Yale 144th. Quinnipiac is 202nd.

It's a long way to go but right now the computer and rating systems say that the Bulldogs have a long way to go to be able to beat the Crimson.

And that was a devastating loss for Quinnipiac the other day. I know coach Moore probably figured he'd lose to Robert Morris but beat St. Francis (Pa.) and just the reverse happened.
The Bobcats have lost to both St. Francis schools this year and those are usually chalked up in the win column. It looks like they really need Jamee Jackson back and soon.
They've got Sacred Heart coming up on Thursday and that will be a war, another one that the Bobcats usually win but they've already lost to SHU this year and that was at Hamden.

Talk about crucial wins, the Quinnipiac men's basketball team won at Robert Morris 78-76 on Thursday night.
This was the first of four straight road games for the Bobcats who entered the game 1- in the NEC.
Never count out Tom Moore's ability to get these guys to play hard and believe in themselves and hats off to Dave Johnson for what was his best game of the season.
Here are the game details from the Quinnipiac web site:

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – James Johnson (Queens, N.Y.), Dave Johnson (Jackson, N.J.) and Ike Azotam (Boston, Mass.) led a potent attack on Thursday night, as the Quinnipiac University men's basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Robert Morris, 78-76, at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Trailing by eight points at the break, the Bobcats connected on 66.7 percent of their second-half field goal attempts to complete the comeback bid.
With the win, QU improves to 9-7 on the season and 2-3 in the Northeast Conference. The triumph marks the 10th win all-time against the Colonials, who fall to 12-6, 3-2 in the league.
James Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, as the senior guard went 7-of-12 from the floor, dished out four assists and grabbed three rebounds. Dave Johnson, in his strongest performance to date, added a season-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He pulled down six boards and handed out five dimes in 33 minutes on the hardwood. Azotam finished with 17 points and six rebounds, even with his minutes limited due to foul trouble in the first half.
QU's offense really started to click early on in the second half. The Bobcats boasted a 16-6 run over the first seven minutes of play and captured a two-point lead, 43-41, after an Azotam layup underneath. From that point on, the Bobcats gradually began to take control of the game. James Johnson's three-point field goal at the 4:52 mark pushed their advantage to eight points, the largest of the game at the time.
The teams exchanged baskets for the next two minutes, when RMU decided to make Quinnipiac beat them from the free-throw line. Led by Dave Johnson, who finished 8-of-8 from the line, the Bobcats made 12-of-16 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
The Colonials chipped away at their deficit via the three-point line and efficient free-throw shooting, but Evan Conti (Bayside, N.Y.) delivered the final dagger with less than 20 seconds showing on the clock. His two free-throws gave QU a six-point advantage, a lead that the visiting Bobcats would not relinquish.
For the game, Quinnipiac outshot RMU, 58.5 percent to 42.6 percent, from the floor and 70 percent to 33.3 percent, from behind the arc. The Bobcats pulled down 28 rebounds, three more than the Colonials, and collected two more steals as well (6-4). Entering the showdown, RMU ranked first in the conference in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.
Conti played a key role off the bench in the triumph. He scored a career-high seven points to go along with two rebounds and two assists. Zaid Hearst (Bethesda, Md.) added a pair of threes for six points, Ousmane Drame (Boston, Mass.) and Garvey Young (Washington, D.C.) chimed in with three apiece and Alex Jackson (Baltimore, Md.) had two.
In the first half of play, neither team was able to gain a significant advantage until the clock crept inside the five-minute mark. The Colonials then put together an 11-2 run over the final 4:25 of the frame, leaving a 35-27 lead at the break for the home team.
Jones scratched out 22 points for the Colonials despite a 5-of-17 shooting performance. Dave Johnson and James Johnson held the junior guard in check all night.
QU will wrap up its two-game set in Pennsylvania on Saturday, January 14 in Loretto, Pa. The Bobcats are scheduled to face Saint Francis in the backend of a double-header. The Quinnipiac women's team will take on the Red Flash at 1 p.m., follow by the men's game at 4 p.m.

By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
Averaging 25 points and 14 rebounds over the past three games Quinnipiac’s Ike Azotam has suddenly become a marked man. Azotam was double-teamed and harassed by a physical Boston University team all game long and managed a season-low four points and six rebounds.
But, even without getting production from their burgeoning star, the Bobcats still overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat the Terriers 59-53 in a non-conference game at the TD Bank Sports Center Saturday afternoon. With the win, Quinnipiac has won six of its last seven games as it concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule
“I was really proud of our guys’ resolve in the second half and our ability to shake off a bad offensive night from basically every player and commit totally to defending and going to the offensive boards,” Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore said.
“That was as physical a team, boxing out and pushing us out of where we wanted to be, as any team we played all year. (B.U. coach Joe Jones) really got them to understand that Quinnipiac is a good rebounding team because we had 16 offensive rebounds and we’ve never had to work harder to get them than we did today.”
Freshman Ousmane Drame, starting because of a foot injury to Jamee Jackson, continues to progress at break-neck pace. Drame picked up the slack for Azotam to finished with 10 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and six blocks including two on one possession late in the game as the Terriers tried to erase its own six-point deficit.
Terrier guard Darryl Partin, who led all scorers with 19 points, went to the free throw line with 41 seconds to play with his team trailing 54-50. Partin missed a shot trying to complete a three-point play but got his own rebound but twice Drame blocked his shots to put the Bobcats in control.
“I really got on (Azotam) at halftime,” Moore said. “I challenged him quite a bit because I think he was caught by surprise by two factors, how big a target he’s going to have on him. You could tell how much of a focus B.U. put on stopping him and their commitment to boxing him out.
“Fortunately Ousmane picked up the slack. The 14 rebounds and six blocks in a game like this is really impressive.”
James Johnson led Quinnipiac with 16 points and freshman Zaid Hearst added 13 including a pair of critical 3-pointers as the Bobcats quickly cut into the Terriers’ 32-19 lead to start the second half. Quinnipiac went on an 11-2 run to start the second stanza and the game was up for grabs the rest of the way.
But Quinnipiac (8-5) never relaxed its defensive effort limiting B.U. to just eight points for the first 12 minutes after the break and the Bobcats took their first lead of the game, 43-42, with 5:59 to play on a pair of free throws by James Johnson. They never trailed again.
”Even when we went up by six I never felt we were in the control,” Moore said. “But I don’t think there’s been many halves that B.U. has shot 26 percent from the floor. Our will … was really good for our team’s confidence. The best thing is to get a win against a really good team while having to show a lot of resiliency.”
In the first half Quinnipiac got a taste of what would happen if the Bobcats couldn’t make a living on the offensive boards. Boston University, which has lost six straight games and was playing without starting point guard D.J. Irving due to a concussion controlled the boards, the tempo and the play on the way to a 32-19 halftime lead.
The Bobcats entered the game second in the nation in rebounding and first on the offensive boards averaging 17.6 a game but they had just five offensive rebounds in the first half and it only led to two points when guard Dave Johnson putback a miss by James Johnson.
But that hardly meant a momentum change was imminent as on the next trip down the court Dave Johnson fouled B.U. guard Matt Griffin (11 points) on a drive to the hoop. Johnson then pushed Griffin down and was called for personal and technical fouls giving him four fouls with four minutes left to play in the first half.
Quinnipiac has out-rebounded every team this season except for Lehigh and they lost to the Mountain Hawks 86-75 and after losing the battle on the backboards by one in the first half they finished with a 43-38 rebounding edge and Drame was the difference figuring in just about every Bobcat possession in the final minutes.
Said Drame: “Coach looked at us, especially the bigs (at halftime) and told us we had to pick it up. They were able to find me and I was able to go to the glass. This is very important for me especially for me as a freshman.
“The fact that Jamee Jackson isn’t there it’s hard. It’s hard at practice and it’s hard in the games but now I’m ready to show what I can do to get more playing time.”
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HAMDEN – Jamee Jackson, a starting forward on the Quinnipiac men’s basketball, will be sidelined for three to five weeks after injuring his foot on Thursday.
According to Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore, Jackson suffered torn ligaments in his foot and scar tissue. X-rays revealed no fracture and no surgery will be necessary but Jackson will be in a walking boot for three weeks.
Jackson, third on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) and second in rebounds (5.4 rpg.), sat out Thursday night’s game against Niagara, an 85-81 Bobcat victory, after stepping on a ball while following through on a dunk during afternoon practice.
Jackson, a junior from Newark, N.J., had been playing his best basketball since arriving at the school recently. He scored a career-high 21 points in a win against Bryant while grabbing nine rebounds in the game. Last week he scored 20 points in a win at Vermont.
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A pair of Quinnipiac basketball players applied for accelerated rehabilitation when they appeared in Meriden Superior Court on Tuesday.

Senior James Johnson and junior Jamee Jackson, two of the five players allegedly involved in an on-campus altercation on September 18, applied for the program which carries a period of probation for first-time offenders. If the program is granted and players fulfill their obligations the charges could be dismissed. They may also face probation for up to two years.

The other three players involved in the case also appeared before Judge Philip Scarpellino and had their cases continued until Jan. 17 at the same venue. Dave Johnson and Nate Gause were arrested last week upon further investigation by the Hamden Police Department. Jackson was also arrested on that day.

James Johnson and sophomore Ike Azotam were previously arrested for the assault. Azotam's case was also continued and his attorney claims that he was misidentified in the altercation.

The players' defense attorney, Thomas Lynch, told the Quinnipiac Chronicle, said he was looking for accelerated rehabilitation.

Said Lynch: “They have a hearing before the judge where we make the argument that both Jamee and James regret the incident and that they will abide by any conditions that the court may put on them, the probation, and if that’s the case then at the end of the probation period the charges are dismissed."

The incident left four students injured. One student suffered a bruised jaw, cracked tooth and a laceration to the face that required 17 stitches; a second student suffered a broken nose, which required surgery; a third student was allegedly knocked unconscious; and a fourth student suffered facial injuries.

James Johnson and Azotam were the first two arrested. They were charged with third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace charges. On Dec. 1, after the other three players surrendered to Hamden Police, Jackson was charged with conspiracy to commit assault and assault in the third degree and second-degree breach of peace. Dave Johnson, a junior, and Gause, a freshman, were charged with third-degree conspiracy to commit assault and second-degree breach of peace.

Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore, who was at Tuesday’s hearing, suspended James Johnson for the team’s first game and the university handed other sanctions.

“All five team members who were involved have already been appropriately disciplined for the September incident by the university and received team sanctions from me as well,” Moore said in a statement. “No other disciplinary action stemming from this incident is planned at this time."

By Bill Cloutier

Assistant Sports Editor

bcloutier@nhregister.com

HAMDEN — It was too early to call Saturday’s game against Bryant a must-win for the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team. It wasn’t too early for the Bobcats to play that way.



Quinnipiac raced out to a 27-point lead in the first half and cruised to an 83-72 victory in a Northeast Conference game at the TD Bank Sports Center Saturday afternoon. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Bobcats who rebounded from a lifeless effort against Sacred Heart just two days ago.

"In light of how poorly we played offense on Thursday, for emotionally and confidence-wise it was really good for us," Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore said. "We put up 44 points really quickly. It was 44-19 us with five minutes to go in the first half.

"We had great body language and you could just see our spirits lift."

Saturday also saw the emergence of enigmatic forward Jamee Jackson for Quinnipiac (3-4, 1-1 NEC). Jackson scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds and appears ready to join James Johnson and Ike Azotam as a legitimate option on offense. The Bobcats have struggled to find consistency in that area.

"I’m thrilled with the performance of Jamee Jackson," Moore said. "Jamee’s really blossoming now as a junior. He’s had the best 10 practices in a row since he’s been at Quinnipiac. That’s what’s fun about college basketball ... You expect growth and development and that’s what we’re starting to see with him and it’s really exciting."

Said Jackson: "It was a tough loss on Thursday. We expected to win the game but knew we couldn’t dwell on the loss. We were excited to get back into practice and it carried over into the game.

"Against Fairfield and American I had good games. Then I got into foul trouble but I kept being aggressive and kept playing hard on defense and I knew it would come if I kept playing hard."

Bryant was led by Alex Francis and Corey Maynard, who both scored 18 points. Francis scored 20 points against Notre Dame earlier in the season and helped the Bulldogs stun Quinnipiac last year when they erased a 25-point lead to beat the Bobcats at Hamden. But Jackson also did a solid job slowing down the Bulldogs’ exciting swingman and Bryant performed no such miracles this time.

Overall, Quinnipiac played its best offensive game of the season. It shot 55 percent from the field in the first half including a 5-for-9 performance from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs make things a bit interesting when they ended the first half on a 16-3 run hitting four straight 3-pointers in the surge. Quinnipiac held a 47-33 lead at the break and outrebounded the Bulldogs 24-9 in the first half.

Bryant refused to quit and cut the deficit to 54-43 midway through the second half when the Bobcats imposed their will. Following a missed jumper by Dave Johnson, Azotam raced from the baseline to the top of the key to steal a rebound and fired a pass to James Johnson on the wing who buried a 3-pointer.

Bryant never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way and that came in the final minute.

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Here are Tom Moore's thoughts on the Bobcats NEC loss to Sacred Heart and some highlights from the game.

By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
HAMDEN — Three more Quinnipiac University basketball players have been arrested in connection with a Sept. 18 assault, police said.
Charged today were Jamee Jackson, 20, of Irvington, N.J.; David Johnson, 22, of Jackson, N. J. and Nate Gause, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The trio turned themselves into police on Thursday morning. They all posted bond and were released.
QU basketball players James Johnson and Ike Azotam were previously arrested and their cases are pending. James Johnson was suspended for one game this season as a result of the incident.
Four Quinnipiac students were injured in the assault, according to Capt. Ronald Smith. One student suffered a bruised jaw, cracked tooth and a laceration to the face, which required 17 stitches. A second student suffered a broken nose, which required surgery. A third was allegedly knocked unconscious and a fourth received facial injuries, Smith said.
Detective Michael DePalma conducted the investigation. All five players are schedule to appear in Meriden Superior Court on Dec. 6.
Jackson was charged with third-degree assault, conspiracy to commit third-degree assault and breach of peace. David Johnson was charged with conspiracy to commit third-degree assault and breach of peace. Gause was charged with third-degree conspiracy to commit assault and breach of peace.
“All five team members who were involved have already been appropriately disciplined for the September incident by the university and received team sanctions from me as well,” said Tom Moore, head men’s basketball coach. “No other disciplinary action stemming from this incident is planned at this time.”
According to the Hamden police Captain Ronald Smith the incidents began on Sept. 17 the night before the assault when James Johnson was confronted by another Quinnipiac University student.
“During that dispute, which was verbal in nature it seems that a large crowd gathered around James Johnson and the Quinnipiac University student,” Smith said. “Someone from the crowd allegedly swung at James Johnson. I don’t know if it actually struck him.
According to the police, James Johnson then got some of his teammates and came back looking for this individual. When they came back campus police were present and there was no further incident.
“The next day several of the basketball players were searching out this individual kid,” Smith said. “They entered a dorm, which was not their dorm, found the student and an altercation took place. Several of the Quinnipiac University students suffered severe injuries.
All of the players involved in the alleged altercation were present at Thursday night’s game and were expected to play.
According to a source, Azotam claims he was misidentified in the assault but that was not confirmed by the police.
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