The top-seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats defeated the eighth-seeded Monmouth Hawks, 84-75, in the quarterfinals of the NEC Tournament on Thursday night at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, CT.
With the win, the Bobcats (22-8) tied the program record for wins, 22, and advance to play host to fourth-seeded Long Island University in Sunday's NEC Semifinals. The Hawks finished their season at 12-19.
Monmouth built an early seven-point lead, but Quinnipiac responded with a 10-0 run to take a five-point lead. The Hawks battled back and reeled off nine straight points to regain a four-point lead. The Bobcats tied the game with 18 seconds left in the half, but Senior guard Whitney Coleman hit a jumper at the end of the half that gave Monmouth a two-point advantage going into halftime.
The Bobcats opened the second half with a lay-up to tie the game for the third time, the game would then be tied five more times. Monmouth went up by three, but consecutive baskets in the paint by Quinnipiac marked the beginning of the end. The Bobcats then built a five-point lead and hit 12-of-14 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
The Bobcats had five double-digit scorers. Sophomore guard James Johnson had a game-high 23 points and eight assists. Senior guard James Feldeine had 15 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Justin Rutty recorded his fifth straight double-double, with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Jeremy Baker scored 13 points and junior guard Deontay Twyman added 10 points.
Coleman scored a team-high 22 points for Monmouth. Junior guard Justin Sofman added 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting from three-point range. Freshman forward Ed Waite added 13 points, while Sophomore forward Travis Taylor contributed 11 and Junior guard James Hett dished seven assists.
