Moore Returns To UConn, Mentor Calhoun

Moore Returns To UConn, Mentor Calhoun
By Zach Smart

Tom Moore was angry. He was angry at his team for a sub-par practice. He was angry that the practice squads didn’t bear any resemblance to what he was expecting to see on the floor this season. He was angry at a certain freshman for making some off-the-court freshman mistakes that would prolong practice and culminate the three-hour workout with “suicide” sprints. He was angry at the fact that his team had no choice but to practice in the bandbox Burt Kahn basketball court, because of floor problems at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.

In the midst of a yelling session, the Burt Kahn door busted open, as a fiery Moore apparently had an uninvited guest.

Poor timing.

“Get out!” Moore barked at a reporter who had no business being in the gym during practice time. The reporter’s saunter abruptly changed into a hurried walk out the door, and Moore cleared his throat before dismissing his team.

In just his first week as the Quinnipiac coach who has enhanced the program’s profile, the Jim Calhoun inside Moore leaped out and made its presence felt.

After serving under the no-nonsense Calhoun for 13 years at the University of Connecticut—the last two as UConn’s associate head coach—Moore will be reunited with his mentor and former team on Sunday afternoon.

At the Hartford Civic Center, Moore’s old stomping grounds, the state’s longest existing blood-feud will be renewed.

The annual meeting between hasn’t played out like a rivalry the past eight years. UConn has pummeled the Bobcats in every meeting except last year’s, when a freshman-laden Huskies team gutted out an ugly 53-46 win. It was the first game of a frustrating 2006-2007 campaign for UConn.

“This is certainly unique,” said Moore during a recent teleconference, where he was peppered with questions.

“I have very strong feelings for the University of Connecticut and for Coach Calhoun in particular, and just what he did for my career and the opportunity he afforded me throughout my time there.  I’m also trying to balance what are the best interests with my number one priority right now, which is our program here at Quinnipiac.”

Moore payed homage. He said Calhoun essentially molded his coaching career by blessing him with the opportunity to coach such a top-tier program, front-loaded with top-flight talents. UConn, which won the NCAA championship in 1999 and 2004, has established itself as the NBA factory these past few years (no college team currently has more alumni in the NBA).

Despite the emotional sub-plot, however, Moore insists he will not prepare for UConn’s run-and-gun, go-go brand of basketball much differently. Moore did reveal, however, that he will employ a different defensive style and sit in a zone.

“We’ll try to prepare the same way we did in terms of pre-game stuff. And when we go out to do our stretching and net routine and all that stuff, we’ll keep it as much like that.”

In order to pull off a titanic, historic upset, however, the 4-4 Bobcats will have to jack up their energy level. To the naysayers, just playing neck-and-neck with the up-tempo Huskies—whose superior athleticism few teams can simulate—seems like a daunting task.

Moore explained that he’ll eschew the linkage of emotional ties and Xs and Os to game play.

But he admits that the Big East opponent Quinnipiac will meet about 35 minutes down I-95 Sunday is going to be colossally different than anyone they’ve seen in eight games this season.

“The size and the athleticism will be on another total scale from what we’ve faced,” said Moore.

“So we’re going to try to do a couple things differently, and I’ll be so wrapped up into survival mode during the game, where we’ll constantly be thinking about how do we handle a dunk in traffic by them, how do we handle a reach blocked shot?”

The season couldn’t have started more differently for the two teams and their coaches.

UConn brought back nearly its entire roster while adding freshman guard Donnell Beverly from California.

Quinnipiac, whom Moore left the Huskies bloodline for Quinnipiac following the firing of Joe DeSantis in March, had its roster thoroughly cleansed from last season and was beset by injuries.

Moore, like Calhoun, appears to have a short chain this season, yanking players for a single gaffe. Like Calhoun, Moore is a household name. And also like his predecessor, Moore has scorched the recruiting trail, bringing in arguably the best recruiting class in Quinnipiac’s history this season.

Though he appears to be coaching at a lower stratum this year, and in an entirely different situation, there’s still a bit of Calhoun visible in Tom Moore.

Headlines: You can already picture them in Monday’s sports pages. “Super DeMario,” or “The Price Is Right.” Both leaders for their respective teams, UConn’s A.J. Price and Quinnipiac’s DeMario Anderson have been told by their coaches that the team will only go as far as they can take them.

After a sophomore campaign where he failed to stamp his imprint, Price has lived up to the name he etched for himself at Amityville High in Long Island. The 6-foot-2 point guard has spearheaded the Huskies’ high-horsepower offense to the tune of 12.9 points and 5.6 assists per game. On his way to UConn, the praise lavished on Price was unmatched. But Price was sidelined his first few seasons due to health and legal issues. This year, he has emerged into the leader of a young torrent of talent. Price has been particularly strong in marquee games this season, averaging 22.5 points and 3.5 assists in the losses to Gonzaga and Memphis.

Anderson, he of  mid-range jumpers and hang-time, has been the leader of a Bobcat team that starts two freshmen and a sophomore. Anderson, who played under another former Calhoun assistant in Howie Dickenman at Central Connecticut, is an explosive scorer averaging just a thread under 20 points per game. The University is hoping for Moore to take the Bobcats on a rapid ascension through the Northeast Conference, behind senior stalwart Anderson.

Anderson knows plenty about rapid ascensions. He didn’t play organized basketball until his junior year at Oxon Hill High School (Chicago Bull Mike Sweetney’s alma mater in Oxon Hill, Md.) and was elevated from obscurity his senior year. After two seasons at Central and a year at Global Institute, Anderson transferred to Quinnipiac and skyrocketed to small-school stardom last season.

Geffen Leads Well-Balanced Bobcats

Geffen Leads Well-Balanced Bobcats
By Zach Smart

Entering their first Northeast Conference game of the season, the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team knew that a well-oiled offensive machine would be an aspect paramount to success. After dropping an ugly loss to Brown on Monday, the Bobcats found themselves in a must-win situation Thursday night at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.

So, how would the Bobcats react?

They decided to pull some of the immense weight off senior swingman DeMario Anderson’s shoulders.

Quinnipiac played a cohesive and mindful brand of basketball, en route to recording a 90-79 victory over St. Francis N.Y. before a virtually non-existent crowd in the 3,500-seat arena. The win gives the Bobcats a 1-0 start on the conference slate, lifting them to 3-4 on the season. The Terriers—who are yet to register a road win—drop to 3-5.

Anderson scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Bobcats, but it was the play of combo guard Bryan Geffen (16 points), an instant sparkplug off the bench and a presence in the perimeter game, that provided most of the firepower. The Queens product shot 6-for-8 from the floor, going 3-for-4 from three-point territory.

“Of our three wins, Bryan Geffen has had two very big games for us,” said Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore, referring to the Bobcats’ 85-79 double-overtime win over Hartford, when Geffen went off for 19 points and handed out six assists.

“He is capable of that every night. I know that there’s more to him – that’s why I push him the way I do – to try and get it out of him. He proved what he’s capable of and it’s exciting to see what he can do.”

Power forward Louis Brookins, a transfer by way of Maryland-Eastern Shore, was also exceptional. Brookins scored 17 points and connected on all six of his field goal attempts, floating freely around the cup and finishing, as the Bobcats didn’t hesitate to make the extra pass down low.

The game came with a bit of a billing, as anticipation for an intriguing matchup between DeMario Anderson and Robert Hines loomed. Anderson and Hines, both prolific scorers (with a penchant for scoring in traffic and clusters) are surefire first team All-NEC selections. But Hines (18.4 ppg) came out colder than Colorado, misfiring on his first seven attempts. Anderson started off just 2-for-10 before unleashing a pair of acrobatic layups that pumped life into the Bobcats as the first half came winding down.

The Bobcats came out of the gates looking like a new team. They jumped out to an 8-0 lead that caused an irate Brian Nash to signal a timeout.

The Bobcats’ bulge ballooned to 21-11, but St. Francis responded, reeling off an absurd 18-0 run that left the few fans in attendance shaking their heads. This would put the Terriers ahead, 29-21, with just a thread under five minutes remaining in the first half.

In the second half, the Terriers surged ahead, 49-46, before the Bobcats ripped off a 7-0 run. This gave them a 53-49 cushion that they wouldn’t relinquish. Geffen keyed the run with a trey, before pick-pocketing Bass Yessoufou and converting a layup. The lead would swell to as many as 10 after a long-range three by point guard Casey Cosgrove.

Cosgrove, who drew Moore’s ire early with a pair of back-to-back turnovers, was relegated to the bench and replaced with seldom-used sophomore Steve Robinson.

Cosgrove would return in the second half, nailing a pair of titanic three-pointers.  

Jamaal Womack, a quick-strike shooter who was planted behind the arc throughout the night, led St. Francis with 18 points. Hines chipped in with 14 in an irregular performance from the forward.

Anderson copped his second double-double of the season and the Bobcats shot a blistering 55 percent from the field.

So, Moore will likely get to sleep much easier tonight, as the Bobcats bounced back from a 20-turnover disaster against Brown.

For Geffen, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, such a significant role was inconceivable prior to the season.

With the return of an established point guard in Cosgrove, and the arrival of a highly-touted junior college transfer in Jeremy Baker coming in, Geffen was unsure of where he would fall into the picture. He figured he’d have to wrestle for some tick this season.

But Baker will sit out this season, as the NCAA has not cleared him to play. Geffen, a transfer via Boston University who sat out last year due to transfer rules, is making some waves in his first season with the Bobcats.

And they just might ripple throughout the Northeast Conference.

Anderson, Brookins lead Bobcats to conference-opener win

Anderson, Brookins lead Bobcats to conference-opener win

By Michael T. Lyle, Jr.
WQAQ.com Sports
December 6, 2007

HAMDEN - Quinnipiac didn’t need an extra 10 minutes to get back on the winning side of things.

Despite playing in another close contest, the Bobcats broke free with a big second-half en route to their first Northeast Conference victory of this young season.

DeMario Anderson had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but got key performances out of Louis Brookins and Bryan Geffen in the Bobcats’ 90-79 triumph against St. Francis of NY at TD Banknorth Sports Center.

“It seems like every game this year has been pivotal,” said Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore. “I thought we did a good job managing the valley. We looked like a more determined team in the second half.”

Quinnipiac (3-4, 1-0 NEC) picked up their first two victories in the “Tom Moore era” in double-overtime. But with DeMario playing his usual game, Brookins and Geffen helped the Bobcats put together perhaps their most productive second-half effort this season.

A three-point play by Brookins opened up a 46-42 lead for the hosts with 17:45 left. The game would stay close for most of the period, with each team not holding a lead bigger than three points.

It all changed once Geffen got the Bobcats’ offense going. He knocked down a three-pointer to extend Quinnipiac’s lead to 58-53 with under 11 minutes left. Evann Baker followed that up with a bucket to give the Bobcats some breathing room and a seven-point advantage.

A steal and layup by Geffen made it 68-61 at the 8:45 mark before DeMario converted on back-to-back buckets to put Quinnipiac up for good, 82-76, with 1:16 left.

“A big win and it felt good to get it,” said DeMario. “We tried to establish that we’re going to be a team to be reckoned with in the conference.”

It was a near flawless performance from the Bobcats. Despite being out rebounded 40-35, they shot 56 percent from the field, went 5-of-13 from beyond the arc and converted 17-of-21 attempts from the free throw line — stats good enough to satisfy Moore.

“We just have to trust what we do as a team on both ends of the court”, he said. “We have heart and shown that through our first seven games. When you win, you believe more.”

Brookins finished with 17 points and Geffen chipped in 16. Jamaal Womack led the Terriers (3-5, 0-1) with 18 points and Robert Hines contributed 14 more.

Quinnipiac jumped out to a 13-6 first half lead on consecutive buckets by Baker and Justin Rutty. A jumper by Geffen, followed by a three-point play by Brookins made it 21-11 with 10:47 remaining.

However, St. Francis fought back. Sami Pekkola keyed a big 19-0 run to help the Terriers erase the deficit and go ahead 29-21 with under four minutes to go. Robert Hines and Lateef Willis also connected on consecutive buckets for the visitors during that six-minute stretch.

The Bobcats responded on baskets by Brookins and DeMario to draw Quinnipiac even with the Terriers at the half, tied at 38.

Sloppy Guard Play Results in Overtime Loss for Bobcats against Brown

Sloppy Guard Play Results in Overtime Loss for Bobcats against Brown
By Peter D’Alauro

HAMDEN– In what was the final tune-up before conference play begins, the Quinnipiac Men’s Basketball team fell to the Brown Bears, 86-79, in overtime. The Bobcats had won there two previous overtime affairs, the season opener against Hartford, and their last game against Lehigh. However, both of those victories came in double overtime fashion. “They’ve had so much success in double overtime, if we would have went there, we would have lost right?,” joked Brown head coach Craig Robinson.

Senior guard Mark McAndrew led Brown’s attack with 21 points and eight rebounds, and Damon Huffman added 18 points in the Brown victory. A total of five players were in double figures for Brown. DeMario Anderson led the Bobcats with 22 points and seven assists, but was held scoreless in the overtime session. Three other Bobcats were in double figures, as Evann Baker, Justin Rutty and James Feldeine all finished with 10 points.

Brown came into Monday’s contest versus the Bobcats with a 3-3 record, recording victories over Eastern Michigan, Northwestern, and UC Davis. Led by a senior guard tandem of Mark McAndrew and Damon Huffman, the Bears presented Quinnipiac with a formidable offensive attack based upon success from behind the three point arc, as they came into Monday night’s match up shooting 38 percent from three.

From the game’s outset, the Bobcats struggled with Brown’s trapping 2-3 zone. That and the later implemented 1-3-1 zone gave the Bobcat’s fits all night, and it had a lot to do with the Bears’ scoring 25 points off Quinnipiac’s 20 turnovers in the contest. The Bobcat’s freshman guard, Evann Baker was the major culprit, with eight giveaways in the game to go along with 10 points and three assists.

Despite the turnover difficulties and the inability of the Bobcats to defend the three point shot, allowing Brown to shoot 7-10 from behind the arc in the first half, Quinnipiac found itself trailing by only two, 38-36 at halftime. Head coach Tom Moore addressed the poor defense by his team. “It’s hard for these guys, making the transition from an offensive program to a more defense minded program.”

Brown came out strong in the second half, charging out to a 10 point lead, 51-41, with 16:56 remaining in the game. However, the Bobcats showed their toughness and resiliency and retook the lead 57-55 with 11:27 remaining in the game, thanks to a three point field goal from junior guard Brian Geffen. However, Brown fought back, going on a 17-9 run to tie the score at 72-72 at the end of regulation.

The overtime session was a bad one for Quinnipiac, as they were held to just five points. Their last chance for victory slipped away when Karl Anderson, who pulled down many tough offensive rebounds during the game, missed two free throws in the final thirty seconds, then managed to grab the rebound off the second miss, but couldn’t convert an easy lay-up which would have cut the lead to three points. This was only Anderson’s second game back, so his failures at the end of the game could easily be attributed to tired legs, as he recorded 24 minutes of playing time.

Despite winning the rebound battle 40 to 31, the Bobcats gave up 34 points in the paint, while scoring only 24 themselves. It seemed that the guard’s for Brown got into the paint rather effortlessly all game long, and their big guys, including Scott Friske and Mark MacDonald, were having their way offensively down low. “They stayed true to what they do, they’re a very hard team to guard” said a dejected Tom Moore, regarding the Brown Bears.

Quinnipiac showed some guts in this game, but guts wasn’t enough, as their terrible guard play and lack of defensive intensity in the second half and overtime led to their overall demise.

Quinnipiac hopes to fair better in their next contest, as they open up their NEC conference schedule this Thursday, December 6^th, against St. Francis, (N.Y.) at 7 p.m. at the T.D. Banknorth Sports Center.

Basketball aims for .500 against Brown

Basketball aims for .500 against Brown
By Zach Smart

NOTES: In both victories this season, late-game resiliency has been the headline for the Bobcats. Quinnipiac outlasted Lehigh, 92-88, in biting-cold Bethlehem, Pa last week.

After finally stamping his imprint on a game—as he turned in a dragon-slayer, 25-point performance in a 78-70 loss to New Hampshire—Evann Baker showed he was every ounce of the heavily-pursued recruit QU will groom him as at Lehigh.

Baker scored 16 points, but the real story was another freshman, forward Ed Zajac. Zajac’s coming-out party featured a 17-point, 15-board night that saw him assert himself in the paint and connect on many putbacks. Guards Casey Cosgrove and Bryan Geffen both hit timely three-pointers and freshman forward/center Justin Rutty scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting while snaring six caroms. Six of the Bobcats’ nine players reached double-figures in the Lehigh game, and it was the most coach Tom Moore could have asked of his young guns—especially with stalwart senior DeMario Anderson being swarmed by defenders.

Brown enters tonight’s contest having won two of their last three. Though they were defeated by Wagner, the Bears scored a signature victory over Northwestern, 73-67. It was their first win against a top-notch opponent since the Glen Miller-era. The Bears are led by All-Ivy selection Mark McAndrew, a senior guard and homegrown product (Barrington, R.I., right up the road from Brown’s campus) who’s averaging 16.3 points per game. The Bobcats must place strong emphasis on sealing the perimeter, something they failed to due in a home loss to Maine. McAndrew is shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc this season (15-for-30), and blistered Eastern Michigan and Northwestern with his hot hand.

Brown swingman Chris Skrelja has come into his own this season. After a see-saw sophomore year off the bench, Skrelja became an instant lynchpin in the starting lineup while emerging as a sublime all-around player. He can shoot. He can get to the cup and the free-throw line. He can create offense (eight assists in the Bears’ win at Eastern Michigan). The 6-5 junior is averaging 18 points over the last two games, posting a 15-point, six-rebound showing in Saturday’s win over UC-Davis.

When We Last Left Off: The two teams last met at the Burt Kahn Court in January of 2006, a snooze-show 64-60 loss that saw five of then-senior Craig Benson’s threes rim in-and-out in the first half. Benson led the Bobcats with 21 points. Scott Friske, then a freshman, blitzed Quinnipiac in the paint, scoring a career-high 26 points. The Bobcats shot an abysmal 8-of-31 from downtown as they relinquished an early lead.

WQAQ Sports Names Evann Baker Athlete of the Week

WQAQ Sports Names Evann Baker Athlete of the Week

HAMDEN — The WQAQ Sports Department has named Men’s Basketball freshman Evann Baker as its Athlete of the Week for the week ending on November 27, 2007. This is the first time this semester Baker has won this award.

Baker lit up the iron for the Bobcats scoring 25 points, while shooting 100 percent from the floor (9-9) and pulling down 7 rebounds in the Bobcats 77-70 loss to New Hampshire on Sunday. He was also perfect from the charity stripe in the contest, going 6-6 from the free throw line.

Baker entered Quinnipiac University this year after a 2006 high school campaign that culminated in the 2006 Gatorade Player of the Year award for the Washington D.C. area.

The Bobcats are back in action on Wednesday, November 28, when they tip-off against Lehigh in Bethlehem, PA. Game-time is scheduled for 7pm.

# # #

Bobcats stumble, bumble, fall to Maine

Bobcats stumble, bumble, fall to Maine

By Michael T. Lyle, Jr.
WQAQ.com Sports
November 21, 2007

HAMDEN — DeMario Anderson and Louis Brookins did all they could in trying to help Quinnipiac make up for another slow start on Wednesday night, this time against Maine.

In the end, it was the visiting Black Bears who got the better of the Bobcats as Mark Socoby’s 29 points led Maine to their third-straight win, a 64-59 victory, at TD Banknorth Sports Center.

And for coach Tom Moore, it was a loss he blamed solely on himself.

“I’m responsible for the way we played”, said a visibly upset Moore. “Maine’s a great team and seemed to be hungrier at the start.”

DeMario earned his first career double-double as a Bobcat with 29 points and 10 rebounds, but the story of this night belonged to Socoby, who also shot 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.

“That’s our team’s fault because I thought we were playing too soft on him early”, said Moore. “We didn’t play good defense and allowed him to hint at his shot.”

After a lackluster, low-scoring first half for both teams, the Black Bears (3-2) got their offense going behind Socoby. He sparked an 11-2 run with a pair of three-pointers to open up a 49-34 advantage mid-way through the second half.

But Brookins keyed a 14-0 rally with a bucket to cut the deficit to 55-45 at the 6:18 mark of the contest. DeMario followed that up with a sick cross-over and conversion, and suddenly, Quinnipiac made a game of it at 55-47 with a little over three minutes remaining.

The Bobcats (1-2) had a chance to inch closer, but a costly decision by Casey Cosgrove led to a three-point play by Maine’s Junior Bernal. With Quinnipiac trailing by five with 31 seconds left, Cosgrove found himself alone on the left wing and thought about firing a three-pointer. Feeling a sure block coming from a Maine defender, Cosgrove reluctantly threw it into the hands of Bernal at the peak of his attempt, who then drove the other way for the score and the harm that sealed the win for Maine.

Bernal contributed 14 points while Brookins also poured in 14 for Quinnipiac, who shot of 3-of-12 from three-point range.

“We had a lot of different guys step up tonight”, said Maine coach Ted Woodward. “Fortunately we played well enough to win when we started to struggle late.”

DeMario couldn’t find his touch early, as he finished the first half with 12 points on an abysmal 4-of-11 shooting.

Bernal and Socoby attributed for the team’s struggling offense in the period, as they scored on consecutive buckets to help Maine turn and 18-13 contest into a 28-24 halftime lead.

NEC Roundup: Working Overtime, Bobcats Get First W, Sacred Heart Falls To Army

NEC Roundup: Working Overtime, Bobcats Get First W, Sacred Heart Falls To Army
By Zach Smart

It was around the mid-way mark of the second half when it hit Quinnipiac. Capturing the first victory of the 2007-2008 campaign would entail a little less of DeMario Anderson, and a little more of their backcourt and bench players.

Anderson, a prolific scorer who’s already pegged as a Northeast Conference Player of the Year candidate, was mired in foul trouble. After establishing himself as the go-to-guy throughout the first half, the senior swingman fouled out with a little less than eight minutes remaining in regulation.

Starting four-man Louis Brookings and freshman center Justin Rutty were also swamped in foul trouble, before eventually fouling out.

The Bobcats didn’t flinch. A pair of unlikely sources stepped up and filled Anderson’s Shaq-size sneakers.

Quinnipiac is front-loaded with outside shooters, an aspect so paramount to success in NEC basketball, for a reason.

Three-point sniper Bryan Geffen and sophomore James Feldeine came off the bench to net 19 points apiece, connecting on several momentum-changing shots, and the Bobcats overcame dreadful free throw shooting to gut out a wild 85-79 double-overtime victory against the University of Hartford Sunday night.

Geffen, a 5-foot-10 combo guard, came out of the gates flat, misfiring on his first three shots from downtown. The junior would go lights out in the second half, playing with a savvy that helped catapult the Bobcats to their first victory of the Tom Moore era.

During one crucial juncture, Geffen pulled an ill-advised shot from behind the arc, as the Quinnipiac bench held its breath. But Geffen’s trey splashed through the bottom of the nylon, and the Boston University transfer pointed in the direction of his coach as a bi-partisan crowd of 2,218 at the TD Banknorth Sports Complex suddenly erupted.

Feldeine, an off guard who played sparingly last season, was equally impressive. The Bronx, N.Y.-product garnered his first collegiate double-double, snaring down 10 boards to go with his 19 points. With Quinnipiac trailing by three in the waning seconds of regulation, Feldeine nailed a huge trey from the right corner to lift the game into overtime.

Feldeine and Geffen were a combined 14-for-27 from the floor. Geffen connected on 5-of-10 from three-point territory.

The opportunities were there for the Hawks, who came out firing, but in the end Hartford couldn’t capitalize. They turned the ball over with four ticks remaining in regulation, and Warren McLendon’s 12-footer clanked off the rim to conclude the first overtime.

Sighs of relief from the Quinnipiac bench ricocheted throughout the arena. Despite several off-season boosts, few teams endured a tougher pre-season than the Bobcats. The ‘Cats played without their two senior captains, DeMario and Karl Anderson—both of whom were healing nagging injuries— and were forced to practice with a squad that didn’t bear any resemblance to what Moore expects to see on the floor this season.

Chemistry was also a concern. A callow crew took the court for the first time, with three freshman logging significant minutes throughout.

Sporting spankin’ new jerseys, the Bobcats already had a new look to the 2007-2008 campaign. That new look carried over to the hardwood, where they out-rebounded Hartford by an overwhelming 51-38 margin in two slopfest halves.

Former Bobcat coach Joe DeSantis’ penchant for undersized guards and problems with recruiting big men (though Victor Akinyanju, a generously-listed 6-foot-5 center, emerged as one of the conference’s premier rebounders last year) was a primary reason that rebounding and interior defense served as the Bobcats’ Achilles heal the past few seasons.

Enter Moore, who served under Jim Calhoun at UConn and is widely regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters (See Allen, Ray or Hamilton, Richard for more details). Moore swooped in and fished out freshman bigs Ed Zajac and Rutty. The pair combined for 24 rebounds in their debut.

Hartford countered this with junior strongman McLendendon, who bulldozed his way to a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds.

And so the Bobcats start the season off with a victory for the first time in recent memory, as a new journey kicks off. Last year, the Bobcats flirted with an upset over then-nationally ranked UConn, but Craig Austrie’s timely three pierced the upset-bid.

Not this time.

The Bobcats showed poise and kept their composure in the two grueling overtime sessions, albeit struggling mightily from the line.

The Bobcats were an abysmal 11-for-26, going 3-for-14 over the final stretch. The Hawks weren’t much better in that angle, hitting a meager 18-for-34 and coughing up crucial ones.

Beyond Feldeine and Geffen, highly-touted freshman Evann Baker scored 16 points. DeMario Anderson chipped in with 16 on 7-of-14 shooting.

Joe Zeglenski paced Hartford with 20 points, and three-point marksman Rich Baker chipped in with 17.

Home Boys: Zajac, the only Bobcat to play on the Connecticut scholastic circuit (Cheshire Academy), scored six points and grabbed 12 boards while tusseling down low. The Hawks’ Brian Glowiak, a 6-foot-3 guard from New Britain, scored five points in 22 minutes but was wrapped up in foul trouble. Clint Kuban, the Hawks’ walk-on from Bethel, Conn., did not play.

Half-Baked: There were plenty of Bakers on Sunday, (Rich Baker, along with Quinnipiac’s Baker brothers, Evann and Jeremy, a JUCO transfer who is still waiting to be cleared by the NCAA), but the one that came with the most fanfare wasn’t on the floor. Former NBA All-Star Vin Baker, who had a storied stay at the University of Hartford, was spotted sitting behind the Hawks’ bench. At the end of the game, he retreated to the locker room with the defeated Hawks. Baker, one of the finest players to come out of Connecticut, is still a good friend of Scott Burrell, the former UConn star and NBA player who’s now an assistant coach at Quinnipiac.

E.Baker Named Choice Hotels/NEC Rookie of the Week: Quinnipiac freshman Evann Baker copped his first Rookie of the Week award for the week of Nov. 12. Baker, an instant lynchpin in the starting lineup, scored 16 points, hauled in five boards, and dished out four assists as Quinnipiac stamped an 85-79 2OT win on Hartford.

Army 64, Sacred Heart 49: At Fairfield, Army senior Jarell Brown scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Pioneers fell to 0-2 on the young season. Junior forward Kenny Brewer scored 13 off the bench to pace Army, whose lead ballooned to 25 at one point. Ryan Litke scored 10 points to lead the Pioneers.

Penn State 74, St. Francis (PA) 64: At Penn State, West Haven, Conn.-product Geary Claxton led all scorers with 23 points for the Nittany Lions. St. Francis’ Grant Surprenant, a sophomore forward, came off the bench to score 20 points, going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc. Guards Devin Sweetney and Cale Nelson chipped in with 12 apiece for St. Francis, which fell to 0-2 with the loss.

Notre Dame 82, Long Island 50: At Notre Dame, senior forward Rob Kurz had a double-double with 19 points and 10 caroms. Luke Harangody added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Kellen Allen came off the bench to score 16 points in 24 minutes for the Blackbirds.

Confident Bobcats take show on the road

Confident Bobcats take show on the road
By Michael T. Lyle, Jr.
WQAQ.com Sports

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

HAMDEN — Given the way they played in the last three periods on Sunday, it’s not hard to see why the Bobcats felt good about themselves after their season-opening win against Hartford. After all, Quinnipiac shot just 11-of-26 from the free throw line, their star player, DeMario Anderson, fouled out with under eight minutes left in regulation, and they fell behind by as many as 11 points during that half. Critics would say that the Bobcat teams of the old days probably would’ve caved under that type of pressure and come out on the losing end.

But head coach Tom Moore was pleased with the way his team responded after they lost DeMario. Behind the uncanny combination of transfer Brian Geffen and sophomore James Feldeine, Quinnipiac rallied for a wild 85-79 double-overtime victory. Geffen knocked down three consecutive three-point field goals late in fueling the Bobcats’ second-half comeback. He finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Feldeine chipped in with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

“I was proud of the resiliency our bench showed”, said Moore. “(Feldeine and Geffen) came up big down the stretch. That was extremely gratifying.”

Moore hopes to get that same type of production should the Bobcats find themselves in a similar situation this evening as he leads Quinnipiac (1-0) into Binghamton (0-1) for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Bearcats out of the America East Conference.

Unlike Sunday’s game, however, this evening’s contest marks their first road test of the season, and Moore feels Binghamton will pose a bigger challenge. The Bearcats boast a pair of upstart forwards in Milos Klimovic and Reggie Fuller.

“They appear to be a very confident team”, said Moore. “They’re also very athletic. Playing on the road, if you let them get both their offense and defense going, they can get away from you quickly.”

Despite practicing on just two days rest, Moore says the team didn’t show any signs of fatigue after Sunday’s hard-fought contest.

“Having just two days to prepare for a game can be tricky,” said Moore. “It would’ve been nice if we would’ve had an extra day.”

He also hopes to get more productivity out of DeMario. Moore says that the Bobcats’ guard fouling out on Sunday was of a result of putting too much of the work load on him. Still, the first-year coach is feeling good about his team’s chances tonight.

“There’s a good feeling going around the team these last couple of days,” he said. “We just have to continue to build on that type of emotion.”

WQAQ Sports names Bryan Geffen Athlete of the Week

WQAQ Sports names Bryan Geffen Athlete of the Week

HAMDEN — The WQAQ Sports Department has named men’s basketball junior Bryan Geffen as its Athlete of the Week for the week ending on November 13, 2007. This is the first time this semester Geffen has won this award.

Geffen made an instant impact in his first game for Quinnipiac scoring 19 points and accumulated 6 assists in the Bobcats 85-79 double overtime win over the University of Hartford. 

Geffen, who transferred to Quinnipiac from Boston University, becomes the first member of the Men’s Basketball team to win this award this season.

The Bobcats look to make it two in a row this Wednesday, November 14th against the Binghamton University Bearcats at 7 p.m. on the campus of Binghamton University.

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