Matt A. Mariani, Basketball Beat Writer
MAAC QUARTERFINAL GAME:
With 10 seconds remaining, Ryjon Blackwell converted one of two free throws to give the Marist Red Foxes a 77-75 lead. The Quinnipiac Bobcats had 10 seconds to tie or take the lead. With four seconds left, the ball was in the hands of first-year guard Tai Turnage. As he dribbled downcourt, Turnage looked to shoot a game-tying floater, but it was blocked, leading to a Marist victory.
Just two points separated the fourth-seeded Bobcats from an opportunity to advance in the MAAC tournament.
The Marist Red Foxes defeated the Quinnipiac Bobcats 77-75 on March 7 in the quarterfinal round of the MAAC tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Bobcats struggled throughout, scoring just 32 points in the first 20 minutes. They trailed the Red Foxes 42-32 at halftime. In a tight second half, the Bobcats led at times but were not able to hang on in the final minutes.
Marist shot better than the Bobcats: 50% from the three-point line (9 of 18) and 40.3% from the field. What hurt the Bobcats most, as it did all year, were free throws. They shot 21 of 32 from the charity stripe, just 65.6%, or 3.2% below their season average. Leaving points out there showed big at the end, in such a close matchup.
Quinnipiac’s starting guards, sophomore Jaden Zimmerman and senior Asim Jones, both struggled. Zimmerman scored six points, while Jones scored seven. The guards shot a combined 0 for 7 from beyond the arc and 3 of 6 from the free-throw line.
“To win a game like this, against a good club at this time of the year, you have to have a full team effort and we had a couple of guys who struggled tonight,” Pecora said in his post-game news conference.
Overall, it was an underwhelming end to an underwhelming season.
SHOES TO FILL:
The most prominent change for the Bobcats will be the absence of Amarri Monroe in 2026. Monroe, a senior forward, scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his final game. The senior left his legacy, being named the MAAC Player of the Year in the 2024-2025 season. Monroe posted a farewell on his X account the day after the loss.
“No regrets, thank you @QU_MBB” Amarri Monroe via X.
To make the loss of Monroe worse, on March 25 guard Jaden Zimmerman said on his Instagram that he would enter the transfer portal. While Zimmerman had somewhat of a sophomore slump, the guard did increase his scoring from 11.0 points per game to 15.1 in his second season.
Another question mark lands with second-year forward Grant Randall. Randall played the best game of his young college career versus Marist, scoring 28 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. He shot 70% from the field and was 5 for 5 from three-point range. Randall could hit the transfer portal after a great performance in the playoffs and a solid season.
“Grant Randall goes up and puts up numbers like he did tonight and his phone’s gonna light up,” Pecora said following the loss.
Head coach Tom Pecora, in his first three seasons, has helped the Bobcats finish as MAAC regular-season champions in back-to-back seasons. But the program has not been able to reach the MAAC championship game. Pecora is 63-36 as the head coach of Quinnipiac and set the university record for most wins in a season in 2023-24, but at the end of the day, it’s the ring that matters most.