These Cats Are No. 1

The Quinnipiac men's basketball team won their first ever Northeast Conference Regular Season Championship on Saturday night with a 74-65 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University. After a loss by Robert Morris to Mount St. Mary's earlier in the night, all the Bobcats needed to do was win to clinch the regular season crown and the No. 1 seed in the NEC tournament. The win also assured the Bobcats that they will be playing well into March as they received an automatic bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

With the win, the Bobcats improved to 21-8 overall (15-3 NEC). This is the first time Quinnipiac has held the No. 1 seed heading into the conference playoffs.

Both Robert Morris and Quinnipiac finished with a 15-3 conference record, but the Bobcats were able to gain the tiebreaker with last weekend's win at Robert Morris. The top seed also guarantees the Bobcats home court advantage throughout the NEC Tournament.

Senior guard Jeremy Baker led the way for Quinnipiac with a game high 20 points. He only hit five shots from the floor, but led the team with eight free throws made.

Junior forward Justin Rutty recorded his 14th double-double of the season as he scored 14 points and collected 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard James Johnson contributed 13 points in the contest as well.

The Knights (11-20, 10-8 NEC) were led by John Galvin who netted 15 points in the losing effort. Forward Alvin Mofunanya grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for FDU also. They had four double digit scorers in the game, but were unable to overcome the lead that Quinnipiac established midway through the second half.

Quinnipiac came out strong in the first half and led by as many as 14 points, which included a 10-1 run towards the end. FDU, however was able to cut the lead down to 12 points right before the half ended.

The Bobcats extended their lead to 53-36 during the second half, but the Knights were able to close the gap to a mere three points with just under four minutes to play in the game.

Quinnipiac preserved the lead and held on for the win by hitting nine out of ten free throws late in the game.

With the victory secured and the No. 1 seed, the Bobcats can now focus on Monmouth University, their first round matchup. The game will be at the TD Bank Sports Center on Thursday March 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.