Johnson scores 23, Quinnipiac defeats Long Island for 9th straight time, 80-72

Quinnipiac defeats Long Island 80-72

HAMDEN, Conn. — James Johnson scored 23 points and Quinnipiac defeated Long Island 80-72 on Saturday.

Leading 38-35 at halftime, the Bobcats (18-7, 12-2 Northeast Conference) shot 57,.7 percent (15 of 26), while holding the Blackbirds to 35.5 percent shooting (11 of 31) in the second half.

Long Island (10-15, 8-6) took a 31-30 lead on Jaytornah Wisseh’s jump shot with 4 minutes left in the first half. Quinnipiac then outscored the Blackbirds 8-4 until halftime, including five points by Dave Johnson. Johnson’s jumper with 4 seconds left gave the Bobcats their halftime advantage, and they wouldn’t trail the rest of the way.

David Hicks added 14 points, Jamal Olasewere 12 and Michael Culpo 10 for Quinnipiac, which won for the 11th time in its last 12 games and defeated Long Island for the ninth straight time.

Johnson paced the Blackbirds with 23 points and James Feldeine finished with 17.