LOGAN, UT – The Saint Peter's College Peacocks' (2-10) second half comeback attempt fell short in a 73-68 loss to the UT Arlington Mavericks (6-5). The Peacocks trailed by 17 points early in the second half before using a 21-6 run to draw within two. Saint Peter's could get no closer and fell by the five-point margin. Darius Conley scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Saint Peter's.
Saint Peter's won the tip, but UT Arlington scored first. The Peacocks trailed 7-6, but scored five straight to take an 11-7 lead at the 12:15 mark. The Mavericks then scored 10 straight points, taking a 17-11 lead with 8:13 to play in the first half. The Peacocks then scored five in a row to cut the deficit to 17-16, but a 10-3 by UT Arlington gave them an eight points advantage 27-19. Saint Peter's trailed 27-21 when the Mavericks went on another 10-3 and took a 37-24 lead into the break.
Darius Conley and Chris Prescott each scored six points to lead Saint Peter's. Bo Ingram scored 11 points for the Mavericks to lead all scorers. UT Arlington shot 37.5% from the field and held the Peacocks to 33.3%. The Mavericks won the board battle 25-14 and forced 12 turnovers while committing 11. UT Arlington scored 18 points off of Peacock turnovers and scored seven second chance points.
UT Arlington quickly extended their advantage and led 43-26 at the 18:46 mark. Saint Peter's then went on a 21-6 run to cut the deficit to 49-47 at the 9:57 mark. Conley scored eight points during the run. Saint Peter's tried to get the game tied or take the lead, but could not and instead a Maverick 19-6 run put their advantage back to 15 points at 68-53 with 1:53 to play. The Peacocks did end the game on a 15-5 run to make the final margin five points.
Conley was 9-18 from the field and had two assists and two blocks. Yvon Raymond added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Ingram scored 21 points, while LaMarcus Reed added 15 points. The Peacocks outshot the Mavericks 43% to 36%, but UT Arlington outrebounded Saint Peter's 44-38 and forced 20 turnovers, while committing 19.
Saint Peter's will have five days off before returning home to host Lehigh on December 28th at 7pm at the Yanitelli Center.
