1/27/2016 12:00:00 AM

Saint Peter's Men's Basketball To Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer Against hOURglass Rival Rider On ESPN3 On Thursday Night

LIVE AUDIO (FREE)
(Chris Radecke calls the action on MAAC.TV)

ESPN3 BROADCAST
(Ed Cohen and Vin Parise on the call for ESPN3)

RIDER (7-13, 3-6 MAAC) AT SAINT PETER'S (8-9, 6-2 MAAC)
Thursday, January 28, 2016, 8 p.m.
Jersey City, N.J./Yanitelli Center

STRUT FOR THE CAUSE: Saint Peter's will be selling bracelets and shoelaces for $5 apiece. All proceeds from the bracelets and shoelaces go to the Go 4 The Goal Foundation for pediatric cancer research. Saint Peter's will also be selling "Strut for the Cause" t-shirts for $10. Half of the proceeds go to Go 4 The Goal and the other 50 percent will go to the American Cancer Society for the Peacocks Play 4 Kay event on February 14.

PROMOTIONS:
GIVEAWAY - Free newly-designed "Strut Your Pride t-shirt. Saint Peter's is looking to "Whiteout The Jaspers."
FAN CHALLENGE - Through the Peacock Pride Rewards app, a fan will be selected to shoot a half-court shot for $500. The fan has to check into the game through the Peacock Pride Rewards app to be selected. DOWNLOAD THROUGH APPLE APP STORE | DOWNLOAD THROUGH GOOGLE PLAY

GAME 18: ITEMS OF NOTE
>> Wednesday's game between Saint Peter's and Rider marks 58th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1946-47 season.
>> The Broncs lead the all-time series 31-26 and also hold a 28-17 margin since joining the league in 1997-98.>> Saint Peter's has won two straight in the series after defeating Rider 73-61 on Dec. 2 in the league opener.
>> The win ended a three-game regular season win streak by the Broncs, who swept the two games during the regular season last year, including a 58-49 decision on Jan. 29 for Rider's last victory in the series.>> The two teams have met at the Yanitelli Center on ESPN3 in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and the Broncs have won both contests.
>> Saint Peter's is 6-17 against Rider under head coach John Dunne, including 1-8 at the Yanitelli Center. The Peacocks lone win against the Broncs at home under Dunne was an 80-60 decision on Jan. 29, 2011.
>> Freshman Antwon Portley posted 25 points to power the Peacocks to the win in the Dec. 2 meeting while junior Trevis Wyche added 11 points in his first game off the bench this season.
>> Graduate student Teddy Okerearfor led the Broncs with 17 points while junior Jimmie Taylor and freshman Kealan Ives each added 11 points in the loss.
>> Saint Peter's comes into the game 8-9 overall and 6-2 in league play after falling 62-58 at Iona on Friday in a first-place battle. The Peacocks had their game against Manhattan postponed to due leakage at the Yanitelli Center on Monday. The tilt against the Jaspers has been rescheduled for Feb. 17. Saint Peter's will now have games in back-to-back day with the squad traveling to Quinnipiac on Feb. 18 for an ESPN3 tilt.
>> The Peacocks go into play on Thursday in second place and a half game against Monmouth, who the Jersey City team will face for the first time on Saturday.
>> Junior Quadir Welton fueled Saint Peter's with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Portley added 12 points and Wyche chipped in 10 points against the Gaels.
>> Portley leads the team with 15.1 points per game this season.
>> Rider, who has won three of its last four contests, comes into the contest 7-13 overall and 3-6 in league play after defeating Quinnipiac 75-52 on Sunday.
>> Taylor and junior Kahlil Thomas paced the Broncs with 14 points apiece while senior Khalil Alford added 11 points and Okereafor chipped in 10 points in the win.
>> Okerafor leads the team with 14.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
>> Saint Peter's will travel to Monmouth on Saturday. The two teams split the season series with the Hawks last season with each team winning on the road.
>> The squad returns home to host Iona on Monday. It will be 10 days since the Peacocks lost to the Gaels 74-68 in New Rochelle.
>> The Peacocks travel to Siena on Feb. 5 on ESPNU. Saint Peter's defeated the Saints 72-68 on Dec. 6 in Jersey City.
>> Saint Peter's then will have four-straight games at the Yanitelli Center, including the rescheduled game against Manhattan on Feb. 17.
>> After playing six of the first eight games on the road in league play, starting with Sunday's game against Manhattan will have eight of its last 12 at the Yanitelli Center.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
>> The Peacocks will also be "Lacing Up 4 Pediatric Cancer" for its men's basketball game against Rider on Jan. 28 on ESPN3 and its women's basketball contest against Siena on Jan. 30. During the games, t-shirts, bracelets and shoelaces will be sold with all proceeds going to the Go 4 The Goal foundation to pediatric cancer research.

WHAT A START
>> Saint Peter's has started the league slate 6-2 for the fourth time in program history, joining the 1983-84,1986-87, 1993-94 teams.
>> At 6-2, the Peacocks are off to their sixth-best start in team history after the 1987-88 team started the year 8-0 and the 1981-82, 1988-89 and 1994-95 squads started the year 7-1.
>> It marks the best start under head coach John Dunne. Both of Dunne's 2009-10 and 2010-11 teams started the year 5-3 through eight games.
>> With a win on Sunday, the Peacocks will continue its best start under the coach at 7-2 while a loss would match the 2009-10 and 2010-11 teams mark after nine games at 6-3.

WHAT'S TRENDING
>> Junior Quadir Welton posted his second-straight double-double with 12 points and tied his career high of 13 rebounds against Iona after having 12 points and 10 rebounds against Fairfield on Tuesday. It marks the second time this season the junior has posted consecutive double-doubles after recording the trick against Lafayette on Nov. 15 and Hartford on Nov. 19. Welton has posted 13 boards three times in his career and the second time this season after hauling in 13 caroms against Lafayette. He has posted four-straight double-figure point performances for the second time this season and is averaging 12.3 points 9.3 rebounds per game in that stretch. Welton now has four double-doubles this season and six for his career. The junior also has six 10 games with at least 10 points and six contests with at least six rebounds this season.
>> Freshman Antwon Portley also had 12 points against the Gaels. The freshman has posted double figures in points in seven-straight games and 13 of the 17 tilts this season. Portley is averaging 15.4 points per game in his last seven tilts. The squad is 6-3 this season when the freshman scores at least 15 points in a contest.
>> Junior Trevis Wyche has scored double figures in six-straight games and eight of his last nine contests after posting 10 points on Friday. The junior has posted 43 of his last 52 points in the second half in his last three games. After scoring two points in the first half against Marist on Sunday, the junior notched 18 points in the second half against the Red Foxes before registering all 20 of his points against Fairfield in the final frame on Tuesday and scored half his points against Iona in the second half. Since the New Year, he has scored at least 16 points in five of the six games and has led the team in scoring in four of the six games. The junior is averaging 16.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in 2016. Wyche is averaging 9.7 points per game in the seven games that he has started and 14.9 points per game off the bench.
>> Wyche has also dished out seven assists in four of the last five games, including a season-high nine assists on Sunday to narrowly miss his first career double-double.
>> After playing five games in the first 21 days of the month of January, the Peacocks are playing three times over the next five days starting against Rider on Thursday.
>> Saint Peter's went 2-6 last season on ESPN3 while the team is 1-0 this season with a 70-54 win at Canisius on Jan. 9.

SCORING LEADERS
>> Saint Peter's has had six different players lead the team in scoring this year.
>> Junior Trevis Wyche has led the team in points six times this season, including six of the last eight games. The junior has 10 double-figure games this season, including three 20-point performances in his career and all three games have come in the last eight days.
>> Freshman Antwon Portley has paced the team in scoring five times this season. The freshman has six 20+ games this season and has posted double figures in points in 13 games this year.
>> Junior Quadir Welton has led the team in scoring four times. Welton has posted 10 double-figure point games this season.
>> Junior Chazz Patterson has led the team in points one time this year. The junior has five double-digit scoring games this season.
>> Freshman Cameron Jones' only 20-point performance and double-digit game powered the Peacocks in scoring during that tilt.
>> Senior Elias Desport paced the Peacocks in points once and has one 10-point game this season.
>> Sophomore Rodney Hawkins has three double-digit point games.

HOME SWEET HOME
>> Freshman Antwon Portley is averaging a team-best 15.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in the squad's six home games this season. The freshman has four double-digit performances at the Yanitelli Center, including a career-high 30 points against Brown in the season opener on Nov. 13.
>> Junior Quadir Welton is averaging 12.2 points and 9.0 rebounds at home this season. The junior has posted double digits four times this season in Jersey City, including a career-high 18 points against Siena on Dec. 6.
>> The Peacocks are averaging 68.2 points per game at home and are shooting 40.6 percent from the floor while the opponent is averaging 62.8 points per game and shooting 37.9 percent per game.
>> Saint Peter's is 4-2 at home after defeating Marist 76-67 on Jan. 17.
>> The squad is 2-0 in league play after defeating Siena 72-68 on Dec. 6 and the Red Foxes on Jan. 17.
>> The Peacocks are looking to end a four-game skid against Rider at the Yanitelli Center.
>> Saint Peter's will play eight of its last 12 games at home.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
>> Junior Trevis Wyche seconds second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6) and ranks third in assists (4.8 pg.) and fourth in field goal percentage (53.3).
>> Junior Quadir Welton ranks second in rebounds (7.8 pg.), third in offensive rebounds (3.5), fifth in blocks (1.1) and eighth in defensive rebounds (4.4).
>> Junior Chazz Patterson ranks seventh in the defensive rebounds (4.6 pg.). >> Freshman Antwon Portley is sixth in minutes played (33.7 pg.), eighth in 3-pointers made (2.4), 10th in scoring (15.1 ppg.) and 10th in free throw percentage (78.3).

PORTLEY HONORED THREE TIMES
>> Freshman Antwon Portley was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week for the first weekend of the season and then received the honor again for the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 6. He was also named the Corvias ECAC Rookie of the Week for the Nov. 30-Dec. 6 time frame before nabbing the honor for the third time for the week of Dec. 14-20.
>> Portley averaged 19.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in his first two collegiate games to earn the honor for the first time, including posting a career-high 30 points in a 77-65 win against Brown on Nov. 13. The freshman posted 23 of his 30 points in the second half and powered a decisive 30-9 run in the final frame with 13 points. Portley then scored nine points against Lafayette on Nov. 15, including posting two baskets in the closing minutes of regulation to force overtime.
>> The freshman then averaged 18.0 points per game to lead Saint Peter's to its first 2-0 league start since 2010-11. Portley scored 25 points in a 73-61 win at Rider on Dec. 2 and then added 11 points against Siena on Dec. 6.
>> Portley scored 21 points against No. 21 George Washington on Dec. 19 to earn the honor for the third time this season.
>> Portley is the first player under head coach John Dunne to earn the honor three times. Wesley Jenkins won the award twice during the 2006-07 season.

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A CAREER DAY
>> Junior Trevis Wyche posted a career-high 26 points against No. 21 George Washington on Dec. 19.
>> Junior Quadir Welton has posted a career-high performance in two of his last three games. The junior posted 18 points against Siena on Dec. 6 to reset his career high that he set after scoring 17 points against Fairleigh Dickinson.
>> Junior Chazz Patterson scored a career-high 17 points against the Saints on Dec. 6. The junior registered 16 points twice this season before his 17 points against Siena.
>> Freshman Cameron Jones notched a career-high 21 points off the bench against Princeton on Nov. 21.
>> Freshman Antwon Portley recorded a career-high 30 points in his collegiate debut against Brown on Nov. 13. He is the first freshman to score 30 points in a game under head coach John Dunne and is just the second player to post 30 points in his Saint Peter's debut after Marvin Dominique tallied 31 points against LIU Brooklyn in the 2013-14 season opener.

MILESTONE WATCH
>> Junior Quadir Welton ranks ninth in program history in blocked shots with 83 rejections. Welton moved into ninth place with one block against Fairfield on Jan. 19. He can move into seventh place with three rejections.
>> Junior Trevis Wyche became the ninth player in program history to dish out 300 assists after handing out nine dimes against Marist on Jan. 17. Wyche, who has 316 assists, moved into eighth place after dishing out four helpers against Fairfield on Jan. 19, can move into seventh place with 15 assists.
>> Wyche, who needs 18 assists to reach 100 for the third-straight season, is the first Peacocks player to record consecutive 100 assist seasons since Keydren Clark did it all four years of his career. Wyche had 120 assists as a freshman and 114 last year.

ASSISTING WYCHE
>> Junior Trevis Wyche has fueled the team in assists in 61 of the 82 games in his career.
>> Wyche became the first player since Keydren Clark against Marist on Jan. 25, 2006 to hand out 10 assists in a game when he had 10 dimes against Boston University on Dec. 6. It was also the first time a player reached the feat on the road since Clark did it in 2004.
>> The junior has dished out at least five assists in a game 31 times in his three seasons and seven or more 12 times, including five times in 2015-16. Wyche has posted three games with eight assists and one nine-assist game this season.
>> He also fueled the team in steals 35 times and notched a personal-best four thefts against Siena on Jan. 25, 2015.
>> Wyche recorded double figures in points 28 times in his career, including three 20-point performances.
>> The junior notched a career-high 26 points against George Washington on Dec. 19.

WELTON THE ROAD WARRIOR
>> Junior Quadir Welton has posted 25 games with at least 10 points and 10 games with at least 10 rebounds.
>> Welton, who has posted double figures in 10 of the first 17 games this season, scored double digits 11 times as a sophomore.
>> The junior set a new career-best with 18 points against Siena on Dec. 6.
>> He has reached double figures 17 times on the road and seven times at home.
>> Welton scored double figures in four-straight games earlier this season and currently has posted four-consecutive games with double digits.
>> He has recorded 10+ points in consecutive games five times in his career.
>> Welton has also posted six-double-doubles in his career, including four in 2015-16.
>> The junior has posted a career-high 13 boards three times in his career after reaching the total as a junior against Quinnipiac on Jan. 2, 2015 and then matched the total twice this season against Lafayette on Nov. 15 and against Iona on Jan. 22.

STARTING PATTERSON
>> Junior Chazz Patterson has started 23 games in his career over the last two years and has registered six of his seven double-digit performances in those games.
>> This season, Patterson has registered double digits in points five times , including two 16-point games, a career-high 17 points against Siena on Dec. 6 and 14 points against Niagara on Jan. 7.
>> Patterson posted double figures three times as a sophomore and only his 10-point game against Canisius on Feb. 15 came when he started the tilt on the bench.

HALL OF FAME
>> The Saint Peter's Hall of Fame will be held on Feb. 6 at the Mac Mahon Student Center on campus starting at 6 p.m.
>> Among the inductees for this year's class is the 1967-68 Peacocks men's basketball team that advanced to the National Invitational Tournament semifinals.
>> The team nicknamed "Run, Baby Run" after the offense that legendary head coach Don Kennedy ran. Saint Peter's defeated Marshall 102-93 in double overtime and then downed top-ranked Duke 100-71 to reach the semifinals.
>> The squad then lost to Kansas 58-46 and Notre Dame 81-78 (in the consolation) to finish fourth.
>> The team is considered by many the greatest team in Saint Peter's history.

HELLO MY NAME IS
>> Head coach John Dunne added 10 players to the roster in 2015-16.
>> Senior Cavon Baker (Houston) and juniors Nnamdi Enechionyia (Samford) and Nick Griffin (George Washington) each transferred to Saint Peter's and will have to sit out the season due to NCAA Division I transfer regulations.
>> Freshman Samuel Idowu, Cameron Jones, Mamadou Ndiaye and Antwon Portley each signed NLI's to join the team in 2015-16 and each made their collegiate debut against Brown on Nov. 13.
>> Portley posted the best collegiate debut among the bunch with 30 points and scored the first basket of the season for the team. Jones also registered his first collegiate points against the Bears while Ndiaye had his first points against Lafayette on Nov. 15. Idowu registered his first career points against Seton Hall on Dec. 13.
>> Junior Chris Williams, sophomore J.R. William and freshman Jaquan Robertson also joined the team this season and each made their collegiate debut in the tilt against Rider on Dec. 2.

GARDEN STATE OF MIND
>> Saint Peter's will play five of the seven teams in the Garden State in 2015-16.
>> The Peacocks traveled to Princeton (L, 72-75), Fairleigh Dickinson (L, 62-77) and Seton Hall (L, 46-72) in non-conference play.
>> Saint Peter's will also continue its hOURglass Rivalry with Rider (W, 73-61, Jan. 28) and Monmouth (Jan. 30, Feb. 21).
>> The Jersey City team went 5-4 in the games last season against teams from New Jersey.
>> NJIT and Rutgers are the only two teams not on the squad's regular season slate this season. The Peacocks battled the Highlanders in preseason while the Scarlet Knights did not return to the schedule in 2015-16. Saint Peter's has won its last two matchups against its Big Ten counterpart. >> The Peacocks have never played all seven New Jersey teams in the same season.

PRESEASON POLL
>> Two-time defending MAAC regular season champion Iona was tabbed as the preseason favorite after receiving 10 of the 11 first place votes. Monmouth was picked second while the two-time defending MAAC Tournament champion Manhattan grabbed the final first place vote to finish tied for third in the poll with Rider while Siena, Canisius, Quinnipiac, Fairfield, Saint Peter's, Marist and Niagara round out the 11-team poll.

THE 20-POINT CLUB
>> Despite coming into the season with no players that had a 20-point game, freshman Antwon Portley became the first player on the roster to register a 20-point contest with 30 points against Brown in the season opener on Nov. 13. Portley now has five 20-point games this season.
>> Fellow freshman Cameron Jones became the second player this season to reach 20 points when he posted a career-best 21 points against Princeton on Nov. 21.
>> Junior Trevis Wyche became the first upperclassmen to reach 20-points when he posted a career-high 26 points against No. 21 George Washington on Dec. 19 and then added his second 20-point game with 20 points against Marist on Jan. 17.
>> Saint Peter's is 46-43 when a player has a 20-point performance under head coach John Dunne.
>> A player has scored at least 30 points in a game six times under Dunne.

BOARDS UP
>> Junior Quadir Welton and sophomore Elisha Boone are the only two players on the team to reached double-figures in rebounds in their career.
>>Welton has done it 10 times, including six times this season. He has a career-best 13 boards three times in his career, including against Lafayette (Nov. 15) and Iona (Jan. 22) this season.
>> Boone reached double-digits in rebounds for the first time in his career with 11 caroms against Princeton on Nov. 21 and then had 10 boards against Cornell on Dec. 28.

DOUBLE VISION
>> Junior Quadir Welton is the only player on the roster that have posted double-doubles in his career.
>> Welton has six double-double in career after posting the trick once in each of his first two seasons and four in 2015-16. .
>> The junior notched his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds against Lafayette on Nov. 15 and then had 12 points and 11 rebounds in his next game against Hartford on Nov. 19 to post consecutive double-doubles for the first time in his career. Welton then had 13 points and 10 rebounds against Fairfield for his first double-double in 14 games on Jan. 19 and posted 12 points and 13 rebounds against Iona on Jan. 22.

IN THE PROS
>> Former Saint Peter's standout Marvin Dominique is playing professionally in Spain with Viten Getafe.
>> Dominique posted 986 points and 521 rebounds in his two seasons in Jersey City. He was named to the All-MAAC third team in 2013-14 and to the All-MAAC second team in 2014-15.

AGAINST THE BIG DOGS
>> Head coach John Dunne has wins against Alabama, Rutgers and Seton Hall in four of the last five seasons.
>> The Peacocks defeated Alabama 50-49 on Nov. 22, 2010 during the USVI Paradise Jam. The squad then opened the 2012-13 season with a 56-52 win against Rutgers on Nov. 9, 2012, won a thriller 83-80 in overtime against Seton Hall on Dec. 14, 2013 and then posted a 68-50 win against Rutgers on Nov. 25, 2014.
>> The squad has beat Rutgers in back-to-back games for the first time in team history and improved to 3-3 under Dunne against the Scarlet Knights.
>> Saint Peter's is 5-12 under Dunne against big name programs and 4-2 against those opponents in games decided by under 10 points.
>> Seton Hall is the only "Big Name" program on the schedule this year.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
>> Junior Quadir Welton has a relative that has played in the professional ranks.
>> Welton's uncle is former NBA star Rasheed Wallace. Wallace played 16 seasons in the NBA for Washington (1995-96), Portland (1996-04), Atlanta (2004), Detroit (2004-09), Boston (2009-10) and New York Knicks (2012-13). Wallace, a four-time All-Star won an NBA title with Detroit in 2004.

QUICK HITS ON DUNNE
>> Head coach John Dunne is in his 10th season at Saint Peter's.
>> He led the team to the 2011 MAAC Tournament title and berth in the NCAA Tournament.
>> Dunne has coached seven 1,000-point scorers, three All-MAAC second-team selections, four All-MAAC third-team honorees, two MAAC All-Rookie selections, a MAAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, three MAAC All-Tournament selections and an All-MAAC Academic honoree.

ABOUT THE COACHING STAFF
>> Assistant Coaches Matt Henry and Serge Clement each return to the bench for head coach John Dunne.
>> Henry and Clement both return for their third season season in Jersey City.
>> Alex Stone joins the staff in 2015-16 as and assistant coach while Chris Mongilia and JK Schneiderman both join the staff as co-directors of basketball operations.