Men’s Basketball Steals Late Win at Canisius; Secures Top-Two Seed in MAAC Championship

BUFFALO, NY – The Saint Peter's men's basketball team used a late comeback to secure a 69-68 road victory over Canisius on Saturday afternoon. The win improved the Peacocks Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) record to 13-6, locking up a top-two seed for the team in the upcoming MAAC Championship. 
 
How it Happened

• The teams exchanged leads eight times through the first four minutes of play with neither taking an advantage larger than a point.
• Following a 9-0 run by Canisius, the Peacocks found themselves in a 22-12 hole.
• Still down by 10 (24-14), Saint Peter's went on an eight-point rally and 12-2 run over a 3:41 span to tie the game at 26-26. Aaron Estrada and Fousseyni Drame each scored four points to lead the run.
• After tying the game, the Peacocks never grabbed the lead and were outscored 8-5 the final four minutes of the half, trailing 34-31 at break.
• Saint Peter's deficit hit seven points three times. Trailing 44-37, Quinn Taylor and KC Ndefo scored on back-to-back layups, to make it a three-point contest.
• After giving up a basket, the Peacocks put the game's next five points on the board by way of a pair of free throws from Doug Edert and an old fashioned three-point play by Taylor to tie the game at 46-46.
• Saint Peter's again fell behind by five, but answered with a quick five-point sequence that featured a Ndefo made layup and a stolen inbound pass by Taylor which resulted in another three-point play. 
• In a three-point hole with four minutes left, Taylor was again the hero for the third straight time, hitting a three-pointer at the top of the key that knotted the game at 60-60. 
• Down the stretch, with the game evened up at 62-62, Taylor hit two at the charity stripe, followed by a clutch layup from Matthew Lee, giving Saint Peter's a four-point advantage with 1:41 to go. 
• Although the Peacocks grabbed the late four point edge, Canisius managed to tie the game with 40.8 seconds remaining. 
• Estrada would hit the go-ahead layup with 34 seconds left, but a Peacock foul put Canisius at the line, where they hit both, tying the game again at 68-68 with 20.1 ticks left. 
• Estrada again attempted to drive but was fouled and hit the backend of two free throws to put Saint Peter's ahead 69-68 with 07.0 left. 
• On the final possession, the Griffs' Jordan Henderson got a shot off at the buzzer that missed, giving the Peacocks the comeback win.

Inside the Numbers

• Taylor had the best game of his Peacocks career, recording his third career double-double with a career-high 22 points and season-high 11 rebounds. Taylor shot a perfect 2-for-2 from deep and 4-for-4 from the line, while going 8-of-11 from the field. 
• Ndefo also surpassed double-figures for the seventh time this season, scoring 14 points and adding five rebounds and three blocks.
• Saint Peter's led for less than four minutes in the win, and didn't take a lead in the second half until 1:41 remained.
• Saint Peter's had advantages over Niagara in rebounds (35-28), points in the paint (36-30), second chance points (10-7), and fast break points (8-6).
• The win over Canisius gives Saint Peter's a win over every other conference school this regular season --- the first time in program history the Peacocks have achieved this feat with the current MAAC or a 10-team league. The only other times in school history Saint Peter's defeated every other team was in 1981-82 and 1983-84 when the MAAC was comprised of eight teams.
• By securing a top-two seed in the MAAC tournament, Saint Peter's will play on Wednesday, March 11 at either 7 or 9:30 p.m.
• The top-two finish is the highest for the Peacocks since finishing second in 2016-17.

Up Next          

• The Peacocks will return to New Jersey for the regular-season finale against Iona on Friday, March 6.
• Following the regular season, Saint Peter's will head to Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for the 2020 MAAC Championship.​​​​​​​