HAMDEN, CT – The Saint Peter's University men's basketball team held on for a 66-64 victory over Quinnipiac University on Friday afternoon, earning the season series split. With the win, the Peacocks improved to 10-8 in the MAAC, 13-10 overall, and secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship. Quinnipiac dropped to 7-10 in the MAAC and fell out of the top-five in the league standings.
A trio of Peacocks scored in double-figures, led by
KC Ndefo,
Daryl Banks III, and
Doug Edert.
The Basics
Score: Saint Peter's 66, Quinnipiac 64
Records: Saint Peter's (13-10, 10-8 MAAC) | Quinnipiac (9-12, 7-10 MAAC)
Location: People's United Center | Hamden, CT
How It Happened
- Matthew Lee nailed a corner three in transition off a dish from Ndefo, giving Saint Peter's an early 5-3 lead.
- A triple by Banks would break a 5-5 tie, before Quinnipiac ran off seven straight to go ahead 12-8.
- Still trailing, Marty Silvera went back into his bag and mimicked his January 22 performance at Siena, scoring SPU's next seven points with a three-pointer and a pair of layups.
- With four minutes left in the half, Edert drained a trifecta that would give Saint Peter's a 24-22 lead off a dish from Lee.
- Down the final stretch of the half, the Peacocks found themselves down by nine (largest deficit of the game) but back to back three balls from Edert and Banks (to beat the buzzer) made it a 33-30 halftime contest.
- SPU was lights out from deep in the half, finding success on 6-of-14 triples.
- After a scoreless first half and only seven minutes of action due to foul trouble, Ndefo was unleashed in the second half.
- The all-conference forward began the half by scoring 7 out of 12, and then 11 out of 16 of Saint Peter's points, pulling the team to a one-point hole (47-46) with 8:30 on the clock.
- Silvera would then convert two free throws to give the Peacocks a 48-47 lead, the team's first since 24-22.
- The two sides exchanged blows for the next six minutes and with two minutes to play, SPU trailed 55-54.
- Quinnipiac's final lead was brief, because Banks had the answer, splashing home the go-ahead triple with 1:45 left.
- On the ensuing possession, Ndefo blocked a shot that led to a fastbreak layup for Edert, extending the advantage to 59-55.
- With under one-minute remaining, the Bobcats made it a one-possession game, trailing 61-59 when they forced a Peacock turnover on an inbounds play with 30 ticks left.
- Saint Peter's defense would answer the call, denying the Bobcats an entry pass which forced Quinnipiac to call a timeout that the team did not have --- resulting in a technical foul and a pair of free throws for the Peacocks.
- Banks made both technical freebies to up the lead to 63-59.
- Despite the four-point lead down the stretch, Quinnipiac hit a late three-pointer to pull within one.
- SPU made three more at the charity stripe to almost guarantee the win, leading 66-62 with seven seconds to play, but a late foul on a three-point attempt put the Bobcats at the line where they made 2-of-3, giving the Peacocks a 66-64 win.
Notes
- Ndefo led the team in scoring with 15 points --- all coming in the second half --- and stuffed the stat sheet with seven rebounds, three blocks, three steals, and one assist.
- It was Ndefo's seventh consecutive contest with 10 or more points.
- Ndefo is now just one block shy of tying the program's all-time career mark, heading into the postseason with 208 career rejections.
- Banks and Edert were almost identical in the game, each scoring 13 points, both hitting a trio of three-pointers, and both going a perfect 2-for-2 at the line.
- Silvera's afternoon ended with nine points in 15 minutes of action off of the bench.
- Lee led the unit in assists, handing out eight dimes and tacking on three steals.
- Saint Peter's owned the paint, out rebounding Quinnipiac 35-31, in large part to Fousseyni Drame's 12 boards, held an advantage in offensive rebounds (12-9), and won the battles for points in the paint (28-24) and second chance points (11-10).
- The Peacocks finished the afternoon shooting 40.4 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from three, and 85.7 percent from the line --- the first time this season the team has combined to go 40/34/85 or better from each.
- This is the first time since 2015-16 and 2016-17 that the program has had back to back 10+ MAAC win seasons and the first time since 2009-10 and 2010-11 that the Peacocks have posted consecutive seasons with 10 or more MAAC wins and an overall winning record.
- Saint Peter's locked up third place on the final MAAC standings and secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship field.
- This year's third place finish, combined with last season's second place finish, are the highest back to back rankings in consecutive seasons since 1987-88 and 1988-89 when those teams ended their campaigns with a pair of second place finishes.
Up Next
The Peacocks head to the MAAC Men's Basketball Championships at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City next week. Saint Peter's will receive a first-round bye in the championship field and will play its quarterfinal round game on Thursday at 5pm against the winner of the 6/11 game.
