BUFFALO, N.Y. (Jan. 23, 2021) - Junior Hassan Drame set a new career-high with 19 points and added 11 rebounds for his fourth career double-double but it was not enough as the Saint Peter's men's basketball team fell 63-60 on the road at Canisius College Sunday inside the Koessler Athletic Center to stop their winning streak at four games.
The Peacocks trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but rallied from behind to lead by as many as seven in the second half but the Golden Griffins scored the final five points of the game to drop SPU to 7-7 and 5-2 in the MAAC. Canisius, meanwhile, improved to 7-12 overall and 3-5 in league play.
The Griffs were fantastic shooting the ball in the win, knocking down 42.2 percent of their shots and shooting 42.1 percent from downtown. Conversely, SPU shot just 36.8 percent from the floor and 26.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Junior Daryl Banks III joined Drame in double figures with 13 to score at least 10 points for the ninth time this season as the Peacocks fell for the first time since Dec. 18 when they suffered a one-point loss on the road against Stony Brook.
How It Happened
- Much like in Tuesday afternoon's game in Jersey City, the Griffs started the game hot with a 12-2 run to take an early 10-point edge.
- The Peacocks began mounting their comeback after falling behind 19-8, going on a 10-3 run fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Banks III and Doug Edert to make the score 21-18 in favor of Canisius.
- Trailing 27-21, Drame teamed up with freshman Clarence Rupert to send SPU on a 11-2 run thanks to four points apiece from the duo to take their first lead of the game at 32-29.
- After being behind for the majority of the half, the Peacocks headed into the locker room with a 34-33 edge.
- Coming out of the break, SPU threatened to run away with the lead as they scored the first six points of the half to take a 40-33 lead, their largest of the game.
- Canisius did not let the deficit grow any larger, though, answering with a quick 9-2 flurry of their own to knot things up at 42 with 13 minutes left.
- Even after Banks III, Drame and freshman Jaylen Murray hit three straight shots on back-to-back-to-back possession, the Griffs continually found an answer and never trailed by more than four.
- Down 54-50, Canisius rattled off eight straight points thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Jordan Henderson to take a 58-54 edge with 4:53 left to play.
- The Peacocks answered that rally with a 6-0 run of their own over the next three minutes to re-take the lead 60-58.
- After KC Ndefo knocked down a pair of free throws to give SPU the lead at the 2:01 mark, the Griffs called a timeout and drew up a play to get a 3-point look for Scott Hitchon. The graduate student buried the shot and gave Canisius a 61-60 lead with 1:47 to play.
- The Peacocks had ample opportunity to tie the game or take the lead late, but missed on their final five shots of the game and fell 63-60 for their first loss of the 2022 calendar year.
Inside the Numbers
- Despite the loss, SPU remains alone in second place in the MAAC with two more wins than Siena who sits at 3-2.
- It was the first double-double for Drame since Jan. 26, 2020 when he had 10 points and 10 boards in a win over Niagara.
- The Peacocks held a 10-3 edge in second chance points but all 10 points came in the opening stanza as the Griffs did not allow SPU any putback buckets in the final 20 minutes.
- SPU held a massive 42-28 edge in rebounds with 18 of those boards coming on the offensive glass.
- After coming into the contest first in the MAAC and 39th in the country with 8.6 steals per game, the Peacocks managed just five steals in the loss.
- Rupert and Edert were the next leading scorers for SPU with seven points apiece while Ndefo finished with six, all in the second half.
- With three more made free throws in the game, Banks III has now made 30 consecutive free throws dating back to Nov. 27, 2021. He is currently shooting 92.9 percent from the line this season, good for the eighth-best mark in Division I.
Next Up
- The Peacocks return to action Wednesday when they complete their string of three straight road games with a trip to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to take on Marist at 7:00 p.m.
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