PISCATAWAY, N.J.- Saint Peter's University men's basketball senior
Marcus Randolph dropped in a career-high 22 points as the Peacocks pushed nationally ranked #24 Rutgers University, falling short 75-65 in a non-conference contest.
The Peacocks fall to 0-3, while the Scarlet Knights improve to 2-0.
R-junior
Brent Bland drained a pair of early three pointers in the contest to help the Peacock jump out to a 10-7 lead in the opening minutes. Rutgers rallied back, pulling ahead 23-19 with under nine minutes to play in the opening half.
The Peacocks battled back with a 17-6 run to push ahead by seven late in the half. Randolph connected on two triples, while adding two free throws in the run.
Junior
Tyreck Morris capped the run with a trifecta at the 4:34 mark to give Saint Peter's a 36-29 lead. The Scarlet Knights trimmed the score to three points but a late bucket by r-junior
Mouhamed Sow gave the Peacocks a 42-37 lead at halftime.
The Scarlet Knights got off to a quick start in the second half, flipping to a nine-point lead at 57-48 midway through the second half. Saint Peter's hung around, closing the gap to four points at 57-53 following a bucket and a triple by senior
Adetokunbo Bakare.
Randolph connected on a trifecta at the 7:06 mark to spark an 8-1 run that saw the Peacocks vault back into the lead. Randolph added another three-ball in the rally, while Morris capped the run with a driving lay-up to push Saint Peter's back in front 63-62 with 5:41 remaining in the second half.
Rutgers answered as they scored the final 11 points of the game to retake the lead, thwarting a Peacock comeback.
Randolph shot 4-for-8 from downtown, 7-for-12 from the field, setting a new career-high with 22 points in the game. Sow and Bland each led the team with six rebounds each, while Morris dished out five assists.
The Peacocks have one more road game before their home opener next week as Saint Peter's travels to University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) for a non-conference contest on Saturday, November 16 at 2 pm. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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