JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Saint Peter's men's basketball team (1-1) secured its first win of the season on Saturday, defeating FDU (0-2) by a final score of 93-83 at Run Baby Run Arena. The Peacocks were led by their longest tenured player,
Brent Bland, who finished with 27 points on six 3-pointers.
"I thought we played very hard," head coach
Bashir Mason said after the win. "I thought our recognition and understanding of what the other team was trying to do was a bit lacking, but we always are going to play hard and fight, so I'm proud of that effort. We just got to get our IQ and our smarts a little bit better because I felt there were things we could have prevented."
The Peacocks had five players reach double-figure points as the defensive side of the ball was just as impressive. Saint Peter's recorded 12 steals, tying their second-most steals in a game from all of last season. The pressing defense was a big difference maker for the Peacocks as they showed out in front of their home fans for the first time this season.
After a rough outing at Seton Hall,
Bryce Eaton had a bounce-back game with a near double-double performance against FDU. He finished the game with 13 points and a team-high eight assists.
Jahki Gupton was another player who made electric plays throughout the game for the Peacocks, throwing down multiple alley-oop dunks.
"One of our themes this year is strength in numbers," Mason stated. "We could play all 13 guys in uniform, and Bryce right now is like a super sophomore. The game has slowed down for him a lot now. He's not just thinking score, he's thinking facilitate, and he can see the game a little bit better now. So for him, we got to continue to keep him going in this direction."
Multiple times throughout the game, Saint Peter's was on the wrong side of scoring runs, but the Peacocks managed to weather the storm time and time again.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF: The Peacocks held the Knights scoreless for almost six minutes to start the game as they built a 6-2 lead. After a stepback jumper from Eaton, FDU hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 8-8. Saint Peter's then went on a 7-0 scoring run to regain control at 15-8. Approaching the five-minute mark in the first half, the Knights came within two points, 17-19, after knocking down a pair of free throws.
SPU started to find its rhythm, scoring seven unanswered points to get the crowd involved. Gupton erupted the arena with two alley oop dunks, one of which was an AND-1. The Knights trailed 22-31, but responded with a 7-0 run of their own to make it 29-31. With under a minute-and-a-half to go in the first,
TJ Robinson made a driving layup before hitting two free throws at the line as the Peacocks led 35-29.
Adetokunbo Bakare hit a 3 to end the half with SPU leading 38-29.
SECOND HALF: To start the second half, Saint Peter's converted two quick layups over the first two minutes. The Peaocks then started to take control over the Knights as the crowd got into it. Bland cashed in on four 3-pointers in the span of three minutes, which helped the Peacocks gain a 20-point lead.
A 9-0 scoring run by the Knights brought them back into the game, but they still trailed 49-60. Gupton put an end to the run with a driving layup, but FDU kept its momentum going, scoring three straight baskets to make it 55-62. A 3-pointer by Eaton and a dunk by
J'Quan Ewing kept the Peacocks in control. A corner 3 by Bland made it 78-69 with just under four minutes to go. The Knights made a few more shots down the stretch, but Saint Peter's defense managed to make enough stops to stay ahead. The Peacocks held on for a 93-83 victory at home.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks hit the road next week to continue nonconference play against VCU. The game is set to take place on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. ET.
NOTES
Saint Peter's moves to 44-17 all-time vs. FDU and 33-8 against the Knights at home...Bland scored a career-high 27 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field…freshman
TJ Robinson scored 16 points while dishing out six assists.
