JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Saint Peter's men's basketball team stayed undefeated in conference play after defeating Marist, 69-59, on Friday night at Run Baby Run Arena. The Peacocks trailed by three points at halftime but stormed back in the final 20 minutes for the victory.
Saint Peter's (7-5, 4-0 MAAC) saw a lot of production from its bench, which was a big difference maker against the Red Foxes (8-5, 2-2 MAAC) tonight.
Eric Morgan Jr. recorded 12 points, and
Bol Agu and
Jahki Gupton combined for 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Lucas Scroggins had an impressive outing as well, finishing with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field. He also ended with six boards, four of which were offensive rebounds.
Despite getting into foul trouble early, Saint Peter's managed to overcome Marist's trips to the free-throw line and commit fewer fouls in the second half. The Peacocks committed 13 fouls over the first 20 minutes before cutting it down to just seven fouls in the final 20 minutes.
With losses by Quinnipiac and Siena tonight, the Peacocks join the Merrimack Warriors as the only unbeaten teams in the MAAC.
NOTES
Saint Peter's is now 41-28 against the Red Foxes and 24-10 against them at home…the Peacocks improved to 6-1 at home this season…this marks back-to-back wins for the Peacocks while trailing at halftime…Saint Peter's outrebounded Marist 45-to-38…the Peacocks recorded 18 second-chance points compared to Marist's seven…Morgan Jr. has dropped double-digit points in two of the last three games.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SECOND HALF: Saint Peter's opened the second half with back-to-back made jumpers by
Zaakir Williamson to regain the lead 39-38. Marist hit foul shots on the other end, but just a minute later,
Bryce Eaton knocked down a 3-pointer. While leading by three points, 49-46, the Peacocks tacked on four free throws to extend the lead to seven. The Red Foxes called a timeout to talk things over as they trailed 46-53.
Out of the timeout, Saint Peter's went up 58-48 for the first double-digit lead of the game by either team. The Red Foxes made a layup to break 50, but the Peacocks answered right back with a triple from Morgan Jr. While trailing, 50-61, with under seven minutes left, Marist was unable to cut its deficit to under double-digits for the rest of the game. The Peacocks picked up their sixth win at home by a final score of 69-59.
FIRST HALF: The Peacocks' defense was active to start the game, helping the offense open with seven unanswered points. The Red Foxes didn't allow Saint Peter's to get too far ahead, and came back to tie things up at 10-10. Over the next few minutes, the game stayed tight as
Elijah Perkins made a pair of layups for the Peacocks. Marist took its first lead of the game with under eight-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half after two free throws made it 19-18.
Back-to-back alley oop dunks by Scroggins electrified the crowd and forced the Red Foxes to call a timeout in a 26-all game. Out of the break, Marist scored six unanswered points, which led to another timeout, this time by the Peacocks. The Red Foxes turned several possessions into points down the stretch, but a 3-pointer by Morgan Jr. kept it a 35-38 game at halftime.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks hit the road again for their next game against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers on Friday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. ET.
