JERSEY CITY, N.J. – After improving to 4-0 in MAAC play with its win over Marist on Friday, the Saint Peter's men's basketball team looks to stay undefeated in conference this week against Mount St. Mary's and Merrimack. The Peacocks hit the road to play the Mountaineers on Friday at 7 p.m. ET before tipping off with the Warriors at Run Baby Run Arena on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Peacocks (7-5, 4-0 MAAC) lost both of their matchups to Mount St. Mary's (5-11, 1-4 MAAC) a season ago, so head coach
Bashir Mason is going to make sure his squad is ready to go this time around. As for Merrimack (9-7, 5-0 MAAC), the Warriors currently hold first place in the MAAC with one more conference win than the Peacocks.
In its victory against the Red Foxes, the Saint Peter's defense continued to impress, holding Marist to its third-lowest scoring output all year, 59 points. The Peacocks stole the ball seven times and now lead the conference in steals per game with 9.3.
ABOUT THE MOUNT ST. MARY'S MOUNTAINEERS
The Mountaineers were picked to finish ninth in the MAAC in the coaches' preseason rankings after winning the conference tournament last year. So far, Mount St. Mary's has picked up just one conference win against Iona. In their two most recent games, the Mountaineers fell to Merrimack and Quinnipiac on the road.
MSM has four players averaging between 10 and 12 points in Luke McEldon, Arlandes Keyes, Trey Deveaux and Xavier Lipscomb. The group is led by the 6-2 graduate guard, Lipscomb, who has the ability to score and share the ball. He's putting up 10 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
Mount St. Mary's is coached by Donny Lind, who is in his second season as head coach of the Mountaineers.
ABOUT THE MERRIMACK WARRIORS
The Warriors sit atop of the MAAC with a perfect 5-0 start. They have wins over Rider (home), Fairfield (home), Sacred Heart (away), Mount St. Mary's (home) and Manhattan (home). Merrimack is set to play at Siena next before playing the Peacocks on Sunday.
Merrimack has two of the top-five scorers in the conference in freshman Kevair Kennedy and junior Ernest Shelton. Kennedy ranks third with 16.2 points per game while Shelton ranks fifth with 15.4. As a team, the Warriors sit top-five in the MAAC in both offense and defense since conference play began.
Merrimack is coached by Joe Gallo, who is in his 10th season as head coach of the Warriors.
NOTES
The Peacocks are 6-5 all-time vs. Mount St. Mary's and 2-2 against the Mountaineers on the road…the Peacocks are 2-1 all-time vs. Merrimack, with all three meetings taking place at home…Saint Peter's is one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the MAAC, joining Merrimack (5-0).
