ALBANY, N.Y. - The Saint Peter's men's basketball team fell to Siena by a final score of 63-72 on Sunday at MVP Arena as the Peacocks had a hard time defending without fouling through certain stretches of the game.
The Peacocks (15-11, 12-6 MAAC) are now tied with the Saints (19-10, 12-6 MAAC) for second place in the MAAC standings with two games left to play. Saint Peter's has Manhattan at home and Marist on the road to end the regular season.
It was a physical battle from the opening tip to the final whistle with both teams committing over 15 fouls. Siena dominated the free throw count, however, taking 34 shots at the line compared to Saint Peter's 16.
Three Peacocks finished in double figures as they were without their top scorer,
Brent Bland, in the second half.
Bryce Eaton led the way with 17 points, followed by
Lucas Scroggins with 11 and
Eric Morgan Jr. with 10. After missing two games, Scroggins neared a double double in his return, adding eight rebounds on the glass.
NOTES
The Peacocks are now 55-49 all-time vs. the Saints and 19-31 against them on the road…Morgan Jr. tied his season-high of 24 minutes played…Saint Peter's took 55 shot attempts compared to Siena's 43.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF: The Saints started the game going up 8-2 over the first couple of minutes, but the Peacocks didn't falter as 3-pointers by Eaton and Bland tied the game at 12-12. Holding a one-point advantage, Siena went on an 11-0 scoring run to extend their lead to 29-17. Siena continued to get to the line, shooting 21 total free throws in the first half. The Peacocks trailed 23-37 after the first 20 minutes.
SECOND HALF: The Peacocks came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Saints 9-to-3 at the first media timeout. Eaton,
Jahki Gupton and
Zaakir Williamson all made buckets to make it a 32-40 game. Shortly after, Siena scored six straight points in the paint to regain its 14-point lead. Saint Peter's showed a little bit of life at the 10-minute mark, but Siena responded quickly with seven unanswered points. Just when everyone thought it was over, the Peacocks went on a 11-0 scoring run to cut it a 60-68 game with 1:37 to go. Siena managed to hold on down the stretch for a 72-63 win.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks return home later this week to play the Manhattan Jaspers on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. ET. Saint Peter's will celebrate Williamson, Morgan Jr. and
J'Quan Ewing for Senior Night.
