JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Saint Peter's men's basketball team closed out a historic season at home, defeating Manhattan, 75-65, on Friday night at Run Baby Run Arena. The Peaocks finished 13-1 at home this year, making it their best home record since going 14-0 in Jersey City in 1983-84.
The Peacocks (16-11, 13-6 MAAC) lit it up from deep, shooting 45.0 percent from behind the arc while holding the Jaspers (12-18, 8-11 MAAC) to 19.0 percent from 3, their second-lowest percentage all season.
Four Saint Peter's players scored in double figures:
Brent Bland (14),
Bryce Eaton (14),
TJ Robinson (13) and
Jahki Gupton (11). Bland and Gupton eached pulled in seven rebounds while Robinson dished out a team-high seven assists.
The crowd atmosphere was energetic from start to finish as Saint Peter's kicked off the night by honoring three seniors,
Zaakir Williamson,
Eric Morgan Jr. and
J'Quan Ewing. The three Peacocks started the game and combined for 13 total points in their final contest at Run Baby Run Arena.
NOTES
The Peacocks are now 63-69 all-time vs. the Jaspers and 37-31 against them at home…the Peacocks clinched a top-3 seed in the MAAC Tournament with their win…for the Peacocks to finish as the two-seed, they need to either win or have Siena lose to Rider…if Siena wins and the Peacocks lose, Saint Peter's would be the three-seed.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF: The Peacocks jumped out to a 14-4 lead as Bland and Robinson led the way with five points each. Shortly after, they extended their lead to 25-7 as 3-pointers started to fall. Morgan Jr. and Gupton both hit shots from behind the arc to contribute to Saint Peter's strong start. The Peacocks made their first four 3s of the game before Manhattan made one. Approaching the four-minute mark, Robinson knocked down a free throw to give the Peacocks a 15-point lead at 34-19. Saint Peter's went into the half with a 40-25 lead over the Jaspers.
SECOND HALF: Both teams kept trading points through the first five minutes of the second half as Saint Peter's held onto its 15-point cushion. That was until Manhattan went on a quick 6-0 run with three made jumpers to cut it to a 41-53 game. Eaton then made a 3-pointer to put an end to the Jaspers' run. He continued to have the hot hand over the next few minutes, hitting a stepback jumper and a driving layup to make it 66-49. The Peacocks held their lead down the stretch, securing a 75-65 victory.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks head up to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. next to play the Marist Red Foxes on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
