ATLANTIC CITY - The Saint Peter's men's basketball team fell to Fairfield in the Quarterfinal Round of the MAAC Championship by a final score of 55-74 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall on Friday night.
The No. 2-seeded Peacocks found themselves in a tie game at halftime, but the seventh-ranked Stags powered through in the second half to advance to the MAAC Semifinals.
Brent Bland once again led Saint Peter's in points with 11, while also pulling in a team-high seven rebounds. The backcourt of
TJ Robinson and
Bryce Eaton were the next highest scorers on the Peacocks as Robinson finished with eight points and Eaton ended with nine.
Despite the result,
Zaakir Williamson served as a valuable rim protector, recording six blocks, which is the most blocks by a Peacock in a MAAC Tournament game dating back to 2000-01.
The big difference maker was the Stags' ability to get to the free-throw line, helping them stay in control down the stretch. Two Fairfield players, Brandon Benjamin and Declan Wucherpfennig, finished with double-doubles.
NOTES
The Peacocks are now 69-66 all-time vs. the Stags and 9-8 against them in the MAAC Tournament. ..Williamson recorded the most blocks by a Peacock in a MAAC Tournament game since at least 2000-01…Eaton finished with five assists, tying the seventh most assists by a Saint Peter's player in a MAAC Tournament game since at least 2000-01…the Peacocks tied their season-high in blocks with eight.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SECOND HALF: The Stags came out firing in the second half, scoring the first 10 points to take a 40-30 lead. The Peacocks then stacked a few defensive stops and turned them into points on the other end to cut it down to a 38-42 deficit. A high-flying lob from Eaton to
Lucas Scroggins got the Peacock fans on their feet as SPU made a comeback attempt.
Fairfield managed to weather the storm, holding on to a six-point lead with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Shortly after, an AND-1 layup by the Stags made it a 56-45 game as they started to pull away. Saint Peter's couldn't stop the Fairfield offense down the stretch as the Stags secured a 19-point victory.
FIRST HALF: It was a defensive battle on both ends of the floor to start the game as the Peacocks led just 6-0 after the first media timeout. The Stags struggled to score their first points, starting 0-for-9 from the field, while Saint Peter's recorded two blocks and two steals. Over the next few minutes, Bland hit a 3-pointer that was followed by a jump hook by
J'Quan Ewing, extending the SPU lead to 11-0. Fairfield then rattled off a quick 7-0 scoring run to cut its deficit to four.
Eaton was fouled on a 3-point attempt and knocked down all three free throws to put an end to the Saint Peter's scoring drought. Approaching the eight-minute mark, Benjamin tied things up at 16-16 with a 3-pointer, bringing his scoring total to 14. The Stags then took their first lead of the game at 18-16 with a made layup. After getting into the double bonus, Fairfield managed to take an eight-point lead over the Peacocks at 30-22. A step-back 3 by Robinson ignited an 8-0 scoring run made by the Peacocks to go into halftime tied at 30-30. The highlight of the run was a tip-in by Williamson at the buzzer.
