BROOKLYN, NY – A three-pointer by Lamin Fulton with less than a second to play was not enough in the Saint Peter's College Peacocks (2-7) 82-80 loss to the Long Island University Blackbirds. The Peacocks trailed 56-32 with 12:31 to play, but outscored the Blackbirds by 22 points the rest of the way. The rally was sparked by a 15-1 run midway through the second half and continued until the final seconds. Fulton and Darius Conley each scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Peacocks.
Saint Peter's won the tip and scored first, but Long Island immediately took the lead and led 10-6. The Peacocks then used a 6-0 run to retake the lead at 12-11 with 12:43 to play in the first half. The teams then traded 5-0 runs and Saint Peter's led 17-16 at the 8:33 mark. The Peacocks then led 21-19 but a 13-2 run gave the Blackbirds their largest lead at 32-23 with 3:11 to play in the first half. LIU continued to hold the lead and extended it to 11 points, which was the halftime spread at 36-25.
Conley led Saint Peter's with eight points. Fulton and Blaise Ffrench each added five points. Long Island was led by 12 points from Julian Boyd. Saint Peter's shot 38.5% from the field and allowed the Blackbirds to shoot 40.7%. LIU outrebounded Saint Peter's 20-13 and both teams had 11 turnovers.
Saint Peter's came right out and cut the deficit to nine points at 39-30, but LIU then went on a 13-2 run to take their largest lead at 52-32 with 14:57 to play. The Blackbirds continued to extend their lead and went up 56-32 at the 12:31 to mark. The Peacocks then trailed 62-40, but went on a 15-1 run to cut the deficit to eight points at 63-55 with 5:46 to play.
LIU went back up by 12 points at 70-58, but Saint Peter's stayed within striking distance. They got to within six at 72-66 with 1:45 to play. The Blackbirds went 10-12 from the line in the final 90 seconds, but a pair of three pointers by Fulton and three points by Conley kept the Peacocks within two possessions. The Peacocks stole the ball with less than 10-seconds to play and Fulton hit another three with less than a second to play to make the final score 82-80.
Conley had his second straight 20-point game, scoring 23 points on 10-16 from the field. He also had five rebounds and a career-high six blocks. Fulton was 9-14 from the field, including 5-8 from beyond the arc. Chris Burke added 11 points and six steals. Boyd scored a game-high 29 points and had 17 rebounds for LIU.
Saint Peter's shot 45% from the field and held LIU to 38%. The Blackbirds did control the glass 47-29, but committed 24 turnovers, while forcing 14.
Saint Peter's will return to action on Tuesday night when they face Kent State on the first day of the Athletes in Action Classic in Logan, Utah. Tip-off is 7:30pm EST.
