POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The Saint Peter's College Peacocks (2-12, 1-2 MAAC) let a 12-point second half lead slip away as they dropped their eighth straight, 71-67 to the Marist College Red Foxes (7-7, 2-1 MAAC). The Peacocks led 40-28 early in the second half, but a 16-1 Marist run gave them their first lead and they held on, making 11 free throws in the final three minutes. Blaise Ffrench led Saint Peter's with 16 points.
The Peacocks lost the tip, but a steal and a lay-up by Ffrench followed by a triple for Lamin Fulton gave Saint Peter's an early 5-0 lead. Saint Peter's then led 11-6, but went the next six minutes without scoring and still led 11-9. Chris Prescott then hit a shot with the shot clock winding down for a 13-9 Peacock advantage at the 10:48 mark. Saint Peter's led 13-11 and used a 10-4 run to take their largest lead at 23-15 with 5:10 to play.
Marist hit a three to cut the deficit to 23-18, but a Ffrench steal and lay-up, a Prescott lay-up and a Raymond dunk gave the peacocks their largest lead at 29-18 at the 2:34 mark. The Peacocks ended the half on a 10-2 run overall which included a defensive stop to end the half and took a 33-21 lead into the break.
Fulton led all scorers in the first half with nine points. Ffrench added eight. The Peacocks shot over 46% from the field in the opening frame and held Marist 27.6%. Saint peter's outrebounded the Red Foxes 20-19 and forced nine turnovers while committing six
Marist started the second half on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to seven, but a five straight by Saint Peter's gave them their 12-point cushion back at 40-28 with 17:17 to play in the second half. Marist then went on a 16-1 run, holding the Peacocks to zero field goals for over six minutes and took their first lead at 44-41 with 11:25 to play. Fulton broke the run with a triple to tie the score at 44.
The Peacocks then trailed 46-44, but four straight points gave Saint Peter's the lead back at 48-46 with 9:45 to play. Six straight by Marist but them back up four points at 52-48 at the 7:47 mark. The Peacocks then trailed 55-51, but four straight by Ffrench tied the game at 55 with 4:34 to play.
The Peacocks retook the lead, 58-57, but a 8-2 run that included six made free throws by Marist gave the Red Foxes a 65-60 lead with 39.1-seconds remaining. Marist then hit six straight free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
Ffrench was 7-13 from the field and had five rebounds and six assists. Fulton added 15 points, while Prescott scored 11 points. Anell Alexis scored 14 points and had 11 boards to lead Marist who broke a five game losing streak to the Peacocks. Saint Peter's finished the game shooting 39.3% and held Marist to 36.4%. The Peacocks were outrebounded 42-34 and let the Red Foxes score 24 second chance points.
Saint Peter's will return to action on Thursday night when they return to the Yanitelli Center to host the Canisius Colllege Golden Griffins for a 7pm tip on ESPN3.com.
