LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Saint Peter's College Peacocks (4-17, 3-7 MAAC) dropped their third straight game tonight, 90-55 at the Rider University Broncs (8-14, 5-5 MAAC). The Peacocks trailed by 11 points early on in the second half, but a 12-0 run by Rider gave them a 23-point lead at the 13:23 mark that they would never relinquish. The Peacocks could only get as close as 19 points in the final 14-minutes. Yvon Raymond led Saint Peter's with 13 points.
Rider won the tip and started the game on a 7-1 run. The Peacocks got to within two at 9-7, but an 11-4 spurt by the Broncs gave them an 18-9 lead with 8:04 to play in the first half. Saint Peter's then trailed 20-12, but got to within four several times. The score was 26-22, but Rider then used a 9-2 run to end the half and went into the break with a 35-24 lead.
Chris Burke scored six points to lead the Peacocks in the first half. Novar Gadson scored seven points to lead all scorers for Rider. Saint Peter's shot just 30% from the field and allowed Rider to shoot 43.5%. The Broncs held a slight rebounding advantage 20-18, but committed 11 turnovers, while forcing just eight.
Rider came right and started the second half by scoring seven unanswered points to take a 42-24 lead. The Peacocks responded with a 9-2 run to get back to within 11 points, but the Broncs then scored 12 straight to take their largest lead at 56-33 at the 13:23 mark. Saint Peter's didn't threaten for the rest of the contest and fell by the 35-point margin.
Raymond was 6-8 from the field. Chris Prescott and Burke each added 11 points. Novar Gadson scored 13 points to lead Rider. Saint Peter's shot just 34% from the field, while Rider shot 50%. Rider controlled the boards 46-30. The Peacocks committed 16 turnovers and forced 15.
Saint Peter's will return home on Sunday afternoon for a rematch of last year's MAAC Championship Game with the Iona Gaels. The game is part of a doubleheader with the Peahens and will tip-off at 4:30pm in Jersey City.
