JERSEY CITY, NJ – The Saint Peter's College Peacocks (5-24, 4-13 MAAC) dropped a heartbreaker in their home finale tonight, 59-56 to the Niagara University Purple Eagles (13-17, 8-9). The Peacocks let a halftime lead slip away and then led 56-55 in the final two minutes, but Niagara went 4-4 from the line in the final 90 seconds to take the lead and the victory. Yvon Raymond scored 10 points to lead Saint Peter's.
Saint Peter's won the tip and took a quick lead on a triple by Lamin Fulton. Niagara scored the next five and took an 8-5 lead at the 15:34 mark. The Peacocks then went on a 21-2 run that gave them a 26-10 lead with 6:40 to play in the first half. The Purple Eagles scored the next five points to get back to within 26-17, but Saint Peter's responded with four straight, including a one handed dunk on a fast break by Chris Burke to take a 30-17 lead at the 4:01 mark.
Niagara then used a 7-1 run to get to within eight points at 31-24 with just over 90-seconds to play. Darius Conley hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left, but Niagara hit three from the charity stripe with less than two seconds to play to make the halftime score 35-27.
Fulton led Saint Peter's with eight points in the first half. Juan'ya green led all scorers with 14 points for Niagara. The Peacocks shot a blistering 57% from the field and held the Purple Eagles to just 32%. Niagara had a slim 14-13 rebounding advantage, but committed 13 turnovers while forcing eight. Saint Peter's scored 19 points off of turnovers and 20 points in the paint.
Saint Peter's extended their lead back to 10 points at 38-28 early in the second half, but a 15-0 run by Niagara gave them their largest lead at 43-38 at the 14:30 mark. The Peacocks then trailed 47-42, but used a 6-0 run, sparked by four points by Brandon Hall to take the lead back at 48-47.
Niagara then scored four straight to take the lead back at 52-48, but a 6-0 run by Saint Peter's made the score 54-52 Peacocks with 5:43 to play. The Purple Eagles took a 55-54 lead, but Conley knocked in two from the line with 2:02 to play for a 56-55 lead for the Peacocks. Niagara hit a pair from the line at 1:27 and two more with just under 17-seconds to take a 59-56 lead. The Peacocks had two shots to tie the game in the final seconds, but the shots wouldn't fall and the Peacocks dropped their sixth straight.
Raymond was 3-6 from the field with seven rebounds and two blocks. Brandon Hall added nine points. Green scored 23 points, including 12-12 from the line. The Peacocks shot 37.3% from the field and held Niagara to 25.6%. Niagara held a slim rebounding advantage 34-33 and both teams had 17 turnovers.
Saint Peter's will play their regular season finale on Sunday afternoon as they travel to face the Iona Gaels. Tip-off is slated for 5pm in New Rochelle, NY.
