NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Saint Peter's College Peacocks (5-25, 4-14 MAAC) concluded their regular season this afternoon with a 98-61 loss at the Iona College Gaels (24-6, 15-3 MAAC). The Peacocks trailed by seven early in the second half, but the Gaels then used a 31-0 run to open up a 38-point lead and never looked back. Darius Conley scored 12 points to lead Saint Peter's.
Saint Peter's won the tip and Darius Conley scored on the Peacocks first two possessions for a 4-0 lead. Iona then used an 11-4 run to take an 11-8 lead at the 15:28 mark. Saint Peter's scored to make it 11-10, but a 6-2 spurt by the Gaels gave them a 17-12 lead with 12:22 to play in the first half.
A pair of free throws by Conley cut the deficit to three, but a 9-3 run by Iona stretched their advantage to 26-17. The Peacocks scored five straight to get to within four, but a three by Momo Jones put the score at 29-22 at the 9:08 mark.
Saint Peter's then cut the deficit to three, but six straight Iona gave them a 35-28 lead at 3:51. The team traded baskets down the stretch of the first half and Iona went into the break with a 40-35 lead.
Conley had 10 points in the first half for Saint Peter's. Jones scored 16 for Iona to lead all scorers. Both teams shot over 50% from the field in the first half. The Gaels outrebounded the Peacocks 13-12 and both teams committed just six turnovers.
Iona scored eight of the 10 points in the second half and led 48-37. Saint Peter's cut the deficit down to seven at 50-43 with 15:43 to play. The Gaels then put the game into a different gear and went on a 31-0 spurt in a span of just over six minutes to take an 81-43 lead at the 9:19 mark and never looked back.
Conley was 4-4 from the field and 4-4 from the line with three rebounds. Yvon Raymond scored 11 points and Lamin Fulton added 10 points. Jones finished with 24 points, while Jermel Jenkins scored 21 off the bench. The Peacocks shot nearly 50% from the field, but allowed Iona to shoot nearly 60%. The Gaels outrebounds the Peacocks 35-23 and forced 19 turnovers, while committing 11.
Saint Peter's will head to Springfield, MA for the 2012 MAAC Championships as the ninth seed and will take on #8 Marist College on Friday night at 7:30pm at the Mass Mutual Center.
