Box Score NEWARK, N.J. – Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin [Delaware State]) drained a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to lift Saint Peter's past Seton Hall 83-80 in overtime in non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday.
Brian Oliver drilled a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game at 80 with 12.4 seconds left to set up the dramatic final seconds of the game. It could have been the second clutch shot for Oliver, who sent the game to overtime after hitting a deep trey as time expired in regulation, but Washington took the ball at the top of the key and drained his seventh basket from behind the arc with 3.3 seconds left. The Pirates (7-4) inbounded the ball and Jaren Sina tried a desperation shot from its defensive end that came up short to end a dramatic game and give the Peacocks (3-6) its first win in the series since 1995.
"We were just living in the moment and it was a heck of a game to be apart of today," said Washington.
Washington finished the game with a career-high 34 points after shooting 10-for-17 from the floor, 7 of 9 from behind the arc and 7 of 9 from the foul line. The junior also added five rebounds, two steals and an assist and marked the second time this season Saint Peter's has recorded a 30-point performance.
Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]) added 25 points and eight rebounds for the Peacocks. The junior recorded 23 of his 25 points in the final 25 minutes of the game. Freshman Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Science and Civics Charter) added 10 points and five rebounds in the winning effort.
I thought it was a really good college game, especially in the second half," said head coach John Dunne. "I'm so proud of the mental toughness of my group today."
Oliver finished the game with 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates. Sterling Gibbs added 17 points and Eugene Teague tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Seton Hall jumped out to an early lead before Saint Peter's closed the first half on a powerful run and used that momentum into the second half to lead for the majority of the frame. The Pirates then rallied from a five-point deficit with 24 seconds left in regulation to tie the game in overtime only to see Washington nail the crucial 3-pointer to help the Peacocks end a 17-game losing streak against its nearby rival.
With Seton Hall leading 57-55, Washington made one free throw at 6:49 to trim the margin to one point before Dominique nailed a jumper with 5:57 left to give Saint Peter's a 58-57 edge. Washington and Oliver then traded baskets to maintain the one-point margin.
Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) then kissed the ball off the glass for a layup with 1:44 left and Dominique scored in the lane at 1:17 for a 64-59 lead.
Gibbs answered with a layup at 1:04, but Washington converted two free throws with 24 seconds left to regain the five-point margin. Gibbs then converted a traditional 3-point play to bring Seton Hall within two points. After a missed charity toss by Saint Peter's, Gibbs went down the other side, was fouled, hurt on the play and had to leave the game. The Peacocks were able to select the foul shooter and picked Teague, who 56.6 percent free throw shooter coming into the game. The redshirt senior missed the first one and made the second one to trim the deficit to 66-65 with 10 seconds on the clock.
Washington then made a three-point game after nailing two free throws in the waning seconds. Seton Hall inbounded the ball and got it to its offensive end before calling timeout with 1.1 on the clock. Haralds Karlis threw the ball inbounds to Oliver, who nailed a deep trey from the top of the key as time expired to tie the game, send it to overtime and bring up the ghost of Eugene Harvey for Saint Peter's fans. Harvey nailed a 3-pointer as time expired in the season opener between the two teams in 2009 to give the Pirates a 53-51 win.
After an ending like that in regulation, the momentum could have swung back to Seton Hall, but the Peacocks stayed with them step for step.
Karlis started the scoring in overtime with a 3-pointer at 3:47 only to see Washington answer right back to tie the game at 71 on a 3-ball of his own 24 seconds later. Teague and Dominique traded baskets before Welton gave Saint Peter's its first lead in overtime at 1:15. Teague tied the game for the 12th time on a layup at the one-minute mark.
Washington answered again for Saint Peter's with his sixth basket from behind the arc with 42 seconds left. Oliver trimmed the margin to 78-77 on two free throws with 27.2 tick left. Dominique regained the three-point edge with two charity tosses with 25.7 on the clock. After sending the game to overtime on a 3-pointer, Oliver tied at 80 to go to overtime number two thanks to a 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds left.
Washington then went down and nailed a trey from the top of the key with 3.3 seconds left to give Saint Peter's the 83-80 victory.
The Pirates jumped out to the early lead in the game after scoring 15 of the first 23 points in the contest. Oliver nailed two triples in the first eight minutes and 35 seconds while Gibbs had four points in that span.
The Peacocks answered by ending the half on a 21-11 run to go into the locker room tied at 26. Washington had 11 of the first 15 points in this stretch to make it a five-point game with 2:49 left in the half.
Saint Peter's two freshmen starters then took over in the final 73 seconds. Welton scored in the lane at 1:13 and Wyche converted a traditional 3-point play with 45.6 seconds remaining to tie the game at 25. Wyche gave the Peacocks a 26-25 lead after making the first of two free throws at 6.3 on the clock only to see Stephane Manga tie the game with 1 of 2 at the line with six seconds left to send the game to the intermission deadlocked at 26.
Seton Hall scored five of the first eight points in the final frame to take a 31-28 lead with 18:42 on the clock. A layup by Welton and a steal and a dunk by Chris Burke (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) gave Saint Peter's a 33-31 lead with 18:01 left.
After a Teague layup at 17:33, Dominique scored off the glass and nailed a 3-ball to give the Peacocks a 38-33 lead. The Pirates answered with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 40.
The two teams then battled back and forth trading the lead until Oliver gave Seton Hall a 57-55 lead on a traditional 3-point play with 7:05 remaining. Saint Peter's then went on a 5-0 run to take the lead and held onto the lead until Oliver's trey to send the game into overtime, but the Peacocks prevailed thanks to Washington's triple with 3.3 seconds left in an 83-80 overtime victory.
It marked the first win for Saint Peter's against Seton Hall since a 61-60 win on Dec. 13, 1995, ending a 17-game losing streak against the Pirates. The game was the 85th meeting between the two teams that started in 1932-33 and a series that has been played every year since 1949-50.
Washington's 34 points and Dominique's 25 points marked the first time two Peacocks scored 20 points in the same game since Dec. 17, 2011 when Lamar Fulton and Darius Conley each posted 20-point performances against the Blackbirds.
Saint Peter's returns to action when the squad concludes its five-game road trip at Hartford on Dec. 22. Game time is 2 p.m.
