Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Iona defeated Saint Peter's 71-63 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Sunday.
Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]) paced the Peacocks (7-12, 3-7 MAAC) with 18 points. Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin [Delaware State]) added 13 points and Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) chipped in 11 points. Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Science and Civics Charter) registered seven points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
A.J. English paced the Gaels (11-8, 8-2 MAAC) with 18 points. Mike Poole and David Laury each had 14 points while Tre Bowman chipped in 10 points in the winning effort.
Iona jumped out to the advantage and held off a late charge from Saint Peter's for its second-straight win in the series.
After Wyche gave the Peacocks its only lead at 3-0 on a trey 20 seconds into the contest, the Gaels scored the next 10 points to take the lead for good.
Poole started the spurt with a layup at 18:17 before English scored the next five points on a 3-pointer at 17:18 and two free throws at 16:35 for a 10-3 margin.
Washington scored in the lane at 16:33, but Iona then scored the next seven points powered by four points from Poole.
With the Gaels holding a 26-17 advantage, Iona went on an 18-7 run to grab a 44-24 lead with 1:31 left in the first half. Isaiah Williams and Poole each had four points in the spurt. Chris Burke (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) nailed a trey with 1:13 on the clock to send Saint Peter's into the locker room trailing 44-27.
The game hovered between a 15-18 point lead for the Gaels in the first four minutes of the second half before English nailed a triple with 15:13 on the clock to give Iona a 55-34 margin.
The Peacocks then went on an 11-1 run to trim the margin to 56-45 with 11:18 on the clock.
Washington started the run with a 3-pointer at 14:22 before Laury scored the only points in the spurt for the Gaels on a free throw at 13:49. Saint Peter's scored the next nine points. Dominique made a jumper at 13:28 and sank two free throws at 13:06 to start the run. Jamel Fields (Albany, N.Y./Cheshire Academy [Fairfield]) scored in the lane at 11:38 and Washington scored off his own defensive rebound at 11:18 to make it an 11-point game.
Poole and Laury answered for Iona to restore a 15-point lead with 9:55 left.
With the Gaels holding a 65-50 lead, Dominique hit a jumper and Washington drilled a 3-ball to trim the margin to 65-55 with 5:26 left. English responded with two free throws at 4:26. Wyche scored four of the next six points sandwiched in between an Armand basket to keep it a 10-point game. Wyche then scored in the lane with 23 seconds left to trim the margin to 69-61, but the Peacocks could get no closer than eight points in the final seconds of the game.
Burke registered eight points and five rebounds for Saint Peter's.
After winning three-straight games, the Peacocks have lost its last three contests. It is the third time this season the squad has lost three in a row.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Friday night against Rider at the Yanitelli Center on ESPN3. Game time is 7 p.m. Peacock students will be given a free Hourglass Rivalry t-shirt at the game.
