Box Score BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin [Delaware State]) hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Saint Peter's past Fairfield 56-55 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday.
The Peacocks (5-9, 1-4 MAAC) held a 53-51 advantage with 1:03 left after Chris Burke (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) scored on a fast-break layup. Burke then recorded a steal on a jump ball, but a Saint Peter's turnover and technical foul gave the Stags some hope. Sean Grennan made 1 of 2 at the line for the technical shots at 29.9 seconds on the clock and then the sophomore scored in the lane with 20.2 seconds left. After a missed shot from the Peacocks in the lane, Justin Jenkins made the first free throw with seven seconds left. Jenkins missed the second charity stripe and Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]) grabbed the defensive rebound. The Jersey City squad raced down the court and Washington got the ball at the top of the key and nailed the basket from behind the arc as the buzzer sounded to give Saint Peter's the decisive victory.
Jamel Fields (Albany, N.Y./Cheshire Academy [Fairfield]) paced the Peacocks with 13 points while Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) chipped in 12 points in the winning effort.
Jenkins paced Fairfield with 16 points. Marcus Gilbert and Maurice Barrow each added 10 points in the loss.
Saint Peter's was able to overcome only recording three points in a 12-minute span and came back to earn its first MAAC victory of the year in dramatic fashion. It was also the Peacocks first win at the Webster Bank Arena in the regular season under head coach John Dunne.
After the Stags outscored Saint Peter's, 17-3 over almost 12 minutes spanning the first half and second half to take a 43-26 lead, the Peacocks went on a 27-9 run to take a 53-51 advantage with 1:03 left. The run was sparked by the former Fairfield player Fields, who had all 10 of his points in this span. Wyche tied the game at 51 with 1:26 on the clock and Burke converted a fast-break opportunity to give the Peacocks their first lead of the night at 53-51 with 63 seconds left. Grennan then gave the Stags a 54-53 lead and Jenkins made 1 of 2 at the line to set up Washington's second heroic shot this season.
Fairfield jumped out to the lead from the opening tip and held it going into the locker room 31-23.
Johnson got the scoring started for the Stags with a jumper at 18:22 before Amadou Sidibe scored in the lane at 17:45 for a 4-0 edge.
Wyche answered for Saint Peter's with a 3-pointer at 16:05 to trim the margin to 4-3, but Fairfield went on a 13-6 run to grab a 17-9 advantage thanks to six points from Jenkins.
The Peacocks then scored 11 of the next 18 points to trim the margin to 24-20 with 6:46 remaining in the stanza. Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Civics, Science Charter) scored all six of his points in this span to power Saint Peter's.
The Stags scored seven of the final 10 points in the final four minutes of the first half to go into the locker room with an eight-point lead. Jenkins sparked the spurt with four points.
Washington finished the game with seven points, but notched his second decisive 3-pointer this season in the waning seconds of a contest. The junior nailed the game-winner in a thrilling 83-80 overtime win against Seton Hall on Dec. 14 with 3.3 seconds left.
Burke finished the game with eight points while Welton added six points and Dominique tallied six points and seven rebounds. It was the first time this season Dominique did not score double figures in a game this season.
Saint Peter's won three games during the 2011 MAAC Tournament to claim its third conference title at the Webster Bank Arena, but the squad was 0-7 under Dunne in the regular season in the building.
Saint Peter's returns to action against Quinnipiac on Sunday. Game time is 2:30 p.m. The game is the second half of a doubleheader and will follow the Peacocks women's basketball contest against Niagara that tips at 12 p.m. In addition, it will be Hall of Fame Day and Saint Peter's will induct Gulhan Cakcak Miller (Women's Volleyball), Yolande Doctor (Women's Basketball), Jennifer Eickhorst Reeves (Women's Soccer), Juan Gaviria (Men's Soccer), Christina Porter (Softball), Todd Sowell (Men's Basketball) and Sean Powers (Special Services) into the Hall of Fame. Former Director of Athletics Bill Stein will also be recognized as the Director of Athletics Emeritus.
