Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Saint Peter's made a furious comeback attempt nearly rallying from a 12-point second half deficit, but Niagara held on for a 61-59 victory in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball opener for both teams.
The Peacocks (0-3, 0-1 MAAC) trailed by 12 points with 6:53 remaining and used an 18-5 run to take a 59-58 lead on Tyler Gaskins (Roswell, Ga./Centennial [Lawson State]) second-straight 3-pointer with 83 seconds remaining. Karonn Davis came down and drained a 3-pointer at the top of the key 11 seconds later to give the Purple Eagles (1-1, 1-0 MAAC) the lead for good. After the teams traded possessions, Chazz Patterson (Brown Mills, New Jersey/Trenton Catholic) missed a jumper and the ball went into the Niagara offensive end of the court with 2.8 seconds left. The Peacocks got the ball to Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]), who went down the lane in an attempt to dunk the ball, but could not get a shot off before the buzzer sounded and the Purple Eagles came away with the two-point victory.
Dominique paced Saint Peter's with his second-straight double-double and 14th of his career, finishing the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Gaskins (16 points) and Patterson (12 points) each finished with career-highs in the loss.
Rayvon Harris powered Niagara with 19 points while Ramone Snowden tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds in the winning effort.
The Peacocks grabbed the lead early in the contest, but Niagara took control in the final three minutes of the first half and then had to hold on for the victory in the waning minutes of the game in the earliest conference opener for either team in program history.
Trailing 19-11 with 6:47 left in the first half, Niagara used a 13-1 run to close the half and to take a 24-20 lead going into the locker room. Snowden powered the run with six points.
The Purple Eagles then used a 17-9 spurt to extend its margin to 41-29 with 13:31 remaining thanks to six points from Harris. The Niagara lead then teetered between eight and 12 points over the next seven minutes.
With the Purple Eagles holding a 53-41 lead with 6:52 on the clock, Saint Peter's went on an 18-5 run to take the lead for the final time.
Patterson started the run with a 3-pointer at 6:35 before Dominique slammed home a dunk at 5:08. After a Wesley Myers layup at 4:52, Patterson drained a 3-ball at 4:34 and Dominique converted two charity tosses at 4:09 to trim the margin to 55-51.
Harris then made 3 of 4 at the foul line to restore a 58-51 lead with 2:57 on the clock.
Dominique then hit a jumper at 2:40 before Gaskins hit a trey from each corner at 2:04 and 1:23 to hand Saint Peter's a 59-58 edge. Davis then nailed a trey at 1:12 to give Niagara the lead for good.
The game started out in the Peacocks favor. With the tilt tied at 9, Saint Peter's used a 10-0 run to grab a 17-9 lead midway through the first half. Dominique had four points during this stretch.
The Purple Eagles would then close the half on a 15-3 run and use a 32-12 surge to take a 12-point lead in the second half and then held on for the victory.
Saint Peter's has trailed by double figures in each of its first three games and have nearly rallied for the Florida State football esque rally in the last two games. The Peacocks fell at Hartford 51-50 on Sunday and had a couple chances to win the game in the closing minutes.
Saint Peter's opens the home slate with a loss for the second-straight year and it also ends a five-game winning streak at the Yanitelli Center dating back to last year.
The Peacocks return to action when they start the Barclays Classic on Saturday at La Salle. Game time is 12:30 p.m. The Barclays Classic is an eight-team tournament that consists of eight teams, but Saint Peter's will not have a contest at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. After the game against the Explorers, the team travels to Rutgers on Tuesday before hosting Tennessee State, Norfolk State and St. Francis Brooklyn in a two-day tournament on Nov. 28-29.
