Box Score NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – A.J. English spoiled a furious comeback attempt by Saint Peter's by hitting a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to lift Iona to a 62-59 win in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday.
Jamel Fields (Albany, N.Y./Cheshire Academy [Fairfield]) recorded a steal in the waning seconds of the game and scored off the glass to tie the game at 59 to cap a rally from 11-points down in the second half. The Gaels then raced down the floor and found English open near the top left of the key for the 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left. The Peacocks attempted to inbound the ball, but was deflected and could not get a shot off before the buzzer.
Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin [Delaware State]) paced Saint Peter's (9-15, 5-10 MAAC) with 18 points. Chris Burke (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists while Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]) chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
David Laury fueled the Gaels (16-8, 13-2 MAAC) with 16 points off the bench. Mike Poole added 13 points and Tre Bowman chipped in nine points. English finished the night with seven points and his 3-ball was his only make from behind the arc in eight attempts.
Iona opened up an 11-point lead in the second half, but Peacocks made a furious comeback to even the score only see English send the Gaels to their third-straight win in the series with in heroics in the waning seconds.
Iona grabbed a 42-31 lead with 12:44 left before Saint Peter's started to chip away at the margin. With the Gaels holding a 57-49 lead with 2:18 left, the Peacocks went on a 10-2 run to even the score at 59 in the closing seconds of the game.
Dominique started the rally with two free throws at 2:18 before Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) scored in the lane with 1:33 left and Dominique scored off the glass with 35 seconds left to trim the margin to 57-55.
After English converted two free throws with 25 ticks left, Wyche answered with a layup with 12 seconds left and Fields recorded a steal and a layup to even the score at 59. Iona then raced down the floor and scored with less then a second left to end Saint Peter's two-game winning streak.
The Gaels started the game on an 8-2 run in the first five minutes of the game thanks to baskets from three different players.
The Peacocks answered with seven-straight points to take a 9-8 edge with 12:26 left in the half. Burke and Washington scored in the lane at 14:22 and 13:10, respectively, before Burke drained a trey at 12:26 for the one-point edge.
Iona then held Saint Peter's without a point for the nearly the next six minutes and went on an 8-0 run to take a 16-9 lead with 6:48 left in the half. Laury paced the Gaels with five points in that stretch.
Burke ended the Peacocks scoring drought with a trey at 6:15 to start an 11-4 run to tie the game at 20. After Poole scored in the lane at 5:58, Burke hit a jumper at 4:09. Poole answered again at 3:54, but Saint Peter's scored the next five points to square the game at 20. Washington scored in the lane at 3:09, Elias Desport (Stockholm, Sweden/Solna Gymnasium) drilled a jumper at 2:17 and Burke hit the backend of two free throws at 1:35 to tie the game at 20.
After Saint Peter's rallied from a 16-9 deficit with a 10-4 run to tie the game at 20, Poole scored consecutive baskets at 1:06 and 39.6 to give Iona a 24-20 lead. Wyche scored in the lane with 7.3 seconds left to trim the margin to 24-22 going into the locker room.
In the second half with Iona holding a 26-24 lead, the Gaels went on a 10-2 run to open up a 36-26 advantage with 14:19 left. Laury powered the run with four points. Iona extended its lead to 42-31 with 12:44 left after an Isaiah Williams 3-ball.
Saint Peter's cut the margin to four points after a Dominique layup with 7:09 left, but Gaels restored a nine-point lead thanks to seven-straight points. The Peacocks rallied again to tie the game, but came up on the short end after English's last second triple.
Saint Peter's nearly rallied from a double-digit deficit for the second time this season and win in a dramatic fashion on a Wednesday night in league play. The squad rallied from 14-point margin and Washington hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in a 56-55 win against Fairfield on Jan. 8.
The Peacocks conclude its two-game road trip at Quinnipiac on Sunday. Game time is 4 p.m.
