Box Score HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac defeated Saint Peter's 74-64 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Sunday.
Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) paced the Peacocks (9-16, 5-11 MAAC) with 16 points. Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]) added 15 points and 14 rebounds for his 10th double-double this season and Chris Burke (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) chipped in 12 points in the loss.
Ousmane Drame fueled the Bobcats (17-8, 12-4 MAAC) with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Zaid Hearst registered 20 points and Ike Azotam tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds in the winning effort.
Quinnipiac rebounded from a slow start to take the lead midway through the first half and then used a strong final frame en route to its first win against Saint Peter's.
With the Peacocks clinging to an 18-17 lead after a Dominique basket with 9:05 left in the half, the Bobcats went on a 12-4 run to take a 29-22 lead with 3:52 left.
Drame started the spurt with a jumper at 8:37 and Azotam scored in the lane at 7:36. After a Wyche layup, Shaq Shannon drained a triple at 5:57 for a 24-20 lead.
Elias Desport (Stockholm, Sweden/Solna Gymnasium) answered for Saint Peter's with a deep jumper at 5:05 before Drame completed the traditional 3-point play at 4:57 and Hearst nailed a jumper at 3:52 for the seven-point lead.
The Peacocks responded with five unanswered points courtesy of Dominique to trim the margin to 29-27 with 2:11 left in the stanza. Drame nailed a jumper with 1:43 on the clock to give Quinnipiac a 31-27 lead going into the locker room.
The Bobcats started the second half on a 10-3 run to take a 41-30 lead five minutes into the second half.
Quinnipiac then went on a 16-5 run while holding Saint Peter's to one field goal over a span of about seven minutes to take a 57-38 advantage with 6:33 left. Azotam had five points in this span.
The Peacocks then made a 17-6 run thanks to the aid of a full-court press to trim the margin to 61-52 with 3:30 left after a Burke trey. Burke and Wyche both had five points in this stretch. Hearst answered for the Bobcats and the Jersey City team could get no closer the rest of the way.
Saint Peter's started the game on a 12-1 spurt in the first four minutes and 26 seconds of the game.
Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Civics and Science Charter) got the scoring started with a layup 55 seconds into the contest before Burke nailed a trey at 18:24 for a quick 5-0 lead.
After Azotam made the front end of two charity tosses at 18:02, the Peacocks scored the next seven points. Welton slammed home a dunk at 17:33, Wyche nailed a trey at 16:45 and Dominique capped the run with a jumper at 15:44 for a 12-1 advantage.
Quinnipiac started the game 0-for-7 from the field, but then made eight of its next nine shots to rally to take a 17-16 lead after a Ford 3-pointer at 9:27. Drame fueled the run with six points. Dominique then gave Saint Peter's the lead one last time in the half with 9:05 left in the half, but the Bobcats closed the half by scoring 14 of the final 23 points to take the four-point margin at the break.
Quinnipiac then used a strong start to second half and never looked back to earn the victory.
The Peacocks will play three of its final four games at home.
Saint Peter's returns to action against Marist at the Yanitelli Center on Thursday night on ESPN3. Game time is 8:30 p.m. The game is the second part of an ESPN3 doubleheader. The Peacocks women's team will host Canisius at 6 p.m. Students will receive rally towels throughout the night.
