Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin [Delaware State]) scored 18 points, including seven points in the last four minutes and 15 seconds of the game to propel Saint Peter's past Niagara 71-67 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Sunday.
With the win, coupled with the Marist 103-78 win against Quinnipiac and the Iona 97-81 victory against Rider, the Peacocks will be the No. 7 seed in the MAAC Tournament. Saint Peter's will play the 10th-seed Fairfield (7-24, 4-16 MAAC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. It will be the second-straight season the two teams will meet in the opening round. The Peacocks won both games in thrilling fashion during the regular season against the Stags. Washington hit a 3-point buzzer beater for a 56-55 win at Webster Bank Arena on Jan. 8 and then drained a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left for a 63-62 win at the Yanitelli Center on Feb. 25.
On Sunday, Washington broke a 59-all standstill with two free throws at 4:15 to help the Peacocks (13-16, 9-11 MAAC) end the game by scoring 12 of the final 16 points to earn their fourth-straight win and its five straight at the Yanitelli Center. Washington finished the game with 18 points thanks to connecting on 10 of 11 shots from the free throw line and also added three assists and three steals.
Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar [Fordham]) added 17 points while Chris Burke (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) added 12 points in his final regular season game. The senior was honored before the game and brought out the city of Willingboro, who wore shirts that said "Team Burke" for the game.
Antoine Mason fueled the Purple Eagles (6-25, 3-17 MAAC) with 20 points. Marvin Jones added 17 points and Wesley Myers chipped in 11 points in the loss.
Saint Peter's jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first half before the second half became a seesaw battle that the Peacocks won down the stretch thanks to its free throws to end the regular season on a high note.
After Mason gave Niagara its final lead at 59-57 with 4:57 left on two free throws, Saint Peter's scored the next four points to take the lead for good. Burke tied the game at 59 on a layup with 4:34 left before Washington drained two free throws 19 seconds later for a 61-59 edge.
Mason then made the first free throw and missed the second with 3:30 on the clock to make it a one-point lead. Dominique came down with the defensive rebound and Washington made 1 of 2 at the line at 3:15 to restore a two-point edge. Dominique increased the margin to four points on a layup with 2:13 left.
Jordan answered for the Purple Eagles with a layup at 1:22 to trim the margin to 64-62. After Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) hit the second of two charity tosses with 51 seconds left, Mason drilled a jumper to make it a one-point game with 20 ticks left. Washington connected on two at the line to restore a three-point lead at 67-64. Jamel Fields (Albany, N.Y./Cheshire Academy [Fairfield) increased the margin to 69-64 with two free throws with 10 seconds left.
Myers nailed a trey with six seconds left, but Washington secured the win with two free throws for the 71-67 win. Saint Peter's then had to wait an hour for the end of the Iona-Rider game to find out that it moved into the seventh seed and will face Fairfield in the tournament.
Saint Peter's jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first three minutes and 27 seconds after four different Peacocks scored. Niagara answered with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 10.
With the score tied at 16, Saint Peter's went on a 12-3 run to grab its largest lead of the game at 28-19 with 4:09 remaining. Washington powered the spurt with five points.
Niagara then closed the half on a 10-0 run sparked by five points by Myers to go into the locker room with a 29-28 edge.
The Peacocks came out of the gate in the second half on a 6-1 run to take a 34-30 lead with 18:35 left in the game. Burke nailed treys at 19:37 and 18:35 to spark the spurt.
Saint Peter's increased the lead to 44-39 with 12:27 left after a Wyche layup, but the Purple Eagles answered with a 12-4 run to grab a 51-48 margin fueled by six points from Jordan.
The Peacocks tied the game at 52 after a Dominique jumper with 7:45 left and then neither team could take larger than a two-point lead until the final 2:13 left in the game when Saint Peter's closed the game on a 14-10 run.
Wyche finished the game with seven points, five rebounds, three rebounds and two steals. Kris Rolle (Miami, Fla./Monsignor Donovan [Colby CC]) tied a career high with nine rebounds.
Thursday's game against Fairfield will be the ninth meeting in the MAAC Tournament and will battle for the second-straight season. The Stags have won five of the previous eight meetings, including a 54-47 decision last season when Fairfield closed the game on a 17-3 run to earn the victory on Mar. 8, 2013.
The winner of the game between the Peacocks and Fairfield will battle No. 2 Manhattan on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The Jaspers won both meetings against Saint Peter's during the regular season.
