Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Quinnipiac defeated Saint Peter's 63-55 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday.
Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar) paced the Peacocks (9-11, 3-6 MAAC) with 13 points and nine rebounds while Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) added 12 points.
Zaid Hearst powered the Bobcats (10-8, 4-5 MAAC) with 23 points and Ousmane Drame tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds in the winning effort.
The game was a closely contested contest for most of the game until Quinnipiac pulled away in the final minutes of the game to earn a split in the season series with Saint Peter's for the second year in a row with the victory. After both teams won on their home floor in 2013-14, each team won on the road after the series started with a Peacocks 66-60 decision in Hamden 19 days ago.
After Dominique gave Saint Peter's its final lead at 42-41 with 7:13 left in the game, Justin Harris nailed a jumper at 6:40 to give the Bobcats the lead they would not relinquish. Drame then made it a three-point game at 45-42 on a jumper with 4:42 left and Harris scored in the lane with 3:57 left for a 47-42 edge.
Washington and Tyler Gaskins (Roswell, Ga./Centennial) each pulled the Peacocks within three points with 3:27 and 2:46 on the clock, but could get no closer the rest of the way.
The game started with Saint Peter's grabbing a 7-4 lead with 15:39 left and a 9-6 edge with 13:25 on the clock in the first half. Quinnipiac answered with seven-straight points to take a 13-9 edge after a Samuel Dingba tip-in midway through the first half.
The Peacocks responded with an 11-2 run to take it largest lead at 20-15. Jamel Fields (Albany, N.Y./Cheshire Academy) started the run with a traditional 3-point play at 9:28. After Drame nailed two charity tosses at 9:07, Dominique started an 8-0 run on a layup at 8:46 before Gaskins gave Saint Peter's a 17-15 edge on a triple at 8:26. Chazz Patterson (Brown Mills, N.J./Trenton Catholic) capped the run with a tret at 5:58 for a five-point lead.
With the Peacocks holding a 22-17 lead, Qunnipiac scored seven of the final nine points to go into the locker room all square at 24. Evan Conti even the score with a jumper with 69 seconds left in the half.
The first eight and a half minutes of the final frame was a seesaw battle with neither team able to grab a two-possession lead. With the game tied at 34, Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Civics and Science Charter) slammed home an offensive rebound at 11:28 and Gaskins scored in the lane for Saint Peter's largest lead in the second half at 38-34
Harris then scored in the lane on a ball that seem to hang on the rim forever before falling into the netting at 10:24 and then completed the 3-point play with a free throw. Neither team would grab larger than a one-point lead over the next five minutes before Quinnipiac used a 6-0 run to take the advantage for good and go on for the win.
Gaskins finished the game with nine points while Welton posted eight points and eight rebounds against the Bobcats after tallying 13 points and 13 rebounds in the first meeting.
Quinnipiac won the game primarily at the foul line after making 21 of 28 shots from the charity stripe compared to the Peacocks 2-for-8 effort.
Saint Peter's has played four of the five scheduled league games on Wednesday, finishing with a 1-3 record.
The Peacocks return to action at Siena on Sunday at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. Tip off is 2 p.m.
