Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Rider took the lead midway through the second half and thwarted several Saint Peter's comeback attempts to earn a 58-49 victory in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on ESPN 3 on Thursday night.
Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Civics and Science Charter) paced the Peacocks (10-12, 4-7 MAAC) with 15 points and nine rebounds. The sophomore narrowly missed his third career double-double by one board and his career best in points by one point. It was the 11th time in his career and sixth time this season he has surpassed double figures in a game and only his third career game with 10+ points at the Yanitelli Center.
Teddy Okereafor powered the Broncs (14-8, 8-3 MAAC) with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the winning effort.
Rider took the lead midway through the second half and held off several Saint Peter's comeback attempts to earn its third-straight win in the series and earn its second-straight win at the Yanitelli Center on ESPN 3.
After Rodney Hawkins (Baltimore, Md./Mount Zion) gave the Peacocks a 37-33 with 11:40 remaining, the Broncs used a 7-0 run to take the lead for good.
Junior Fortunat started the spurt with a layup before Okereafor tied the game with a basket in the paint at 10:08. Fortunat gave Rider the lead for good on a layup with 8:54 left and then Okereafor hit free throws at 8:07 for a 41-37 lead.
After the Broncs stretched the margin to six points on two occasions, Saint Peter's went on a 7-2 run to trim the margin to one point at 49-48 with 2:35 left.
Welton started the spurt with a traditional 3-point play at 5:24. Khalil Alford made 1 of 2 at the line at 4:59 before Welton drained a jumper at 4:25 to cut the deficit to 48-46 with 4:25 left. After Matt Lopez hit 1 of 2 at the free throw line, Marvin Dominique (Miramar, Fla./Miramar) drained two freebees with 2:35 left to make it a one-point game.
Lopez then scored in the lane at 2:07 and Okerefor made the frontend of two free throws at 1:38 to restore a four-point edge at 52-48. After Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) made 1 of 2 at the line to trim the margin to 52-49 with 1:38 on the clock, an intentional foul call on the Peacocks led to a pair of charity tosses by both Shawn Valentine and Zedric Sadler and Saint Peter's could get no closer the rest of the way.
Rider started the game by scoring 18 of the first 28 points in the first 14 minutes to take an 18-10 advantage. Sadler and Anthony D'Orazio each had five points in the run.
Powered by four points from Welton, the Peacocks rolled off 11 of the next 13 points to take a 21-20 edge after a Washington jumper with 1:55 left in the half.
Okereafor scored the next five points and Washington scored in the lane to set the halftime score at 25-23 in favor of Rider.
Washington started the scoring in the second half with a 3-pointer to give Saint Peter's a 26-25 lead with 19:07 remaining. The Peacocks would grab a three-point lead after consecutive jumpers by Dominique and Tyler Gaskins (Roswell, Ga./Centennial) for a 33-30 lead with 15:11 on the clock.
After the Broncs tied the game at 33, Welton scored in the lane at 11:43 and Hawkins grabbed the offensive rebound and put-back on Welton's traditional 3-point play opportunity to give Saint Peter's a 37-33 lead. Rider then scored the next seven points thanks to Fortunat and Okerearfor to take the lead for good.
Dominique, Washington and Gaskins each finished the game with eight points. Dominique now needs 15 points to reach 1,000 points for his career while Washington has moved into 23rd place in program history with 1,058 career points.
Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) stuffed the stat sheet with five points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Peacocks return to action on Saturday at Iona. Game time is 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ESPN 3.
