JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Harford scored the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds left to nip Saint Peter's 67-66 in non-conference men's basketball action on Thursday.
After
Elias Desport (Stockholm, Sweden/Solna Gymnasium) gave the Peacocks (1-2) a 66-64 lead on two free throws with 15 seconds left, Justin Graham nailed a trey at the top of the key with two seconds left to give the Hawks (2-2) a 67-66 lead. Desport threw the ball to the Saint Peter's offensive side of the floor, but
Rodney Hawkins' (Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton's) shot was no good to give Hartford the win in the waning seconds for the second-straight year.
Chazz Patterson (Brown Mills, N.J./Trenton Catholic) posted 16 points for the second-straight game to pace the Peacocks.
Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Civics and Science Charter) registered his second-straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Desport and Hawkins each chipped in 10 points in the loss.
Graham powered the Hawks with 22 points while George Blagojevic (12 points), Pancake Thomas (10 points) and John Carroll (10 points) each also found double figures in the winning effort.
It was déjà vu all over again in the meeting between Saint Peter's and Hartford only this time the heroics took place in Jersey City. Last season after a Hawks turnover with three seconds left, the Peacocks had a chance to win, but missed the shot and fell 51-50 in West Hartford.
Saint Peter's held the lead for most of the game, but Hartford used a 12-0 run in the second half to erase a 52-44 deficit to take a 56-52 edge with 6:27 left. The run was a spurt of four 3-pointers powered by two from Blagojevic.
The Peacocks rallied to tie the game at 58 after Welton made the second of two free throws with 2:58 left.
Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) hit two free throws and Thomas scored in the lane before Wyche did one of his trademark layup moves to restore a two-point lead for Saint Peter's at 62-60 with 2:08 on the clock.
Thomas hit 1 of 2 at the line to trim the margin to one point before Graham nailed a trey at 1:28 to give Hartford a 64-62 edge. Desport scored in the lane 25 seconds later to even the game at 64 and then stole the ball in the backcourt and was fouled. The senior made both free throws with 15 seconds left, but Graham hit his second trey in 61 seconds to give Hartford the victory.
Saint Peter's jumped out to a 23-13 lead in the first half and extended it to 40-28 with 2:40 left in the stanza after a Welton jumper. Patterson fueled the Peacocks in the first half with 14 points.
After going into the locker room with a 40-31 lead, Saint Peter's had its lead trimmed to four points twice, but it was not until the four treys in a row run did the Hawks take the lead. The two teams then battled back and forth in the final eight minutes with Hartford earning the win.
Wyche finished the game with four points, four rebounds and eight assists. The Jersey City team had four players in double figures for the second game in a row.
The Peacocks lost a heartbreaker for the second-straight game after falling 87-86 in overtime to Lafayette on Sunday. It marks the second-consecutive season the squad has lost two games in its first three contests by two points or less.
Saint Peter's starts a three-game New Jersey road trip at Princeton on Saturday. Game time is 9 p.m. and will be played at Dillon Gym. It will be the first game at the venue in nearly four decades and there are no tickets available at the door. The teams will also use the game as a Coaches Vs. Cancer game to raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society.
