Box Score ALBANY, N.Y. – Saint Peter's played a stifling defense, holding Fairfield to 22.7 percent from the field and received strong offensive outputs from sophomores Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Civics and Science Charter) and Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) to earn a 63-33 victory against Fairfield in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Opening Round on Thursday.
The 33 points allowed were the lowest point total since the team joined the MAAC in 1981-82. The squad also set a new tournament low for points allowed, breaking the 41 points to Army on Feb. 28, 1984.
Welton helped the Peacocks (15-17) close the first half with a 22-2 run with six-straight points and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Wyche beat the first-half buzzer with a kiss off the glass and then added 10 points in the second half to finish the contest with 12 points and five rebounds.
With the win, Saint Peter's advances to the MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals for the second-straight year and for the third time under head coach John Dunne. The Peacocks will met Rider in the third hOURglass Rivalry showdown of the season on Saturday night at the Times Union Center. Tip off is 5:30 p.m.
Marcus Gilbert paced the Stags (7-24) with 12 points while Tyler Nelson chipped in nine points in the loss.
Saint Peter's used a strong defense in the first half to suffocate Fairfield and then pulled away in the second half to earn its second-straight win against the Stags in the MAAC Tournament Opening Round. The two teams met for the third-straight season in the opening round. The Peacocks have won five of the last six in the series.
After Nelson scored the first five points of the game in the first four minutes and 28 seconds, Saint Peter's closed the half on a 22-2 run to go into the locker room with a 22-7 advantage.
Tyler Gaskins (Roswell, Ga./Centennial) got the Peacocks on the scoreboard with a layup at 14:25 to start an 8-0 run to take an 8-5 advantage. Marvin Dominique (Mirmar, Fla./Miramar) scored in the lane at 11:04 before Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) scored the next four points for the three-point edge with 9:39 left in the stanza.
Nelson momentarily halted the Saint Peter's run with a jumper at 9:14 to trim the margin to 8-7, but the Peacocks scored the final 14 points of the stanza.
Chazz Patterson (Brown Mills, N.J./Trenton Catholic) started the half-ending run with a dunk at 8:35 before Washington drained a jumper at 7:44. Welton then scored the next six points on a layup (5:23), two free throws (4:21) and a layup (3:40) for an 11-point advantage. Kris Rolle (Aventura, Fla./Monsignor Edward Pace) scored in the lane at 2:03 and Wyche beat the buzzer off the glass to give Saint Peter's a 22-7 advantage at the break.
In the second half with Saint Peter's holding a 27-11 advantage, the Peacocks went on a 12-0 spurt sparked by four points apiece from Rolle and Gaskins to extend the margin to 39-11 with 11:23 on the clock. The Stags would match the Peacocks the rest point for point, but the Peacocks came away with the victory.
Nelson scored all seven points for Fairfield in the first half while the rest of the team went 0-for-15 from the field. It was not until 17:26 left in the contest that someone other than Nelson scored a point or a field goal.
Gaskins added nine points while Dominique chipped in eight points. Rolle had a season-high six points on the night. All 15 players got into the game on the night and 10 players registered a point.
Rider swept the season series against Saint Peter's, taking a 68-55 decision in Lawrenceville on Jan. 10 and a 58-49 decision at the Yanitelli Center on Jan. 29. It will be the first time the two Garden State teams have tangled in the MAAC Tournament since 2010 when the Broncs defeated the Peacocks 69-57. Rider leads the series in the postseason 3-2.
