3/8/2015 12:00:00 AM

Saint Peter's Men's Basketball Set To Play Manhattan In MAAC Tournament Semifinals On ESPN 3 Tonight

Box Score

ESPN 3 | PEACOCKS NETWORK AUDIO (FREE)
(Doug Sherman and Rob Kennedy call the action on ESPN 3
(Chris Radecke calls the action on MAAC.TV)

#7 SAINT PETER'S (16-17, 8-12 MAAC) VS. #3 MANHATTAN (17-13, 13-7 MAAC)
Sunday, March 8, 2015, 7 p.m.
Albany, N.Y./Times Union Center

INSIDE THE SERIES
OVERALL: Manhattan leads 75-48 overall; 48-34 in MAAC
IN RIVERDALE: Manhattan leads 23-11 (1981-present)
IN JERSEY CITY: Saint Peter's leads 19-14 (1981-present)
NEUTRAL SITES: Manhattan leads 6-5 (1981-present)
SERIES STREAK: Manhattan won 9
LAST MEETING: Manhattan 72 Saint Peter's 65 ot (1-16-15)
FIRST MEETING: Saint Peter's 38, Manhattan 34 (1922-23)
LAST SPU WIN: Saint Peter's 62, Manhattan 53 (1-23-11)

GAME 34: ITEMS OF NOTE
>> Saint Peter's advances to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals for the 16th time in 34 seasons of the league tournament.
>> The Peacocks move onto the semifinals for the second time under head coach John Dunne after defeating Rider 68-59 in the MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday.
>> The Jersey City team looks to become the second seventh seed to advance to the MAAC Tournament Championship game. Siena is the only seventh-seed to advance to the title bout in 2002. Fairfield is the only other No. 7 seed to make the semifinals, but the Stags lost to Manhattan 60-42 in the 2013 MAAC Semifinals.
>> Saint Peter's will meet Manhattan for the 12th time in the league postseason and for the second-straight season. It will also be the third time the two teams will square off in the MAAC Tournament Semifinals.
>> The Jaspers have won five of the last six in the league postseason to take a 6-5 edge in the postseason series.
>> This will be the fifth meeting at the Times Union Center in the postseason with Manhattan holding a 3-1 advantage in Albany.
>> Manhattan leads the all-time series 75-48 dating back to the 1922-23 series.
>> The Jaspers have won nine-straight in the series, including a 68-63 win in Riverdale on Jan. 9 and a 72-65 overtime decision nine days later in Jersey City on Jan. 16.
>> Saint Peter's rallied from a four-point deficit in the final minute, but Manhattan came away with the win in overtime.
>> Senior Marvin Dominique paced the Peacocks with 16 points while junior Elias Desport added 11 points and senior Desi Washington chipped in 10 points in the loss.
>> Senior Emmy Andujar powered the Jaspers with 22 points while junior Shane Richards registered 21 points.
>> Saint Peter's comes into the semifinals 16-17 after defeating second seed Rider 68-59 on Saturday.
>> The Jersey City team ended a three-game overall losing streak against the Broncs and a three-game skid in the tournament against its hOURglass Rival.
>> Washington paced the Peacocks with 22 points, including connecting on 15 of 16 from the free throw line. The senior went 10-for-10 from the charity stripe in the second half, including 8 of 8 in the final two minutes.
>> Dominique added 15 points against the Broncs.
>> Manhattan comes into the tilt 17-13 after defeating Marist 74-58 in the MAAC Quarterfinals on Saturday.
>> Andujar, an All-MAAC first-team selection, paced the Jaspers with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Richards added 18 points and junior Ashton Pankey, an All-MAAC third-team selection, registered 16 points.
>> Andujar leads the team with 16.8 and 7.6 rebounds per game.
>> The winner of Sunday's game advances to the MAAC Tournament Championship Game on Monday against the winner of No. 1 Iona-No. 4 Monmouth game. The title bout starts at 9 p.m.
>> The Peacocks split with both the Gaels and the Hawks.
>> Saint Peter's saw Iona rally from a four-point deficit with 25 seconds left to force overtime and take a 69-61 decision on Jan. 31 in New Rochelle and then the Peacocks defeated the Gaels 68-60 in the regular season finale on Mar. 1 at the Yanitelli Center.
>> Saint Peter's downed Monmouth 62-61 in overtime in West Long Branch on Jan. 14 before the Hawks earned a 63-58 victory at the Yanitelli Center on Feb. 19.

TOURNAMENT TIP
>> Sunday's game between Manhattan and Saint Peter's marks the 12th meeting in the series in the MAAC Tournament and the second-straight meeting in the postseason.
>> The Jaspers have won five of the last matchups in the postseason to take a 6-5 advantage.
>> It will be the third time the two teams have met in the MAAC Semifinals with the two teams splitting the previous two tilts. Manhattan defeated the Peacocks 83-72 on Mar. 7, 2004 and then Saint Peter's took the semifinal matchup 84-74 on Mar. 6, 2006.
>> All three semifinals will have taken place at the Times Union Center.
>> It marks the fifth meeting between the two teams in Albany with the Jaspers holding a 3-1 edge.e last five meetings will have occurred in Albany.
>> Manhattan defeated Saint Peter's 72-58 last season in the MAAC Quarterfinals.

PRIMED FOR SEVENTH IN MAAC TOURNAMENT
>> Saint Peter's is the fourth seventh seed to advance to the MAAC Tournament Semifinals.
>> The seventh seed is 1-2 in the round and 1-1 in the Times Union Center.
>> Siena is the only No. 7 seed to win the MAAC Tournament in 2002.
>> The seventh seed is 24-28 in the MAAC Tournament dating back to the 1984 season. The league did not have a seven seed in the first two years of the league or in 1990.

IN THE SEMIS
>> Saint Peter's is 7-8 in the MAAC Tournament Semifinals dating back to the 1981-82 season.
>> The Peacocks will be making its second MAAC Tournament Semifinals appearance under head coach John Dunne and the first since the 2010-11 season.
>> Saint Peter's is 3-1 in the MAAC Tournament Semifinals in Albany.

TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
>> Saint Peter's players will be playing in their first MAAC Tournament Semifinals.

BACK TO ALBANY
>> After three years in Springfield, Mass., the tournament returns to the Times Union Center in 2015 for the 16th time.
>> Saint Peter's is 13-13 in 16 trips to Albany, including MAAC titles in 1991 and 1995.
>> The Peacocks are 2-3 under head coach John Dunne at the Times Union Center in the tournament.
>> The Peacocks win against Fairfield on Thursday, ended a four-game losing streak in the tournament at the Times Union Center.
>> Saint Peter's is 3-0 at the Times Union Center this season.

LAST TIME WE MET MANHATTAN IN TOURNAMENT
>> Manhattan defeated Saint Peter's in the MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals 72-58 on Mar. 8, 2014.
>> Senior Marvin Dominique posted 14 points while Chris Burke added 12 points and senior Desi Washington chipped in 10 points.
>> Rhamel Brown powered the Jaspers with 18 points and Michael Alvarado registered 17 points.

AGAINST TOURNAMENT FIELD
>> Saint Peter's is 24-25 in the MAAC Tournament against the teams in the field.
>> The Peacocks are 3-2 against top seed Iona, 3-3 against No. 2 Rider, 3-5 against No. 3 Manhattan, 0-0 against No. 4 Monmouth, 3-2 against No. 5 Canisius, 0-0 against No. 6 Quinnipiac, 2-2 against No. 8 Siena, 2-1 against No. 9 Niagara, 6-5 against No. 10 Fairfield and 0-1 against No. 11 Marist.

IN THE MAAC TOURNAMENT
>> Saint Peter's is 30-30 all-time in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.
>> The Peacocks won the tournament in 1990-91, 1994-95 and 2010-11.
>> Saint Peter's has advanced to the MAAC Championship Game seven times in program history.

POSSIBLE TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS
>> If the Peacocks advance to the MAAC Championship Game, they will face the winner of the No. 1 Iona-No. 4 Monmouth on Monday night at 9 p.m. on national TV.
>> Saint Peter's split the regular season with the Gaels with each team winning on its home floor. Iona defeated the Peacocks 69-61 in overtime in New Rochelle on Jan. 31 and then Saint Peter's closed out the regular season with a 68-60 win against the Gaels on Mar. 1.
>> The Peacocks also split the regular season meeting with the Hawks with each team winning on the road. Saint Peter's downed Monmouth 62-61 in overtime on Jan. 14 and the Hawks earned a 63-58 victory on Feb. 19 at the Yanitelli Center.
>> Iona leads the postseason history with the Peacocks 5-3. The last two times the two teams' met in the tournament was in the MAAC Tournament Championship game in 2005-06 and 2010-11. Saint Peter's is 2-1 in the title bout against the Gaels with titles in 1990-91 and 2010-11 against Iona.
>> If the Peacocks and the Hawks it would be the first time the two teams will meet in the post season and the first time two Garden State teams would meet in the championship game.

WHAT'S TRENDING
>> Saint Peter's has won three straight for the third time this season and with a victory is looking to match a season-best four-game winning streak from earlier this season.
>> For the third time in the last two seasons the Peacocks go into a game against Manhattan on at least a three-game winning streak. In each of the last two occasions, the Jaspers ended the squad's winning streak. Last season, Saint Peter's was riding a year-best five-game winning streak going into its MAAC Quarterfinals matchup against the Jaspers last season and Manhattan won that contest 72-58 on Mar. 8, 2013. Prior to the Jan. 7 meeting with the Jaspers, the Peacocks won its season-best fourth-straight game against Marist on Jan.4 before Manhattan halted that streak with a 68-65 win in Riverdale.
>> Senior Desi Washington scored at least 15 points in the first three times he played Manhattan and averaged 16.0 points per game in those contests. Washington has become a focal point of the Jaspers defense in the last four meetings and is averaging 9.0 points per game in the last four games that including three 10-point games and a six-point contest.
>> Washington made a career-high 15 free throws against Rider in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The senior has made at least 10 free throws made in a game for the fifth time in his career. He has scored 20 points in four of the five games he has recorded the feat and the squad is 4-0 when he has made 10 freebies in a game. Washington posted his second 20-point game in four games and has registered double figures in five of his last six games. He is averaging 17.3 points per game in that stretch. The senior has scored double figures in 19 of 24 games this season. After missing eight games with a hand injury, the senior is averaging 14.3 points per game in the 22 games since returning to the team.
>> Washington needs two points to become the 20th player in program history with 1,200 points and he can also cross the 1,600-point mark for his career with eight points. The senior played his first season at Delaware State before coming to Jersey City for his last three seasons.
>> Senior Marvin Dominique, an All-MAAC second-team selection, has scored double figures in nine of his last 11 games and is averaging 13.8 points per game in that stretch. The senior has also posted at least five rebounds in seven of his last eight games. Dominique needs 27 points to reach 1,000 in a Saint Peter's uniform. The senior scored his 1,000th point in his career against Iona on Jan. 31 in New Rochelle. Saint Peter's is 11-6 this season when he scores 15 points in a tilt and 4-0 when he reaches 20 points.
>> After the success of the lineup on Senior Day against Iona on Mar. 1, the Peacocks kept their senior laden lineup for the third-straight game, giving senior Jamel Fields his this fourth start of the season and senior Kris Rolle his third-straight start.
>> Fields, who had eight points against Rider returned to his hometown of Albany for the MAAC Tournament. The senior went Albany Academy. Fields is averaging 9.0 points per game in his last four games.
>> Sophomore Trevis Wyche stuffed the stat sheet against Rider with seven points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals. The sophomore has dished out five assists for the 11th time this season and the 25th time in his career. Wyche started the first 61 games of his career, but has come off the bench in the last three contests.
>> Rolle has 48 points in his two seasons in Jersey City, but the Florida native has posted two of his best games at the Times Union Center in Albany. The senior notched a career-high nine points and five rebounds on Jan. 23, 2014 and then added six points against Fairfield on Thursday. The senior has played one minute in the Jan. 25 meeting against Siena this season, however, the senior is 6-for-7 in three games from the floor and averaging 4.0 points per game in the building.

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
>> Saint Peter's set a MAAC Tournament record for lowest point allowed in a league postseason game with the 33 points given up against Fairfield on Thursday.
>> Iona held Loyola to 39 points in the 2003 first round was the previous low. The Gaels then lost to Niagara 81-75 in the second round.
>> Saint Peter's previous low in the MAAC Tournament was 41 points against Army on Feb. 28, 1984. The Peacocks then lost to eventual MAAC Champion 59-56 in the MAAC semifinals.
>> The 33 points was also the lowest point total under head coach John Dunne, besting 39 points allowed to Marist in league play on Feb. 26, 2010. It was also the lowest overall for a Dunne's squad, surpassing the 34 points allowed to Monmouth on Nov. 17, 2009.
>> It was the lowest point total since the team joined the MAAC and the lowest point total given up 1947-48.
>> Saint Peter's allowed only seven points in the first half and only two points in the final 15 minutes and 36 seconds against Fairfield, the lowest point total for a half since 14 points against Marist in that 2010 contest.