Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Antwon Portley (Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster) and Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) combined to score 10 points in the final 63 seconds to help Saint Peter's rally past Canisius 61-57 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Sunday.
After Kassius Robertson drained a trey at 2:05 to give the Golden Griffins (11-16, 6-10 MAAC) a 52-51 lead, Portley drained a triple with 1:03 remaining to give the Peacocks (11-13, 9-6 MAAC) the lead it would not relinquish. Wyche followed with a 3-pointer of his own on Saint Peter's next possession with 23 seconds left to give the Jersey City team a five-point lead. Malcolm McMillian answered with a 3-ball of his own for Canisius with 15.6 ticks left to cut the margin to 57-55. Portley and Wyche sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 12 ticks and six seconds left, respectively.
Portley and Wyche each posted 17 points for the Peacocks while Chazz Patterson (Brown Mills, N.J./Trenton Catholic) recorded 10 points and eight rebounds in the winning effort to extend the winning streak to three games.
Phil Valenti and Jermaine Crumpton paced the Golden Griffins with 11 points and Kevin Bleeker tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
The last two times Canisius played at the Yanitelli Center Zach Lewis hit a 3-pointer dagger to give the Golden Griffins the win in the closing seconds of the contest. Saint Peter's took a page out of that playbook and dialed long distance to earn the victory and complete its first season sweep of Canisius since 2011-12.
Saint Peter's jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the first nine minutes and 46 seconds of the game powered by a pair of 3's by Portley.
The Golden Griffins came back to take a 17-15 advantage by scoring the next nine points thanks to two triples by Chris Atkinson.
The Peacocks answered with a Portley triple at 5:38 and a Paterson 3-ball at 4:38 to take a 21-17 lead on their way to a 26-22 margin going into the locker room.
Saint Peter's grabbed a five-point margin after a trey by Wyche 51 seconds into the final stanza for the Peacocks largest lead in the half. Canisius took a 39-35 edge for its largest margin with 11:33 on the clock. The two teams then traded the lead the rest of the way with neither team taking more than a 3-point advantage before Portley and Wyche keyed a 10-5 run in the final 63 seconds to secure the victory.
Elias Desport (Stockholm, Sweden/Solna Gymnasium) registered six points and eight rebounds while Rodney Hawkins (Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton) tallied six points and five boards.
The Peacocks have won three-straight for the second time this season. Saint Peter's is 11-2 at home once February hits in the last three years.
Saint Peter's returns to action when it concludes its four-game homestand against Manhattan on Wednesday. Game time is 7 p.m.
