Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Chazz Patterson (Brown Mills, N.J./Trenton Catholic) keyed a decisive 13-0 run in the second half and was able to find Antwon Portley (Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster) with 3.6 seconds left to help run out the clock and nip Manhattan 70-69 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday.
With the Jaspers (11-14, 8-8 MAAC) holding its largest lead at 59-54 with 6:03 left, Patterson started the decisive 13-0 run with an assist on a layup to Elisha Boone (Laurelton, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln) at 5:15 before the junior scored the next eight points on his own thanks to a trey at 4:23 to tie the game at 59, a triple at 3:46 to give the Peacocks (12-13, 10-6 MAAC) the lead for good at 62-59 and then scored in the lane at the three-minute mark. Patterson then capped the run by finding Portley open at the top of the key with 2:25 to extend the lead to 67-59.
Manhattan was able to cut the deficit to 70-69 with 3.6 seconds left after two Zane Waterman free throws. Patterson stepped up in the huddle to suggest an inbounds play and then convert it when he found Portley who was then able to find Rodney Hawkins (Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton) under the basket to allow time to run out without the Jaspers having a chance to foul before time expired.
"It was my idea to run that play in the huddle," an exuberant Patterson said of the final possession. "We knew they would face-guard us, so we figured we could get it over the top because they were double-teaming Trevis at the free throw line. I ran the baseline, made a great pass, and Antwon made a great catch."
Patterson finished the game 3-for-3 shooting from the floor, 2 of 2 from behind the arc and 3 of 5 from the charity stripe to finish the game with 11 points. All three of his shots from the field came in the 13-0 run in a span of a minute and 55 seconds. The junior added four assists on the night to help Saint Peter's win all four games on the four-game homestand.
"In the second half, my teammates were telling me to be more aggressive," said Patterson. "They had confidence in me, I had confidence in myself."
Portley powered the Peacocks with 15 points while Boone added 13 points. Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) and Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Civics and Science) had 12 points apiece in the winning effort.
"We knew we had the talent, we knew we had the pieces if we stuck together and kept working hard," said head coach John Dunne.
With the win, Saint Peter's has clinched its first non-losing league mark since 2010-11 when the team went 11-7 and won the MAAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Peacocks, who currently sit fourth in the standings, move to a full game ahead of Fairfield (9-7) and two games ahead of Manhattan in a fight for a Top-5 spot and a first round bye in the upcoming league tournament.
Waterman paced the Jaspers with 18 points while Shane Richards (16 points), Calvin Crawford (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Rich Williams (11 points) also found double figures in the loss.
In the first battle of the season between the two teams neither team gained larger than a five-point lead until Patterson powered the decisive run to end the game to help Saint Peter's end a 10-game losing streak against Manhattan.
Patterson turned the apparent Jaspers momentum after Manhattan scored five-straight points on a Waterman traditional 3-point play at 6:36 and Waterman dunk at 6:02 into a 13-0 run that the junior had a hand on each point after hitting three field goals and adding assists on the first and last bucket of the run to give the Peacocks the lead for good.
The game was far from over after Portley hit the 3-ball to put the Jersey City team up eight after Williams came down the floor with the answer of a trey of his own 17 seconds later to trim the margin to 67-62 with 2:08 left. Richards then scored in the lane to make it a one-possession game at 67-64 with 64 seconds left.
Portley answered with two free throws with 14 seconds left only to see Thomas Capuano convert a traditional 3-point play with nine seconds left to trim the margin to 69-67.
After Portley made the backend of two free throws with seven ticks remaining to reclaim a three-point edge, Waterman was fouled and made two charity tosses with 3.6 seconds left. Patterson then found Portley inbounds and Saint Peter's was able to run out the clock to preserve the victory.
Both teams took a four-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Peacocks would grab a five-point edge and a four-point margin in the final 10 minutes of the stanza, but Saint Peter's went into the locker room with a 35-34 margin.
The first 14 minutes of the second half was much the same as the first 20 minutes with the Jersey City team grabbing a 46-41 lead after a Welton dunk at 15:13 only to see the Riverdale program come back to tie and then take a five-point lead thanks to Waterman's five unanswered points. Patterson then stole the show and led the Peacocks to victory.
Saint Peter's will have a quick turnaround and will head to Quinnipiac on Thursday night for an 8 p.m. game on ESPN3.
