Box Score HAMDEN, CT – The Saint Peter's men's basketball dominated Quinnipiac University from whistle to whistle in Hamden, CT on ESPN3 Thursday night, earning a 76-45 30-point blowout win. The win ends a three-game skid for the Peacocks and gives the team their first season sweep over Quinnipiac since the Bobcats joined the MAAC in 2013-14. Saint Peter's improves their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) record to 9-6 on the season and 13-12 overall. The 31-point win, is the largest for the team this season and the biggest scoring margin for the Peacocks since the team defeated Fairfield, 63-33, on March 5, 2015.
Four Peacocks scored in double figures, with Samuel Idowu (Brooklyn, NY/Lafayette Educational Complex), Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, PA / Math, Civics and Science Charter), and Trevis Wyche (Neptune, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) each scoring game-highs of 14 points, and Cavon Baker (Queens, NY / New Hope Academy [Md.] (Houston)) followed behind with 12 points. Nnamdi Enechionyia (Springfield, VA/St. James School (Samford)) and Antwon Portley (Lancaster, TX/Lancaster) each added eight points to the board for the Peacocks.
"You never expect to shoot the ball that well," said head coach John Dunne. "We've had a few games like this where we have started really well and it has given us a lot of confidence. Really we were just emphasizing defense the last couple of days because we felt like the last few games we haven't brought our defense intensity enough. The team enjoyed themselves the last 10 minutes of this game and we've had three heartbreaking losses the last three games so they deserved this."
Despite missing three early layups, the Peacocks took a 6-4 lead into the first media timeout (15:55), with Welton leading the way with four early points. After the media timeout, the Peacocks lit a shooting torch, which sparked a 17-2 run powered by Idowu's 11 points on 4-4 shooting from the field and 3-3 shooting from long range, which led to a 25-8 Peacock lead with 11:04 on the clock. Quinnipiac slowly cut into the Peacock lead, getting the score to 34-21 before Baker put down a monster slam-dunk, extending the lead to 36-21 with five minutes on the clock. Just before the break, Wyche hit a deep three and scored a layup giving the Peacocks a 44-23 halftime lead. The Peacocks shot 61.5 percent from behind the arc (8-13) in the first half, matching their season high of most made three-pointers in a single half (hit eight at Iona on 1/29).
Both teams opened the second half exchanging baskets, scoring six points each, with the Peacocks holding onto the 21 point lead (50-29), four minutes into the half. After Quinnipiac added a free throw to the score, the Peacocks went on a scoring tear, with the lead growing to 37 points over the Bobcats behind a 19-2 run, making it a 69-32 blowout with seven minutes left in the game. Baker (eight points), Enechionyia (five points), and Welton (four points) combined to score 17 of the 19 points during the run. Quinnipiac closed out the game outscoring the Peacocks 15-7, to end the game at 76-45.
Saint Peter's shot 31-60 (51.7%) from the field and 9-18 (50%) from three-point range on the night, while holding Quinnipiac to under 30 percent from the field and under 25 percent from long range. The Peacocks scored 22 points off of 18 forced turnovers and only turned the ball over eight times on the night. No Bobcat scored in double digits in the game.
The Peacocks finish up the two-game road trip at Manhattan on Sunday, February 12 at 6p.m.
