DENTON, TX – After falling behind by 19-points late in the second half, the Peacocks cut the deficit to single-digits before ultimately falling to the North Texas Mean Green, 75-66 on Saturday afternoon. Senior guard
Davauhnte Turner scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, while handing out a team-best three assists to lead Saint Peter's (1-4).
Game Notes
- For the third straight game, Saint Peter's snagged an early lead by the first media break, this time leading North Texas (8-0), 10-7 behind four made field goals in the paint.
- After a couple of ties, North Texas took its first lead over the Peacocks at 15-12.
- The lead for the Mean Green would extend to 10 points, but after a called timeout, layups by Cameron Jones and Klay Brown, and a shot clock expiring 3-pointer by Brown, the Peacocks cut the deficit back to just three.
- Moments later, Turner would find a cutting Quinn Taylor who caught a two-handed dunk to put the Peacocks down by one, 28-27.
- The 9-0 run saw the Peacocks defense force three turnovers and hold North Texas to 0-7 shooting from the field.
- By the break, the Peacocks trailed 30-27.
- Samuel Idowu's layup to start the second half gave Saint Peter's its first lead since leading 12-10.
- The contest would go back and forth until the Peacocks' final lead came at 39-38 with just over 16 minutes to play.
- North Texas rallied to put together runs of, 9-0, 16-2, and ultimately 27-7 to jump out to a 19-point lead of 65-46 with 7:50 to play leading into the under eight-minute media timeout.
- Coming out of the media break, the Peacocks responded with a 10-0 run spearheaded by its full court trap defense and four points each from Brown and Turner in the backcourt.
- During the late run, the Mean Green were held for 2:41 without a point.
- The Peacocks never got any closer than the nine-point deficit, eventually falling 75-66.
Inside the Numbers
- For the second consecutive game and third time this season, Turner led Saint Peter's in scoring and assists.
- This was also the fourth game that Turner has led the team in scoring.
- KC Ndefo was the other Peacock in double figures, scoring 13 points and grabbing a team-leading nine rebounds.
- Brown, a freshman guard, scored his first career points in the contest, totaling nine points in 19 minutes of action.
- Idowu added eight points with four rebounds in the game.
- The Mean Green had four players in double figures, led by Umoja Gibson's 16 points. Zachary Simmons (15), Ryan Woolridge (14), and Roosevelt Smart (13) were the three other North Texas players in double digits.
Coach's Quotes - Shaheen Holloway
- "I thought our team battled until the end; I'm proud of them. We should have never put ourselves in that hole. At halftime, it was a three-point game and then we went back and forth before they went on a crazy run. Our guys have to understand that a couple of bad possessions leads to that."
- "Today I wanted to slow the game down and run our sets, and I thought we were doing that. We had some inexperience out there, we took a couple of bad shots, and it led to a couple of run-outs by them and next thing you know, we are down by 19."
- "But the team battled, they played hard, they fought the entire time."
- "I'm proud of the effort, but I thought this was a game that we definitely could have won if we were healthy. I'm proud of Cam [Jones] for trying to play; he hadn't practiced the last three days, and obviously, Manny [Dixon] being out hurt. Some young guys got a chance, and I thought Klay [Brown] played decent."
- "We have to go back to the drawing board."
Up Next
- The current four-game road trip concludes at Auburn on Wednesday, November 28.
- The Peacocks and the nationally ranked Tigers will tip at 8 p.m.
