JERSEY CITY, NJ – On a night that fouls were the story, points at the free throw line ultimately determined the outcome as the Saint Peter's men's basketball team dropped its third straight contest, falling to Wagner College 81-77 in overtime on Wednesday night in Jersey City. Wagner scored 39 of its 81 points at the charity stripe, including 16 in the extra period.
Early Goings
- Saint Peter's jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead after a pair of free throws by Derrick Woods and a triple from Nazeer Bostick.
- The Peacocks held on to the early lead for just 1:53 before Wagner strung together eight straight points to overtake the lead.
- Saint Peter's played catch up for the remainder of the half and was able to pull within one point at the 3:09 mark after Hassan Drame nailed a three-pointer that put the Peacocks down 25-24.
- A 10-1 Wagner run to end the half would see a Saint Peter's deficit of double-figures at the break (35-25).
- Saint Peter's rally would come in the second, starting with five straight points from Woods that quickly cut a 10-point deficit in half a couple minutes in.
- Doug Edert would get going, knocking down one of his game-high five triples, while also getting fouled and converting a four-point play to bring Saint Peter's to a one possession game.
- That would be the closest the Peacocks would get for the game's next six minutes.
The Comeback
- With just under 10 minutes to play, Saint Peter's fell behind by eight (51-43), but that would be the turning point on the night.
- First, Edert converted on a fastbreak three-pointer, followed by a Bostick steal and fastbreak layup by Daryl Banks III, cutting the score to 51-48 and forcing a Seahawks timeout.
- After Wagner added two points to the board, Saint Peter's got right back to work with Edert finding freshman classmate Matthew Lee for a triple to pull within two points.
- On the other end of the floor, KC Ndefo blocked three shots over the next two defensive series, keeping the game at a single possession.
- The defensive stops would pay off when Edert connected on two free throws to tie the game at 53-53 with 6:18 remaining.
- The run would conclude at 11-2 for the Peacocks after Bostick hit a free throw, putting Saint Peter's ahead 54-53 --- the home team's first lead since 5-0.
- The teams continued to exchange haymakers and with under 30 seconds left while trailing by three, Ndefo drove to the lane, dropped in a layup, and forcing a foul (which he would convert the and-one) knotting up the game one last time in regulation at 61-61.
Extra Time
- In the extra period, the fouling misfortune picked up even more for Saint Peter's as the team committed 10 fouls in overtime and watched three players foul out of the game.
- The 10 infractions allowed Wagner to go 16-of-19 from the charity stripe and put the game out of reach for the Peacocks.
Inside the Numbers
- Despite only leading for 1:53 in the entire game, Saint Peter's won the majority of the battles, edging Wagner in both field goal and three-point field goal shooting percentages, points off of turnovers (15-10), points in the paint (22-18), bench points (42-21), and fastbreak points (27-20).
- The discrepancy on the night came at the line, where Wagner attempted 48 free throws compared to Saint Peter's 26.
- Wagner connected on 39 of their free throws, making the free throw line account for 48 percent of their points on the evening.
- For the first time this season, the Peacocks surpassed 50 points, scoring a season-best 77.
- Four Peacocks scored in double figures. Edert led the way with a career-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from behind the arc. Lee followed with his best career output of 16 points with an efficient 6-for-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 shooting from three. Woods (11 points) and Ndefo (10) points rounded out the double-digit performers.
- In his season debut, Ndefo was also the catalyst on the defensive side of the ball, producing seven rebounds, five blocks, and two steals, all of which led Saint Peter's in the game.
Next Up
- The Peacocks have 10 days before the next meaningful game.
- In the interim, the men will travel to Division II member Caldwell University for an Exhibition on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m.
