Men’s Basketball Falls to Hampton in Final Non-Conference Game

HAMPTON, VA – Saturday afternoon's back and forth affair between the Saint Peter's men's basketball team and Hampton University ended in a heartbreaking 70-67 defeat for the Peacocks in the team's final non-conference game of the season. The loss put Saint Peter's final non-conference record of the season at 3-6. 
 
What Went Down

• Saint Peter's jumped out to a 9-4 lead early on behind six straight points from starting center Derrick Woods.
• The Peacocks clinged onto a slim lead until Hampton took their first lead of the afternoon at 14-13.
• Both teams exchanged leads --- a recurring theme in the contest --- three times each and produced three ties to the tune of a 21-21 game with six minutes left in the half. 
• The Pirates broke the deadlock and went ahead 25-21, but the Peacocks responded with a triple from Daryl Banks III and a floater from Matthew Lee, retaking their final lead of the half at 27-26 with 4:02 remaining. 
• Despite the advantage, Hampton outscored Saint Peter's 8-0 down the stretch, with the Peacocks going 0-2 from the field and turning the ball over three times, leading to a 34-27 disadvantage at the break.
• Saint Peter's used a 10-2 run to go back up 37-36 to open the half, behind five points from Banks, a layup by Fousseyni Drame, and a three-pointer from Lee.
• The lead was short lived as Hampton jumped back ahead.
• Following the under 16-minute media timeout, the two teams would combine for eight ties and exchange leads 10 times. 
• With the contest deadlocked at 61-61, F. Drame scored on a layup, followed by a tip-in from KC Ndefo that gave the Peacocks a 65-61 lead with just 2:03 to go.
• Hampton climbed back to level the score at 65-65 after four made free throws. 
• Still tied with under one minute of play left, Saint Peter's had a costly turnover which the Pirates capitalized on with a fastbreak layup, to take a late 67-65 lead. 
• Another turnover by the visitors would put the home team at the line but in the Peacocks favor, only one free throw was made, still giving the Peacocks a chance. 
• With 22.0 second remaining, Hampton committed a foul on Lee to avoid a game-tying three-point attempt, where Lee knocked in both to keep the Peacocks down by a single point (68-67). 
• After another foul by Saint Peter's and a pair of charity stripe makes from Hampton, the Peacocks trailed 70-67 with 3.3 ticks to play, needing to go the length of the court. 
• Despite the challenge, Saint Peter's drew up a play that got Doug Edert a good look from the far corner but the shot missed as the buzzer sounded, leading to a heartbreaking defeat.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Banks was the offensive leader for Saint Peter's on the afternoon, scoring a team-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 shooting from three, and a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the line.
• Lee and Woods each added 10 points, with Lee handing out a team-best six assists and Woods blocking a team-leading two shots.
• Edert and Ndefo added eight points each additionally for the Peacocks.
• The seesaw match ended with 19 lead changes and 11 ties.
• Saint Peter's outscored Hampton 40-36 in the final 20 minutes --- the eighth consecutive game the team has accomplished this feat.
• The Peacocks once again controlled the front court, winning the rebound battle, 38-27 and outscoring the Pirates in the paint, 30-20.
• The discrepancy for Saint Peter's on the final stat sheet was in points off of turnovers, which Hampton won 22-9 off of 17 Peacock mishaps.

 
Up Next          

• Saint Peter's concludes the out of conference schedule for 2019.
• Conference play will tip for the Peacocks in the new year, on Friday, Jan. 3, at four-time defending MAAC champion Iona.