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Saint Peter's University Athletics

MBB preview 2-15
Luke Schlaifer

Men's Basketball

Men’s Basketball Looks to End Current Drought on Friday at Iona

The Peacocks travel to New Rochelle to face the three-time defending MAAC champs

Game 24
Saint Peter's (6-17, 3-8) vs. Iona (9-15, 7-6)
Date: Friday, February 15
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Hynes Center, New Rochelle, NY
LIVE STATS
ESPN+
GAME NOTES
 
Opening Words
  • Saint Peter's men's basketball travels to New Rochelle, NY for a meeting against three-time defending MAAC champion, Iona on Friday, February 15, at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
  • The game will be the only meeting between the teams this season.
  • The Peacocks are on a five-game skid, which began at the tail end of January and has continued into February.
  • Saint Peter's record heading into the contest is 3-8 in the MAAC and 6-17 overall on the season.
  • In the Peacocks' last game, the team dropped the meeting to Canisius 64-60 at home.
  • After surrendering a double-digit lead in the first half, the Peacocks fell behind by double-figures in the second half before a comeback attempt came up just short.
  • Derrick Woods led the Peacocks with a career-high 14 points.
  • Samuel Idowu followed with 11 points.
  • Woods and Idowu both grabbed a team leading six rebounds in the contest.
  • The guard duo of Davauhnte Turner and Dallas Watson followed the pair with eight points apiece.
  • The Peacocks' MAAC wins this season have come against Siena and Marist at home, and against Niagara on the road.
  • Turner has ranked top-5 in scoring in the MAAC this season and is currently fifth, averaging 16.9 points per game and ranks 11th in the conference with 2.7 assists per game.
  • In MAAC games, Turner is averaging 16.3 points per game, good for sixth in the MAAC.
  • He is followed by Idowu who is averaging 11.2 points per outing, which puts him 23rd in the MAAC.
  • Idowu leads the conference with 1.9 blocked shots per MAAC game, while ranking second in blocked shots overall with 1.8 swats per game.
  • KC Ndefo is behind Idowu, blocking 1.1 shots per game, for fourth in the MAAC.
  • Quinn Taylor is leading the Peacocks with 5.4 rebounds per outing, ranked 11th, while Idowu is averaging 5.1 rebounds per game, good for 17th in the MAAC.
 
All-Time Series with the Gaels
  • Friday's meeting between the Peacocks and Gaels will be the 120th meeting between the schools since 1946-47.
  • The Peacocks trail the Gaels 50-69 all-time and have dropped eight straight to Iona.
  • Over the past two seasons, Iona has ended Saint Peter's hopes of a MAAC title, defeating the Peacocks in consecutive MAAC semifinals.
  • The Peacocks last defeated Iona in the season finale of the 2015 season on March 1, in a 68-60 victory.
 
Iona Scout
  • The Iona Gaels enter the meeting with the Peacocks at 7-6 in the MAAC and 9-15 overall.
  • The 7-6 MAAC record puts the Gaels in a tie for fifth place with Rider.
  • Iona has won back-to-back games against Niagara and Siena after a four-game losing streak.
  • The Gaels are 5-2 at home in MAAC play.
  • Iona entered the week as the highest scoring team in the conference.
  • The Gaels have four players that are averaging better than 10 points per game and they are led by E.J. Crawford who is scoring 17.7 points per outing.
 
Up Next
  • The Peacocks return to Jersey City on Sunday, February 17 for a meeting with hOURglass Rival Rider.
  • The game will be a Coach's Cure CF contest that tips at 2 p.m.
 
Welcome to the Block Party
  • Behind the rim protection of Samuel Idowu, KC Ndefo, and Derrick Woods, Saint Peter's leads the MAAC in blocked shots, rejecting 4.9 shots per game and 4.6 shots per MAAC game.
 
Dixon Shines at Manhattan
  • Redshirt-freshman Manny Dixon scored a career-high 18 points at Manhattan (February 2), the most points by a freshman in a single game this season.
  • Dixon shot 7 for 11 from the field and went a perfect 3 of 3 from the charity stripe.
 
Rim Protector
  • Samuel Idowu swatted a career-high six shots at Rider (January 31).
  • He became the first Peacock with more than five blocked shots in a game since 2014, when former Peacock Quadir Welton '17 rejected five shots against Iona on January 26.
  • The six blocks were also just one shy of the Saint Peter's record of seven in a single game, which was set by Todd Sowell on December 9, 2005.
 
Blocking His Way into the Record Books
  • Following his six-block performance at Rider (January 31), Samuel Idowu became the fourth Saint Peter's men's basketball player to reach the 100 blocked shots plateau, also moving him into fourth place in the Peacocks Record Book for career blocked shots.
 
30 Point Night at the Falls
  • Davauhnte Turner dropped a season-high 31 points at Niagara (January 22).
  • Turner's 30-point performance was just the second of the season by any MAAC player at the time and it marked the third time in his career that he surpassed the 30-point plateau (34 vs. Rider 1/18/18, 30 vs. Marist 2/8/18).
 
63 and Under
  • Through the first five MAAC games, Saint Peter's did not allow an opponent to score more than 63 points in a game (Siena – 60, Monmouth – 61, Fairfield – 60, Marist – 63, Manhattan – 58).  
  • This was the first time since the conference's inception that Saint Peter's held each of its first five opponents to under 63 points.
  • Through the five MAAC games, the Peacocks held their opponents to a 60.4 points per game average, which was the lowest average for their opponents since the 2010-11 season through five games.
 
Best Shooting Performance of the Season  
  • In the MAAC opening win over Siena (January 3) the Peacocks posted one of their best overall shooting performance of the season.
  • The team shot a season-best 52% (26-50) from the field, logged its third best 3-point shooting outcome of the season, connecting on 42.9% (6-14) from behind the arc, and the squad shot over 70% from the free-throw line after averaging under 70% from the charity stripe in non-conference action.
 
Seeing 20/20
  • The senior duo of guard Davauhnte Turner and forward Samuel Idowu scored 23 and 20 points respectively in Saint Peter's win over Hampton (December 29).
  • This was the first time a Peacock duo scored 20 or more points in a game since Quadir Welton '17 and Nick Griffin '18 scored 23 and 21 points respectively on November 18, 2016 against Lipscomb.
 
First Three Home Games End in Overtime
  • The season's first three home games for Saint Peter's needed an extra period to determine a winner.
  • In the program's history, no Peacock team has ever played in three consecutive overtime games through the first three home games of the season.
 
Following in the Footsteps of a Scoring Legend
  • Through the first five games, Davauhnte Turner scored in double figures every game, with three 20+ point efforts, while leading the team in scoring in four out of the five games.
  • Turner's 19.4 points per game average through the season's first five games were the highest points per game average for a Saint Peter's player since Peacock legend Keydren "Kee Kee" Clark averaged 20.8 points through the first five contests of the 2005-06 season.
 
Forcing Overtime Yet Again…
  • The Peacocks forced an overtime period in the season opener and second game of the season after trailing by double digits late in the second half of both contests.
  • Against Lafayette, the team trailed by 13 points with eight minutes left and versus Delaware, the Peacocks were down by 16 points with nine and a half minutes to play.
  • This was the first time in the program's 89-year history that the team opened the season with back-to-back overtime games.  
 
Peacocks Putting up Points
  • The Peacocks poured in 93 points in the season opener against Lafayette after not hitting the 90-point plateau for almost two full years (90 points on November 18, 2016 vs. Lipscomb).  
 
Not One, But Two…
  • Cameron Jones and KC Ndefo both recorded their first career double-doubles in the season opener against Lafayette. It was the first time since 2013 that two separate Peacocks logged a double-double in the same contest.
 
Overtime Opener
  • Going into overtime in the season opener is not a common occurrence for Saint Peter's. The program last went into an extra period in the season's first game during the 1979-80 campaign.
 
New Opponents in 2018
  • The Peacocks will face five new opponents during the 2018 non-conference slate.
  • The new opponents include Delaware, Bryant, North Texas, Auburn, and Clemson.
 
MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
  • The Peacocks were selected 10th by the coaches in the preseason coaches' poll, receiving 28 votes after finishing eighth last season and making a historical run into the MAAC semifinal round of the 2018 MAAC Championship.
 
Meet the 2018-19 Squad
  • The Peacocks return two starters and eight letterwinners from last year's team, while adding six newcomers.
 
Returning Duo of Starters
  • The Peacocks return the duo of Samuel Idowu and Quinn Taylor, who both started all 32 games last season for Saint Peter's.
  • Idowu, a redshirt-senior, is the team's top returning scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker. He averaged 11.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game last season.
  • A junior, Taylor logged more minutes than any returning Peacock in 2017-18. He averaged 7.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per outing a year ago. Taylor is the squad's top returning stealer, after making 33 steals last year.
 
Returning to the Squad
  • The team returns senior Davauhnte Turner, juniors Cameron Jones and Amir Hicks, sophomore Cameron Underwood, and redshirt-freshmen duo Manny Dixon and Mikko Johnson.
  • Turner made 11 starts last season and averaged 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. He is the Peacocks' top assists returner after handing out 61 assists last year.
  • Ndiaye appeared in 31 games a year ago, with averages of 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds.
  • Jones appeared in all 32 games and made one start last season. He posted a stat line of 6.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.
  • Hicks saw action in three games last season.
  • Dixon comes into the season after sitting out in 2017-18, but the redshirt-freshman is projected to be a starter in the upcoming season.
 
Welcome to Jersey City
  • The Peacocks welcome six newcomers to Jersey City this season, which includes four freshmen and two transfers.
  • The four freshmen joining the team this year are Klay Brown, Majur Majak, KC Ndefo, and Dallas Watson.
  • The two transfers are Nazeer Bostick from Penn State and Derrick Woods from Delaware.
  • Bostick will sit out the 2018-19 season, while Woods will become eligible in the second half of the season.
 
Back Together Again
  • The Peacocks have two pairs of players who played their high school basketball together.
  • The junior combination of Cameron Jones and Derrick Woods both played at Pennsbury in Pennsylvania and the freshmen duo of Klay Brown and KC Ndefo each played at Abraham Lincoln in Brooklyn, NY.
 
New Leader of the Peacocks  
  • First year head coach Shaheen Holloway will lead the Peacocks in 2018-19.
  • Holloway brings superlative credentials to Jersey City after spending the past eight seasons as the associate head coach at his alma mater, Seton Hall, under Kevin Willard.
  • With Holloway on the sideline serving as Willard's top assistant, Seton Hall became one of the BIG EAST's premier programs, winning the 2015-16 BIG EAST Tournament title for the first time since 1993.
  • From 2016 to 2018, Seton Hall recorded three straight 20-win seasons, the first time the program had done that since 1991-93, and three straight BIG EAST seasons of 10 wins or more for the first time in program history with Holloway.
  • Holloway helped Seton Hall advance to the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons and in 2018, the Pirates won the program's first NCAA Tournament game since 2004 with him on the bench.
 
Joining Holloway on the Sideline  
Back in the MAAC
  • Holloway, Whalen, and Morton all return to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
  • Holloway and Whalen both coached at Iona previously, while Morton not only returns to the MAAC but also Saint Peter's, having served on the staff as an assistant from 2006-10
 
Seton Hall Ties
  • Holloway's staff also has deep ties to Seton Hall.
  • Holloway was a player and assistant coach for the Pirates, Whalen was an assistant coach there, Morton played for Seton Hall, and Petruzzelli worked a number of basketball clinics at the South Orange school.
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Players Mentioned

Nick Griffin

#0 Nick Griffin

G
6' 2"
Graduate Student
Manny Dixon

#5 Manny Dixon

G/F
6' 5"
Redshirt Freshman
Samuel Idowu

#23 Samuel Idowu

F
6' 7"
Senior
Mikko Johnson

#10 Mikko Johnson

G
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Cameron Jones

#25 Cameron Jones

G
6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
Quinn Taylor

#24 Quinn Taylor

G/F
6' 4"
Junior
Davauhnte Turner

#1 Davauhnte Turner

G
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
Cameron Underwood

#22 Cameron Underwood

G/F
6' 6"
Sophomore
Dallas Watson

#0 Dallas Watson

G
6' 4"
Freshman
Klay Brown

#2 Klay Brown

G
6' 4"
Freshman
Nazeer Bostick

#4 Nazeer Bostick

G
6' 4"
Junior
Majur Majak

#12 Majur Majak

C
7' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Nick Griffin

#0 Nick Griffin

6' 2"
Graduate Student
G
Manny Dixon

#5 Manny Dixon

6' 5"
Redshirt Freshman
G/F
Samuel Idowu

#23 Samuel Idowu

6' 7"
Senior
F
Mikko Johnson

#10 Mikko Johnson

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
G
Cameron Jones

#25 Cameron Jones

6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
G
Quinn Taylor

#24 Quinn Taylor

6' 4"
Junior
G/F
Davauhnte Turner

#1 Davauhnte Turner

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
G
Cameron Underwood

#22 Cameron Underwood

6' 6"
Sophomore
G/F
Dallas Watson

#0 Dallas Watson

6' 4"
Freshman
G
Klay Brown

#2 Klay Brown

6' 4"
Freshman
G
Nazeer Bostick

#4 Nazeer Bostick

6' 4"
Junior
G
Majur Majak

#12 Majur Majak

7' 1"
Freshman
C

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