HAMDEN, CT – It was the tale of two halves for the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team, as a sluggish second half led to a 65-60 road loss at Quinnipiac on Thursday afternoon. With the defeat, the Peacocks fell to 9-8 in the MAAC, mathematically eliminating the team's chance at a share of the regular season title, while the Bobcats improved to 7-9 in conference play.
Daryl Banks III and
KC Ndefo combined to score 29 points on the afternoon, while eight of the nine Peacocks to see action in the game scored at least three points.
The Basics
Score: Saint Peter's 60, Quinnipiac 65
Records: Saint Peter's (12-10, 9-8 MAAC) | Quinnipiac (9-11, 7-9 MAAC)
Location: People's United Center | Hamden, CT
How It Happened
- Ndefo opened the afternoon with a floater, scoring the game's first basket.
- Quinnipiac scored the next five points, taking a 5-2 lead over SPU by the first media timeout.
- The Peacocks responded with a 12-0 rally, going ahead 14-5 during a three-minute time period.
- Banks' seven points served as the catalyst of the run, which included a triple, a fast break dunk, and a layup to cap off the 12 straight points.
- The Bobcats cut into the Peacock lead (15-7), but Tarojae Brake came in off the bench and scored a quick bucket, paired with another deep ball by Banks, giving SPU its largest lead of the half at 20-9 (11 points).
- Brake would add another three-pointer, giving SPU a 25-15 advantage late in the half, the squad's last double-digit lead of the game.
- By the break, the Peacocks would hold a four-point edge, leading 33-29.
- Quinnipiac came out of the locker room with a 12-0 run, putting SPU behind 41-33, the first time trailing since 5-4.
- The sluggish half for Saint Peter's began with two turnovers and 0-for-5 shooting from the field.
- Shooting struggles continued for the Peacocks as the home team extended the second half rally to 21-4 and the lead to 50-37 with 9:32 on the clock.
- A quick 5-0 run, following a Marty Silvera triple, cut the deficit to single-digits (50-42).
- SPU eventually fell back to a 10-point hole and stayed behind by the margin until trailing 55-44 down the final stretch (3:46).
- The Peacocks still continued to battle, piecing together eight straight points over a 2 minute span led by Fousseyni Drame's four points, cutting the meeting to one-possession with 1:16 left (55-52).
- Over the game's final minute, Quinnipiac converted on 10-of-11 free throws to maintain and secure the win over Saint Peter's.
Notes
- On the offensive end, Banks (15) and Ndefo (14) were the game's leading scorers, while defensively, Banks accounted for a team-high three steals and Ndefo posted a team-leading five blocks.
- Ndefo now sits just four blocks shy of the program's all-time career mark, finishing the day with 205 career rejections.
- Matthew Lee led the unit with a trio of helpers and scored nine points, while F. Drame came up just short of a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
- Quinnipiac had a threesome of players in double-figures, led by Savion Lewis' 11 points.
- It was most certainly a tale of two halves for Saint Peter's as the team led for 15:36 and held two separate leads of 11 points in the first half, compared to trailing for 17:23 and having a deficit as large as 13 points in the second half.
- The Peacocks also shot under 20 percent from the field and from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.
- Saint Peter's will remain in fourth place on the MAAC standings and the team must win the season-finale against Quinnipiac tomorrow in order to finish the campaign in third place.
Up Next
Saint Peter's and Quinnipiac close out the regular season tomorrow at 4pm.
