Men's Basketball Hands Monmouth First MAAC Loss of the Season

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Jan. 14, 2021) - Returning to the court for the first time in 27 days, the Saint Peter's men's basketball team showed little rust and used a total team effort to defeat Monmouth University 67-62 Friday night inside Run Baby Run Arena and hand the Hawks their first MAAC loss of the season.

The Peacocks tied a season low with only nine turnovers and 10 different student-athletes had at least two points as they improved to 4-6 overall and 2-1 in MAAC play while Monmouth dropped to 10-4 and 2-1 in the league.

Junior Daryl Banks III led SPU with 13 points to reach double figures for the seventh time in the last eight games while KC Ndefo added 12 points and eight boards to help the Peacocks secure the win.

SPU did a large amount of damage from the free throw line down the stretch as they scored 12 of their final 14 points from the line, shooting 12 for 15 from the charity stripe in the final 4:06 of game action.

Both freshman Jaylen Murray and sophomore Oumar Diahame made their first career starts for the Peacocks and combined to score 10 points while adding nine boards in the win. 

Defensively, SPU was fantastic defending the 3-point line holding the Hawks to 3 for 13 from beyond the arc despite the fact that Monmouth came into the matchup ranked second in the league in 3-point field goal percentage.

How It Happened

• After falling behind 5-0 early, the Peacocks responded quickly with a 10-0 run of their own capped by a 3-pointer from Doug Edert to take a 10-5 edge.
• Leading 23-19, SPU extended the lead to as many as 11 in the first half after an 8-1 run that featured four points, two rebounds and a block from Diahame.
• The sophomore out of Dakar, Senegal, was not done there, however, as he tallied the final points of the first half to set a new career-high with six points in the first half alone to give the Peacocks a 33-24 lead headed into the break.
• After holding 2020-21 Second Team All-MAAC selection George Papas to just two points in the first half, the graduate student scored nine consecutive points for the Hawks to start the second half and cut the deficit down to four at 37-33.
• SPU responded immediately with back-to-back 3-pointers from Banks III to grow the lead to 12 at 45-33, the largest of the contest.
• With the score 49-38 in favor of the Peacocks, Monmouth began to claw back into the game with a 16-4 run over 5:30 of game action to make the score 53-52 with 4:29 left to play.
• SPU never allowed the Hawks to get over the hump, though, as Banks III was fouled shooting a 3-pointer on the next possession down the court and calmly stepped up and buried all three shots to push the lead back to four.
• After Papas knocked down a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left, the Peacocks found themselves with the ball leading 61-59. They turned to Ndefo who backed down a defender and drew a foul to head to the line.
• The Preseason MAAC Player of the Year did not blink, draining both foul shots to push the edge back to four.
• Trailing 64-62 with eight seconds remaining, the Hawks had no choice but to foul Banks III and send him to the line in hopes he would miss at least one.
• Banks III proved why he is the top free throw shooter in the league, though, knocking down two more free throws to seal the win.

Inside the Numbers

• Hassan Drame was a solid offensive option all night for the Peacocks with nine points and six boards, four of which came on the offensive glass.
• SPU as a whole was fantastic rebounding on the offensive end with a season-high 18 offensive boards as they outboarded Monmouth 42-37 in the contest.
• Led by Banks III's 13, the Peacocks outscored the Hawks 34-18 in bench points.
• The Peacocks also held an 18-11 edge in points off turnovers and a 12-7 advantage in second chance points.
• Playing in his first game since Dec. 3, Matthew Lee came off the bench and scored seven points while adding two rebounds and an assist.
• As a team, SPU was 20-29 from the line in the game while the Hawks were 17-24.
• The Peacocks went 7 for 20 in the game from beyond the arc while holding Monmouth to 3 for 13.
• SPU was able to win a home game against a Hawks' team that came into the contest leading the NCAA with seven road wins this season.
• The Peacocks are now 29-16 all-time against Monmouth.

Up Next

• It'll be a quick turnaround for SPU as they will travel to Lawrenceville, N.J., to take on Rider University at 2:00 p.m.

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