NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. (Jan. 21, 2021) - With just 38 seconds left in the first overtime period and the score 68-67, junior Daryl Banks III was able to rise up and bury a 3-pointer from the left wing and send the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team to a 74-68 win against Niagara on the road at the Gallagher Center.
Senior KC Ndefo produced perhaps the strongest performance of his career, matching his career-best with 22 points while setting a new high with 13 rebounds as the Peacocks improved to 7-6 overall and 5-1 in MAAC play. Niagara, meanwhile, dropped to 8-9 and 3-5 in the league.
SPU has now won four straight dating back to Jan. 14 and sits in second place in the conference standings.
After back-to-back games with two points, Banks III returned to his normal offensive form with 17 points to go along with five boards and a team-high five assists in the win.
Junior Matthew Lee was sensational as well with a season-best 14 points going 3 for 6 from beyond the arc while also producing four assists and four steals.
The 5-1 start in MAAC play for the Peacocks is the best start since starting 6-1 in the 2015-16 season.
The double-double for Ndefo was his fifth of his career and the first in his senior season with the Peacocks.
How it Happened
- In a true back-and-forth battle, SPU opened the game with the first four points and held a 10-6 lead after back-to-back buckets from Ndefo.
- The Purple Eagles took control of the half from there, using a 9-0 run to take a 15-10 lead they would not relinquish the rest of the stanza.
- Trailing by six on separate occasions in the half, the Peacocks were able to keep the game within one possession thanks to a pair of threes from both Banks III and Lee late in the half.
- Trailing 32-28 with less than 10 seconds left, SPU turned to Hassan Drame who collected a beautiful pass from Banks III to lay the ball in and make the score 32-30 headed into the break.
- Much like in the first half, the second started with the Peacocks having to answer a big Niagara basket as Marcus Hammond, the league's leading scorer, drained a 3-pointer for the first points of the half to put the Purple Eagles up five.
- With the crowd starting to get into the game, the SPU did not blink, rattling off seven straight points thanks to a 3-pointer from Lee and a pair of layups from Ndefo to take a 37-35 lead for their first edge since early in the first.
- The game was basket-for-basket for the next five minutes with the Peacocks heading into the under-12 timeout holding a 42-41 edge after yet another 3-pointer from Lee.
- Coming out of the break, Niagara looked to be seizing momentum with six straight points to take a 47-42 lead with 10:20 left.
- Junior Fousseyni Drame made sure to stop the streak in its tracks, though, drawing a foul while driving to the rim and finishing the basket for the old-fashioned three-point play.
- The next possession, Lee used his active hands and was able to get a steal and convert it into a fastbreak score to knot things up at 47.
- Another Ndefo layup and a big 3-pointer from Isiah Dasher gave the Peacocks the lead by three and capped off what amounted to a 10-2 run.
- With the game tied at 54, SPU started to do damage from the free throw line as Ndefo and Banks III combined to hit four straight as a part of a 6-0 run that gave the Peacocks their largest lead of the game at 60-54.
- With the score 62-59 with less than a minute left, the Purple Eagles were able to force a turnover on the defensive end and gain possession with the shot clock turned off.
- Hammond, a 2019-20 First Team All-MAAC selection, ensured five more minutes of basketball would be played as he drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie things up with just 11 seconds left.
- The Peacocks were unable to get a shot off in their final possession and the game was sent to overtime.
- In the extra period, Banks III made perhaps one of the biggest plays of the night, drawing a charge on Hammond to send him off with his fifth personal foul.
- Trailing 66-63, the Peacocks were able to take over the extra period in the final 2:17 starting with back-to-back free throws for Banks III before Ndefo put SPU up 67-66 with a layup with 1:27 remaining.
- After a stop on the defensive end, the Peacocks drew up a play to get Banks III a look from downtown and the junior did not waste the opportunity, drilling the 3-pointer to make the score 70-66 and ultimately seal the win.
Inside the Numbers
- The Peacocks shot 43.1 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc in the win.
- Much as they have had all season, SPU got strong production off the bench with 33 bench points compared to 25 for Niagara.
- With his 14-point performance, Lee becomes the eighth different Peacock to score in double figures in a game this season.
- After pouring in a season-best 17 points last time out, Dasher was solid again offensively with eight points and going 2 for 2 from 3-point range.
- In total, the game was tied eight times and the lead changed hands nine.
- Ndefo played 33 minutes in total and was +8 in his time on the floor and had just one turnover on the night.
- SPU had 10 steals in the win to crack the double-digit steal total for the fifth time this season. Surprisingly, the Peacocks are just 2-3 in those five games with the other win coming Sunday against Rider.
- Despite an extra five-minute period, SPU allowed less than 70 points for the 10th time this season and remain atop the MAAC in scoring defense allowing 64.2 points per game.
- With four more made free throws in the win, Banks III has now connected on 27 straight free throws dating back to the contest at Providence on Nov. 27, 2021.
From the Sidelines (Head Coach Shaheen Holloway)
- "The guys showed me something tonight. Obviously, with the travel situation we had, it would've been easy to use excuses. But I didn't think our guys did that. I thought they played hard and kept fighting throughout. I was proud of them. Just a big time gutty win overall."
- "I thought KC played like the Player of the Year tonight. He was big for us, especially on boards. These last two games, he had 12 rebounds last game and then 13 tonight so he's starting to really get into the flow of the game and play strong for us.
- "I also thought Matt Lee was fantastic tonight and Daryl hit the big shot late. We ran a play to get Daryl a shot, and I have a lot of faith in all my guys to make a play when they need. It was good to see him make the play."
- "Any win in this league is a good one. Now it's time to rest our guys tomorrow and get back after it on Sunday.
Next Up
- The Peacocks will return to action Sunday when they travel to Buffalo, N.Y., to take on Canisius College for the second time in three games.
- SPU knocked off the Golden Griffins 65-57 at home on Tuesday afternoon and will be looking to sweep the regular season series for the first time since 2015-16.
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