Men's Basketball Travels to New Rochelle to Take on Iona

The Particulars
Saint Peter's (9-7, 7-2 MAAC) vs. Iona (17-3, 9-0 MAAC)
Date: Sunday, Jan. 30, 2021 (1:00 PM)
Location: Hynes Athletic Center
Network: ESPN3

Tip-Off

• Coming off their sixth win in the last seven games, the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team travels to New Rochelle, N.Y., to take on Iona College in a matchup of the top two teams in the MAAC standings.
• The Peacocks are coming off a convincing 77-51 win at home Friday night over Manhattan College while the Gaels defeated Siena 74-57 on Tuesday inside the Hynes Athletic Center.

Looking Back at Manhattan

• Fueled by 52 points off the bench and a 53.6 team shooting percentage, SPU earned a dominant 77-51 win over Manhattan Friday night.
• Freshmen Jaylen Murray and Clarence Rupert both set new career-highs with 14 and 13 points, respectively, as the Peacocks won for the sixth time in their last seven games.
• Junior Doug Edert also finished in double figures with 10 points off the bench as the Peacocks scored the most bench points in a single game since scoring 54 in a win over Rider on Feb. 23, 2020. In that game, Edert also came off the bench and finished with a career-high 28 points.
• SPU led wire-to-wire in the game, scoring the first three points of the game on a 3-pointer by KC Ndefo. 
• The score was tied just once at 6-6 and the Peacocks led by as many as 30 points before ultimately winning by the 26-point margin. It is the largest margin of victory for the Peacocks in a MAAC game since a 26-point victory over Marist on Jan. 5, 2021.
• Defensively, SPU held the Jaspers to their lowest point total of the year and held Jose Perez, the MAAC's leading scorer coming into the game, to just six points before he was ejected just under 12 minutes into the game.
• The Peacocks also got nine points apiece from Ndefo, Daryl Banks III and Isiah Dasher in a total team win where nine different players scored at least two points.

The Series

• All-time: Iona leads 71-53
• Streak: Saint Peter's (3)
• Last Saint Peter's Win: 3/11/2020 (W, 56-54 @ MAAC Tournament)
• Last Iona Win: 3/8/2019 (L, 73-71 @ MAAC Tournament)

Quick Team Notes

• After nearly a month between games from Dec. 18 to Jan. 14, the Peacocks have gone 6-1 in the 2022 calendar year to move to 7-2 in MAAC play and vault into second place in the MAAC.
• Ndefo, the two-time reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, heads into the contest averaging 11.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.9 blocks per game in MAAC games this season.
• Banks III leads the Peacocks offensively averaging 11.4 points per game this season. Banks III has scored in double figures 10 times on the year including a 16-point performance in Wednesday's win over Marist.
• Junior Fousseyni Drame is the team's leading rebounder, sitting fifth in the MAAC with 6.9 boards per game. Drame averages 7.7 points per game and is shooting 51.7 percent from the floor this season.
• SPU heads into the contest with one of the top defenses in the MAAC, leading the conference and ranking 42nd in the country in scoring defense.

Shot BlocKing

• The 2021-22 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, Ndefo swatted two more shots in the win over Manhattan to stretch his program-best career total to 248, good for the fifth most among active players in DI.
• Ndefo leads the MAAC and is 40th in the country with 2.12 blocked shots per game this season. 
• He currently sits just 27 points away from becoming the second player in program history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocks in a career.

Money from the Stripe

• Banks III is leading the conference and ranked ninth in the country in free throw percentage at 91.7 percent.
• From Nov. 27 to Jan. 26, Banks III made 34 straight free throws which is currently the fourth-longest streak in Division I this season.
• Edert, meanwhile, is second in the MAAC shooting 87.5 percent from the line this season. He has missed just five free throws this season.

Defense Wins Championships

• The Peacocks have allowed under 70 points in nine straight games and hold a 7-2 record in those contests.
• SPU also leads the MAAC in turnovers forced per game and steals per game while sitting second in opponents' field goal percentage and blocked shots per game.

Balancing Act

• The Peacocks have been one of the most balanced groups in the country this season and have had nine consecutive games with at least eight different scorers.
• Offensively, nine different players have scored in double figures in a game this season.
• Of the 12 student-athletes who have seen action in a game this season, 11 have at least one start.

Getting the Gritty on the Gaels

• Iona comes into the contest as the top team in the MAAC with a 17-3 overall record and a 9-0 mark in conference play this season.
• The Gaels have won six straight heading into the contest, winning those six games by an average of 12.0 points per game.
• Graduate student Tyson Jolly is the leading scorer for Iona, averaging 14.9 points per game. Jolly ranks third in the MAAC shooting 46.5 percent from the floor this season.
• Sophomore Nelly Joseph and graduate student Elijah Joiner join Jolly in double figures as they score 13.6 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. 
• Joseph is the top rebounder for the Gaels, averaging 8.2 boards per game. He leads the conference and ranks seventh in the country with 3.7 offensive rebounds per contest.
• As a team, Iona leads the league in a number of statistical categories including scoring offense, assists per game and blocked shots per game.
• The Gaels are able to do a ton of damage from the free throw line as they lead all Division I teams with 479 free throw attempts this season.
• Despite going to the line more than any team in the country, Iona ranks 10th in the MAAC in free throw percentage shooting just 69.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Up Next

• The Peacocks will be back in action Friday night to kick off a string of four consecutive games at home inside Run Baby Run Arena against Quinnipiac.
• The game will be broadcasted nationally on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. as SPU will be featured on a linear network in a home game for the first time since 2011.

-- 

For continuing coverage of Saint Peter's University Athletics, visit SaintPetersPeacocks.com and follow the Peacocks on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.