RIVERDALE, N.Y. (March 1, 2022) - For the first time since the 2010-11 season in which they won the MAAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team has now won back-to-back games by at least 20 points as they finished Tuesday night with a 73-51 victory over Manhattan College inside Draddy Gymnasium.
The Peacocks had four players score in double figures led by 13 points from Daryl Banks III to improve to 15-11 overall, 13-6 in MAAC play and back into sole possession of second place in the conference standings with one regular season game left to play.
Manhattan, meanwhile, drops to 14-14 and 7-12 in conference play as SPU held the second-leading scorer in the MAAC Jose Perez to just six points in the contest shooting 1 for 11 from the floor.
The last time the Peacocks won two straight games by 20+ points was Jan. 29 and Feb. 4, 2011 when SPU defeated Rider 80-60 and Niagara 70-47, respectively, en route to an 11-7 record in league play. In that stretch, SPU actually won three straight games by 20+, starting it off with an 85-53 win over Marist.
Joining Banks III in double figures was KC Ndefo, Fousseyni Drame and Doug Edert, all of which finished the contest with 12 points as the Peacocks shot 50.0 percent from the floor as a team.
With the win, SPU now needs a win in Saturday's contest against Fairfield and one loss from Siena versus either Niagara or Canisius to clinch the #2 seed in the MAAC Tournament.
How it Happened
- Both teams traded punches early in the opening minutes of the game with neither team leading by more than two points through the first seven minutes of game action.
- Trailing 8-6, the Jaspers rattled off seven straight points to take the lead by five at 13-8, their largest lead of the half.
- The Peacocks turned it on in the final 10 minutes of the half on both ends, but especially on the defensive side of the ball.
- Over the final 8:53 of the opening stanza, SPU held Manhattan without a made field goal and just two points overall to close the half on an 18-2 run to turn an 18-17 deficit into a 35-20 lead into the locker room.
- The second half started much like the first half ended as the Peacocks scored six straight coming out of the break to lead by 21 at 41-20.
- In total, SPU outscored the Jaspers 24-2 over nearly 11 minutes of game action to close the first half and start the second.
- Manhattan tried to climb back into the game with an 8-1 run of their own to make the score 42-28 but the Peacocks answered right back with seven straight points of their own jump started by a 3-pointer from Hassan Drame to push the edge back to 21 with 13:17 left.
- From that point on, SPU cruised to victory as the deficit never got below 17 for the remainder of the contest and ultimately ended up as a 22-point victory.
Inside the Numbers
- It is just the second conference contest this season Perez was held in single digits with the first coming in the other matchup between the Peacocks and Jaspers in Jersey City on Jan. 28.
- The Peacocks have now defeated Manhattan six consecutive times dating back to the 2019-20 season. Head Coach Shaheen Holloway is 6-2 in his career against the Jaspers.
- In the 24-2 run, SPU got seven points from Jaylen Murray, six points from Ndefo, five points by Edert, four from Banks III and two from Fousseyni Drame.
- The Peacocks were able to drive into the paint and draw a large number of fouls in the game leading to 19 points from the free throw line in the game.
- The contest marks the 15th game in the last 18 SPU has held their opponent under 70 points. The Peacocks are 14-5 in such games this season overall.
- As a team, SPU has now had 20 straight games this season with at least eight different scorers after nine found themselves in the box score in the win.
- Led by 10 paint points from Ndefo, the Peacocks held a 38-20 edge in points in the paint while also grabbing a 26-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
- Speaking of turnovers, SPU forced 20 Jasper giveaways in the game and picked up 10 steals. It is just the second time this season the Peacocks have forced at least 20 turnovers (LIU, 11/23/21).
- Ndefo was extremely efficient from the floor in the win, hitting all five shots he took from the floor while also going 2 for 3 from the line.
- The lead changed hands five times in the contest in total but never once after the 8:42 mark of the first half.
- The Peacocks, who came into the contest ranked 30th in the country in opponents' field goal percentage, held the Jaspers to just 30.9 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from 3-point range.
Postgame Interview (Head Coach Shaheen Holloway)
Next Up
- SPU closes the regular season at home Saturday when they take on Fairfield at 1:00 p.m. inside Run Baby Run Arena.
- The Peacocks will honor Ndefo for Senior Day prior to the contest.
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