ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (March 11, 2022) - For the first time since the 2010-11 season, the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team has clinched a spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship game after defeating Quinnipiac University 64-52 in the semifinal Friday night inside Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
The Peacocks played stifling defense down the stretch, holding the Bobcats to just five second half field goals and pushed their win streak to six games, the longest since the 2016-17 season, as they advance to take on Monmouth University in the title contest Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
Junior Matthew Lee led the way offensively for SPU with 14 points while senior KC Ndefo added 13 points to go along with seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
SPU improved its overall record to 18-11 in the win as they look to win the conference crown and clinch an auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 season and the fourth time in program history.
The Peacocks also won their fifth straight game by double digits which is also the longest such streak since the 2016-17 campaign that saw SPU win the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
How it Happened
- After trading buckets early on, the Bobcats were the first to create separation in the contest after Matt Balanc knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the score to 15-7 in favor of QU with 13:38 left in the first half.
- Trailing 21-15, the Peacocks were able to fight back and take the lead for the first time in the game thanks to an 8-1 run fueled by an old-fashioned three-point play from Fousseyni Drame and a more traditional 3-pointer from Lee to push the score to 23-22.
- The two teams would go back-and-forth for the remainder of the half with the lead changing hands four times in the final 6:26 of the period, ultimately ending in a 31-30 advantage for the Bobcats.
- Coming out of the break, SPU turned up the intensity on both ends of the floor as they started the half on a 9-0 run highlighted by a 3-pointer from Doug Edert and four more points by Ndefo.
- With the score 45-39 with 10:14 left, F. Drame knocked down a driving layup and Jaylen Murray nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with the shot clock winding down to give the Peacocks their first double-digit lead of the game at 50-39.
- Quinnipiac did not go away quietly, however, as an 8-2 run brought the deficit back to within five at 52-47 with 4:18 left to play.
- Down the stretch, the Peacocks turned to Ndefo at both ends.
- In the span of less than 1:15 of game action, the three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year blocked a shot by Kevin Marfo, hit a putback layup on the offensive end and blocked another shot at the defensive end to give the Peacocks the ball and a seven-point lead with less than a minute to play.
- Edert, Lee and Banks III all nailed a pair of free throws down the stretch to seal the 64-52 victory.
Inside the Numbers
- After coming into the contest ranked 16th in the country in opponents' field goal percentage, SPU held Quinnipiac to just 33.3% from the floor to lower their season average to 38.8% which is now the 12th-best mark in the NCAA.
- The Peacocks were able to get out in transition for easy baskets throughout the night, holding a 15-2 edge in fastbreak points.
- Edert joined Lee and Ndefo in double figures with 10 points of his own and was extremely effective in his 28 minutes on the floor, leading the team with a +16 +/-.
- With three more blocks in the win, Ndefo now has 292 rejections in his collegiate career as he continues his quest to reach the 300-block milestone.
- As a team, SPU turned the ball over just 10 times to improve their record to 8-2 when turning the ball over 12 times or less.
- The Peacocks finished the contest with 12 steals, just one shy of a season-high set against Rider on Jan. 16.
- As has been the case all season, the SPU bench players stepped up outscoring the Quinnipiac bench 22-7.
- Defensively, the Peacocks held Bobcat sharpshooter Jacob Rigoni, who came into the contest coming off back-to-back games with at least 16 points, to just five points and zero made field goals.
- SPU also held the potent 3-point shooting of the Quinnipiac offense to 25.0% from downtown, nearly 10 percentage points lower than their season average.
- Down the stretch all season the Peacocks have been phenomenal at closing out games, improving their record to 17-1 when leading with 2:00 left in regulation.
- The only other time the Peacocks have faced off with the Hawks of Monmouth in the MAAC Tournament was in the opening round of the 2017-18 tournament when SPU took home a narrow 60-58 win.
- It is the eighth appearance SPU will make in the title game since the inception of the MAAC in 1982 as they look to win their fourth overall league title.
Postgame Press Conference (Head Coach Shaheen Holloway, Matthew Lee and KC Ndefo)
Next Up
- The Peacocks will now face off against the #4 seeded Monmouth Hawks with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line. SPU took down Monmouth twice in the regular season, winning 67-62 in the first meeting in Jersey City and 65-60 in the second contest in West Long Branch.
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