ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (March 12, 2022) - Led by another dominant defensive effort and clutch shooting down the stretch, the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team took down Monmouth University 60-54 Saturday to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship for the first time since the 2010-11 season and the fourth time in program history.
Senior KC Ndefo, who was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year earlier this season, was named the Tournament MVP after finishing the title game with seven points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots and two assists.
Juniors Doug Edert and Matthew Lee both also earned spots on the MAAC All-Tournament team.
Edert scored 10 of the Peacocks' final 12 points of the contest and finished 20 points in the championship to lead all scorers. The junior out of Nutley, N.J., hit the biggest shot of the game with 46 seconds left when he rose up and buried a 3-pointer to grow the Peacock lead from two to five. He would go on to knock down five free throws down the stretch to be named the Tournament game MVP.
Lee, meanwhile, chipped in eight points shooting 50% from the floor and ended the tournament averaging 10.3 points per game across the three contests.
As it has been all season, the Peacocks defense was suffocating throughout as they held the Hawks to just 23.5 percent from the floor and 15.8 percent from 3-point range. One night after limiting Quinnipiac to five made field goals in the second half, SPU one-upped themselves as they allowed just four made baskets against Monmouth in the title contest.
SPU has now won seven straight contests to close out the regular season and MAAC Tournament and have clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010-11.
How It Happened
- Both teams struggled offensively to start out, with neither team getting on the board in the first two minutes of game action.
- The Hawks struck first scoring the initial six points of the game to take the early edge.
- Trailing 11-5, the Peacocks were able to weather the early storm and take the lead for the first time using a 12-1 run that featured a Daryl Banks III four-point play, strong finishes from Jaylen Murray, Fousseyni Drame and Edert and a pair of free throws by Hassan Drame to take a 17-12 lead.
- The Hawks answered right back with a 9-2 run of their own to re-take the lead at 21-19.
- With the score 23-22, Isiah Dasher stepped up for his championship moment, knocking down a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer that was followed by a layup from Ndefo to give the Peacocks seven straight points.
- Monmouth hit a bucket on their penultimate possession of the first half and the two teams went to break with a score of 29-24 in favor of SPU.
- The second period started off with a bang as Banks III produced another four-point play to start things off and swell the lead from four to nine less than two minutes in.
- With the score 39-31, the Hawks showed fight once again with six straight points to cut the deficit down to two with 12:54 left to play.
- Monmouth would eventually bring it within one at 45-44 after a made free throw with 5:51 left and the two teams would go down the stretch nearly dead even.
- Leading 50-49 with 3:21 to play, Edert drove into the lane and drew a foul on a shot to head to the line. The best free throw shooter in the MAAC buried a pair of free throws to grow the lead back to three.
- After a free throw, the Peacocks found themselves with the ball up two with less than a minute left.
- As they have throughout the season when needing a big shot, SPU turned to Edert who came off a screen at the right wing and buried a 3-pointer with 46 ticks left on the clock to make the score 55-50.
- The next possession down the court, the Peacocks forced a turnover and Monmouth was forced to foul Edert once again to preserve time on the clock.
- The MAAC Championship game MVP knocked down two and hit another one possession later to ultimately seal a 60-54 win.
Postgame Press Conference (Head Coach Shaheen Holloway, Doug Edert, Matthew Lee, KC Ndefo)
Inside the Numbers
- The Peacocks defensive effort was another in a string of dominant games as they held their seventh straight opponent under 70 points. SPU is now allowing just 61.8 points per game, good for the 19th-best mark in the country.
- Also on the defensive end, SPU is now holding opponents to just 38.3 percent from the floor which is the sixth-best in the NCAA.
- Edert tallied 20 points for the second time this season and finished one shy of his season-high 21 he had on Jan. 30 against Iona.
- In the tournament as a whole, Ndefo averaged 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game to earn MVP honors. The three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year now has 296 career blocks as he looks to become the first player in program history to reach 300 blocks in a career.
- Fousseyni Drame did a ton of work on the glass for SPU with 10 boards while chipping in four points and a blocked shot.
- Led by Edert's 20, the Peacocks outscored Monmouth 31-8 in bench points in the win.
- SPU won the game despite being outrebounded 40-36. The Hawks pulled down 16 offensive boards in the game but it only led to an 11-10 advantage in second-chance points.
- The Peacocks held a 52-49 lead at the two-minute mark and are now 18-1 when leading with 2:00 left in regulation.
- The seven straight wins matches the longest since the 2016-17 season for the Peacocks when they won the CIT Tournament crown.
Next Up
- SPU now awaits their fate on selection Sunday as they are headed to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be broadcast nationally on CBS at 6:00 p.m. Sunday night.
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