JERSEY CITY, N.J. (March 5, 2022) - In his final contest inside Run Baby Run Arena, senior KC Ndefo had a phenomenal performance with 14 points, seven rebounds, six blocks and three assists to lead the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team to a 57-41 win over Fairfield University Saturday afternoon to lock up the #2 seed in the MAAC Tournament.
As they have during the entirety of their current four-game winning streak, the Peacocks played stifling defense, holding their third straight opponent under 52 points as they closed the regular season 16-11 overall and 14-6 in MAAC play.
The 14 wins matches a program record for most wins in conference play set in both the 2019-20 and 2016-17 seasons.
Fairfield, meanwhile, drops to 14-17 overall and 8-12 in the league as both teams now enter the MAAC Tournament looking to win the title and clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Ndefo was joined in double figures in the contest by Daryl Banks III who finished with 11 points to score at least 10 points in his fifth consecutive game.
The Peacocks, who came into the contest ranked 29th in the country in scoring defense, lowered their team scoring average to 62.4 points per game.
How It Happened
- The two teams traded buckets back-and-forth throughout the majority of the first part of the opening half with the two teams tied at 11 at the under-12 timeout.
- The Peacocks were the first to create some separation, rattling off six straight points to take a 17-11 lead with 8:36 left in the half.
- After Fairfield cut the deficit back down to three at 20-17, SPU closed the half with a quick 8-2 run before the Stags nailed a 3-pointer in their final possession to make the score 28-22 heading into the break.
- Ending the second half and starting the first, Fairfield was able to string together a 9-2 rally of their own to make the score 30-28 and force the Peacocks to take a timeout with 17:04 left to play.
- Coming out of the timeout break, SPU scored 11 of the next 14 points thanks in large part to five big points from Hassan Drame to push the lead back to nine.
- Leading 43-39 with 8:51 to play, the Peacocks made sure to put the Stags away as Doug Edert hit a layup and then nailed a 3-pointer to spark a 13-0 run and ultimately seal the win.
- In the 13-0 flurry, SPU got the aforementioned five points by Edert as well as five more by Ndefo, two from Banks III and one more by Matthew Lee to push the lead to as many as 17.
- The Peacocks cruised from there, holding the Stags without a field goal for the final 8:51 of game action.
Inside the Numbers
- With six more blocks in the win, Ndefo now has 286 in his career as he is just 14 away from becoming the first player in program history to eclipse the 300-block plateau.
- The Peacocks forced 15 turnovers in the contest and took advantage of them in a big way with a 25-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
- SPU got a strong effort off the bench as they have all season with a 19-5 edge in bench points.
- Edert and freshman Clarence Rupert both finished with eight points in the contest as Edert continued his fantastic shooting from deep this season going 2 for 3 from 3-point range.
- The Peacocks shot 40.0 percent from the floor while holding the Stags to just 25.9 percent and only 18.2 percent from downtown.
- Ndefo has now scored in double figures in six of his last seven games and is averaging 11.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in MAAC contests this season.
- SPU has now locked up the #2 seed in the MAAC Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons as they look to advance to the MAAC Semifinal for the third straight season.
- Led the six from Ndefo, the Peacocks finished the game with 13 blocks as a team, the second-most they have had in a game this season (15 vs. Quinnipiac on 2/4/22).
- When holding a team under 40.0 percent from the floor this season, SPU is now 12-3.
From the Sidelines (Head Coach Shaheen Holloway)
Next Up
- The Peacocks will play at 9:30 p.m. in the MAAC Quarterfinals against the winner of #7 seed Fairfield and #10 seed Canisius.
- The winner of the quarterfinal contest will play Friday at 8:30 p.m. in the semis.
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