RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Saint Peter’s lost first place in the MAAC with a loss to then-last-ranked Rider on Sunday. The Peacocks were determined not to let things get out of hand.
Bashir Mason’s team improved to 10-3 in conference play with an 80-75 victory over Manhattan on Thursday night at Draddy Arena. This is the program’s first 10-3 record in 13 MAAC games since the 2003-04 season. The win also marked St. Petersburg’s highest-scoring performance in the league and its most efficient performance of the season, scoring 1.28 points per possession.
advertise
It’s all about flushing it out on Monday.
“Monday’s filming was tough,” Mason said. “We just kept going from there. We missed a great opportunity. The guys understood that and we just turned our attention to tonight.”
St. Peter’s University was fully focused on preparing for the Jaspers team and was full of energy on both sides of the ball. The Peacocks didn’t score a point until after the first (exact) media timeout and jumped out to a 23-6 lead early in the game.
Zakir Williamson and Brent Brand anchored the team’s strong start, while Elijah Perkins returned after missing two games and performed well.
advertise
“I thought our defense, our connection on the field, I thought it was at a high level,” Mason said of the game’s first ten minutes. “I thought our execution was offensive, they got into the zone, man, switch it up, it looked like our guys knew what they were going to do when we found our looks.”
On the other bench, Manhattan coach John Gallagher said it was time to make some changes.
“We have to see how our lineup starts the game,” Gallagher said. “We’re going to change the starting lineup. I don’t know what’s going to happen on Saturday, but we’re going to completely destroy this lineup and see if we can get some energy and points to start the game.”
Bryce Eaton scored 21 points for the Peacocks. This is his first return to the starting lineup after two games as a substitute.
advertise
He started off the bench against Mount last week and performed well, playing 26 minutes with 10 points and six assists, but on Thursday, he surpassed his MAAC season high in points.
“Bryce was a preseason second-team all-conference selection,” Mason said. “He made some stupid mistakes in that Cavaliers game. We don’t talk about it too much, but I felt like today was a bounce-back game for him.”
The Peacocks led by three with 90 seconds left, finishing closest to St. Peter’s.
First, Lucas Scroggins did the dirty work on the offensive glass and SPU took the lead in the MAAC, extending its lead to two possessions. Perkins then blocked Jaden Winston in the backfield, ultimately forcing a controversial ten-second violation.
advertise
Finally, Perkins cut in from the baseline and received an alley-oop pass from Eaton to seal the victory.
If there’s a trifecta that can explain a program, it’s this one.
“You know this (that’s what St. Peter’s basketball is about) better than our players do,” Mason said. “But when they got the 10-second call, you saw their excitement. We had energy and spirit because we wanted to play until the clock hit zero, and we did.”
The Peacocks were ranked 11th out of 13 teams in the MAAC preseason poll and 10th in my original preseason power rankings. If Mason can keep St. Peter’s in the title game down the stretch of the season, he’ll have a hard time competing for MAAC Coach of the Year honors.
advertise
So what impressed Gallagher most about SPU?
“They just find a way to win,” he said. “Finding ways to win in a different way every night. There’s a lot of guys stepping up for them. You can really see the change from last year to this year. They’re just more connected.”
Mason couldn’t help but say his team saw the tweets.
He saw me tweeting about the Peacocks’ remaining schedule and their record at home (7-0) vs. away (2-3) in MAAC play after losing to the Riders.
“We saw your tweet saying our schedule was the 1st (actually 2nd) toughest in the conference,” Mason told me. “Five of the eight games are on the road and we just want to show you guys that we can win on the road.”
advertise
——
Other MAAC games
Fairfield 92, Sacred Heart 87: Fairfield turned the competition in its favor after losing all three games against crosstown rival Sacred Heart last season. Brandon Benjamin scored a career-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting and earned his sixth KenPom MVP of the season. This was a game where neither team could defend the other, but the Trail Blazers didn’t have enough strength to complete the final reversal. The Bucs are 7-3 since starting 0-4 in MAAC play and have now won back-to-back road games against Sacred Heart and Iona. A big home game awaits us on Saturday against Marist. Sacred Heart, meanwhile, is on a losing streak after five straight wins, falling to 6-8.
Siena 79, Iona 72: In front of a national television audience on ESPNU, Gerry McNamara’s Saints won their sixth straight game, again scoring 1.2 points per possession. Siena continued to absolutely dominate the paint, shooting 66% from the three-point line, while the Gaels shot 47%. Iona led by ten before halftime, but Shorts hit a power-play shot at the buzzer to cut the deficit to seven, and Siena built on that. Gavin Doty, the likely MAAC Player of the Year, played all 40 minutes and had 25 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
advertise
Merrimack 87, Mount St. Mary’s 70: The Warriors once again put on a strong offensive performance, allowing 1.23 points per possession and 12 3-pointers at Mount St. Mary’s to earn a road win and a series sweep of the team that eliminated them last year. Merrimack is 9-0 in games where it shoots better than 31% from three-point range. Ernest Shelton and KeVell Kennedy combined for 52 points, while the Monte backcourt of Xavier Lipscomb and Alandus Keys combined for just 11 points. The Warriors are in sole possession of first place at 11-2.
Quinnipiac 75, Canisius 60: And it’s not as close as the scores seem. Canisius scored just 0.82 points per possession and made just nine shots from inside the three-point line on 36 attempts. Quinnipiac doesn’t need Amari Monroe or Asim Jones to perform offensively. Tai Turnage came off the bench and scored 10 points. Khalil Singleton did not play for Canisius due to injury. The Greaves have now lost nine straight games and fell to 6-28 in the MAAC over the past two seasons.
Marist 81, Knight 52: No Jaden Daughtry? Marist has no problem against Rider. Rhyjon Blackwell nearly outscored the Broncos in the first half with 21 points to 23 points. This was Marist’s third-most efficient offensive performance in the KenPom era, scoring 1.37 points per possession. The Red Foxes have lost to Niagara and Ryder by just 98 points in their last two games and have outscored Ryder 152-101 in their two games this season.