Courtesy of SaintPetersPeacocks.com.
Blaise Ffrench poured in a career-high 22 points to lead the Saint Peter’s men’s basketball team to their third consecutive win (68-64) over Cornell to open the 2012-13 season. Ffrench scored his most important basket with 28 seconds remaining to stifle an 11-0 run by the hosts and put the Peacocks in front by four at 66-62.
The last time Saint Peter’s began a season with a 3-0 record was the 1990-91 season, when they secured five consecutive victories before picking up their first loss. The Peacocks would go on to win the MAAC Championship that year and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m really proud of the effort that we gave tonight”, commented Head Coach John Dunne. “We didn’t play perfect but our determination on the defensive end and our unselfishness offensively was tremendous. To win this game without Darius Conley and Pat Jackson who were both hurt, is a testament to our passion and hard work.”
Four players finished in double figures for Saint Peter’s; Yvonne Raymond (14), Chris Prescott(11), Desi Washington (10) and Ffrench.
The Peacocks led by as many as 11 points with seven minutes to play in the opening frame, but the Big Red out-scored the visitors by a 13-2 margin over the ensuing five minutes to force a tie score (24-24). Devin Cherry connected on a jumper at 1:58 to give Cornell their first lead since the 18:23 mark, but back to back buckets by Yvonne Raymond and Desi Washington gave Saint Peter’s a 26-24 lead heading into the half-time break.
For the half, the Peacocks shot 48.1% to Cornell’s 32.1%. Ffrench scored 13 of his 22 points in the first stanza.
The Big Red displayed their resilience again in the second frame, battling back from an eight-point deficit and later an eleven-point disadvantage to come within striking distance. An 11-0 run over the final two and a half minutes of play made it a one-possession game at 1:32 (64-62), but a basket by Ffrench with 28 seconds left enabled the Peacocks to close out the game on a 4-2 run for the win.
Overall, Saint Peter’s shot 46.6% from the floor and 38.9% from long distance while Cornell shot 36.2% and 31.8%, respectively. The Peacocks also had the advantage in rebounds, pulling down 39 boards to the Big Red’s 33.
Both Raymond and Washington tied for the team-high in boards, grabbing six a piece. Ffrench dished out four dimes to go along with his 22 points, while Raymond recorded 3.
Cornell also had four-played with double-digit markers, and were led by Cherry’s 14.
The Peacocks return to action this Sunday for a 2pm road match against the Binghamton Bearcats. Saint Peter’s has never lost a contest to Binghamton in two meetings.
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