Courtesy of SaintPetersPeacocks.com.
Despite establishing a one-point lead heading into the half-time break, the Saint Peter’s University men’s basketball team were unable to maintain their advantage, as the Seton Hall University Pirates outscored the Peacocks 20-10 in the first seven minutes of the second stanza. With the 76-61 defeat, the Peacocks drop to 3-2, while the Pirates improve to 5-1.
Seton Hall shot a blistering 68% in the second half, while the Peacocks connected on 12 of 28 shot attempts (42.9%). The Hall formed their largest lead (20, 68-48) with 6:34 remaining in the game.
Darius Conley with Blaise Ffrench tied for the team-high in points, as they each contributed 14 markers. Conley played just 24 minutes in the contest, finding himself in foul trouble early on and going down with an injury in the second half. Ffrench added 7 board and just missed a double-double, dishing out 9 assists.
The Hall had three players in double figures: Fuquan Edwin (25), Eugene Teague (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Aaron Cosby (13).
Conley opened up the game, accounting for all four of Saint Peter’s points to knot the score at 4-4 nearing the seventeen minute-mark. Senior forward Yvon Raymond extended the Peacocks’ advantage to 9-4 with a trey from the top of the arc, until Conley recorded his fifth/sixth point to make it a seven-point game and force Seton Hall Head Coach Kevin Willard to burn an early time out.
Saint Peter’s led by as many as eight (14-6) following a turnaround jumper in the paint by Ffrench, but the Hall responded on the other end with a three-ball by Aaron Cosby (11:47).
A 6-0 spurt by the Pirates, capped by a conventional three-point play by Eugene Teague gave the hosts their first lead, 17-16, since the first three minutes of play. Teague converted another and-1 layup just over a minute later to make the score 20-16.
Chris Burke netted his first basket of the game at 6:54, a long two point basket from the left corner to bring the Peacocks within 1 (20-19), but a put back off the offensive board by Teague reestablished a three-point lead. Back-to-back two pointers by Conley regained the lead for the visitors (23-22) until the hosts rattled off five straight points to go in front 27-23.
Twice the Peacocks would come within two points, until a trey from the top of the arc by Elias Desport off the dish from Ffrench gave Saint Peter’s a 30-29 advantage. They clung to the one-point lead for the final 59 ticks of the frame to head into the half-time break in front.
For the half, the Peacocks shot 45.8% from the floor, 37.5% from long distance, while the Hall shot 35.7%, 15.4%, respectively. Darius Conley led the charge for Saint Peter’s tallying 10 points, despite seeing just 9 minutes of action due to foul trouble. Ffrench chipped in with 6 points, 4 assists, while the Hall was led by Teague’s 14 points. Teague went 4-5 from the floor in the stanza.
Seton Hall scored the first bucket of the second stanza, but Ffrench scored half of Saint Peter’s first eight points to secure a 38-35 lead for the visitors.
The Pirates scored five consecutive points until sophomore guard Desi Washington was called for a technical foul (14:57), after which Kyle Smyth would hit both free throws. That helped spark an 11-0 run for the Pirates, enabling them to go ahead 46-38 at 13:58.
Chazz Patterson cut the hosts’ lead to 6 by way of a three-pointer (49-43), but Seton Hall’s Edwin responded with a three-ball of his own on the other end to diffuse the Peacocks’ momentum.
The Hall established their largest lead of the game up until that point (14) at 10:02, as graduate student Kyle Smyth drained a three from the corner to force Head Coach John Dunne to call a timeout. Another three from Smyth at the 8:39 mark made the score 65-48, capping a 13-3 run. Brandon Mobley went 1-2 from the line at 6:33 to give the Pirates their largest advantage of the contest (68-48).
Overall, Saint Peter’s shot 45.1% from the floor, 38.9% from three and 61.5% from the line, while Seton Hall shot 50%, 33.3% and 87.5%, respectively. The Hall outrebounded the Peacocks 76-61 and committed 16 turnovers to Saint Peter’s 13.
The game featured 9 lead changes and 5 tied scores before Seton Hall took full control.
Saint Peter’s returns home this Wednesday, as they host Fairleigh Dickinson University for a 7pm tip.
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