Sports

Saint Peter’s takes a short drive to the Sweet 16

By VINCENT DAVIS Special to the AmNews

The saying “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” often applies to sports. The case of the Saint Peter’s Peacocks men’s basketball team is a good example. After losing to the Siena Saints 84-70 Feb. 20 for the second time this season, giving them a record of 12-11 and 10-6 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Saint Peter’s won seven straight games, including a 60-54 win over Monmouth in the MAAC championship, to earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament and a No. 15 seed in the East region.

Before entering the field of 68 single-elimination tournament, St. Peter’s was 19-11, representing the small, private Jesuit university in Jersey City, New Jersey that began the school year with a combined undergraduate and graduate school enrollment of a little more than 3,000 students. Two wins later, they are 21-11 and have captured the attention of the nation.

The underdog Peacocks have taken a short drive to Philadelphia where they will be playing the East’s No. 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 tomorrow night (7:09 tip-off) at the Wells Fargo Center. They arrived there by first defeating the No. 2-seed Kentucky Wildcats 85-79 in overtime last Thursday and then the No. 7-seed Murray State Racers 70-60 on Saturday.

St. Peter’s head coach Shaheen Hollway, a 45-year-old Queens native who was a McDonald’s high school All-American in 1996 attending St. Patrick’s in Elizabeth, N.J., before a stellar fouryears at Seton Hall prior to a pro career from 200007, reflects his team’s confidence and swagger.

“At the end of the day, every team that made it to the NCAA Tournament deserves to be here,” said Holloway, now in his fourth year leading the Peacocks, after the win over Kentucky. “Every team that made it to the NCAA Tournament believes they can advance. It’s about this night.”

Junior guard Daryl Banks III scored a team-high 27 points against Kentucky’s blue chip roster. Peacocks’ guard Doug Edert, also a junior, contributed 20 points off the bench. Versus Murray senior forward KC Ndefo from Elmont, N.Y. (Long Island) posted 17 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Aided by the Nutley, N.J. product Edert, who had 13 points, including 10 straight late in the second half, Ndefo and his teammates erased the Racers from the tournament and became only the third 15 seed ever to advance to a regional semifinal. Oral Roberts last year and Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 are the others.

Purdue, out of the Big Ten Conference, defeated Yale 78-56 in their opening game and knocked out Texas 81-71 on Sunday to be one of the remaining sixteen. A win against Purdue would move St. Peter’s into the Elite Eight, only one victory away from the Final Four.

The St. Peter’s men’s basketball team has captured the attention of the sports world by advancing to NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, where they will face the Purdue Boilermakers tomorrow night (Photo courtesy of saintpeterspeacocks.com)

No. 1 seeds Arizona, Gonzaga and Kansas on edge in March Madness

By JAIME C. HARRIS

AmNews Sports Editor

With the East region’s No. 1 seed Baylor Bears suffering a dramatic 93-86 overtime loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels last Saturday, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament is down to three No. 1 seeds remaining as it has reached the Sweet 16. Arizona (South region), Gonzaga (West) and Kansas (Midwest) all remain on a path to a title but have had tough battles along the way.

Arizona narrowly got by No. 9 TCU 85-80 in overtime on Sunday and will now take on No. 5 Houston tonight (9:59 p.m). Gonzaga had to come from behind in the second half on Saturday to edge No. 9 Memphis 82-78 and have No. 4 Arkansas up next tonight (7:09 p.m.). Kansas was slightly better than No. 9 Creighton on Saturday in a hard fought 79-72 victory and will meet up with No. 4 Providence tomorrow (7:09 p.m.). No game played in this year’s tournament thus far has exemplified the moniker March Madness more than North Carolina blowing a 25-point second half yet surviving a furious Baylor comeback to move on to Philadelphia to face No. 4 seed UCLA tomorrow night (9:39 p.m.) at the Wells Fargo Center. Both North Carolina and Baylor were patently exhausted in the game’s final stages. “I didn’t want to go home. There was no time to be tired,” said the Tar Heels starting point guard R.J. Davis, a native of White Plains, New York and former high school All American at Archbishop Stepinac in Westchester County. “Our mindset was gather my teammates together and regrouping and to contain our composure and let’s get this win.” Davis led North Carolina with 30 points, including going 9-10 from the foul line, and played a taxing 45 minutes. Davis’ hometown is only 32 miles from Jersey City, New Jersey, location of St. Peter’s University, whose men’s basketball has far exceeded the expectations of almost everyone who follows college basketball.

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01/06/22 0 74470 22784 7 An exception is the Peacocks themselves, galvanized by their head coach Shaheen Holloway. The 45-year-old Queens native, who starred at point guard for Seton Hall from 1996 to 2000, has instilled an unwavering level of confidence in his players. The No. 15 seed Peacocks defeated No. 2 Kentucky 85-79 in an overtime thriller last Thursday and knocked off No. 7 Murray State 70-60 on Saturday for a Sweet 16 pairing with No. 3 Purdue in Philadelphia tomorrow (7:09 p.m.). “We came down here [to Indianapolis] on a mission. We weren’t going to be intimidated. We thought we were going to win two games, and we did,” said Holloway after conquering Murray State. “I like to recruit guys that have something to prove, that have a chip on their shoulder, that are tough. Because you have to be tough to play for me.”

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