Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Saint Peter's 71, Marist 46: Tempo-Free Recap

Marist head coach Mike Maker addresses loss to Saint Peter's with radio analyst Ed Weir. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

JERSEY CITY, NJ - Coming off an impressive win over Manhattan on Sunday, Saint Peter’s hoped to keep the momentum going. There was to be no letdown on this night, as the Peacocks romped in a 71-46 victory at Yanitelli Center, improving to 11-6 in MAAC play while Marist fell to 3-13.

First five possessions:
Marist: Missed FG, FG, FG, missed FG, three-point FG
Saint Peter’s: Missed FG, FG, FG, turnover, offensive foul

The 7-4 Marist lead at 15:48 revealed an obviously slower tempo, at this rate on pace for about 60 possessions. In the early going, both teams showed patience executing their half court sets.

Marist started strong on the offensive end. Saint Peter’s defense responded, forcing the Red Foxes to settle for perimeter shots that often failed to locate the bottom of the net.

The Peacocks ran a four-out zone offense. That gave John Dunne the opportunity to utilize guards able to hit the three and/or get in the lane via dribble penetration. Inside, Quadir Welton took care of duties in the paint. Speaking of bigs, Samuel Idowu did a nice job spelling Welton. At the half, Saint Peter’s led 30-16. In a 29-possession period, the Peacocks had an outstanding lead in offensive efficiency, 107 to the 55 of Marist. In addition, the Red Foxes were limited to a 28 percent effective field goal percentage.

The first four minutes of the second half were even at. Marist actually got out to a good start, scoring six of the first eight points after the break. Saint Peter’s scored the next four and at the 16-minute media timeout, had not lost anything off their 14-point halftime lead.
   
What kind of night is this for Saint Peter’s? With 11 minutes to go, they led by 21. The leading scorer for the Peacocks is Cavon Baker, with 15 points. Baker, it should be noted, did not start.
   
Turnover rates were low and close in number. Saint Peter’s did enjoy a 15-8 edge in points off turnovers. The Peacocks also led 24-14 on points in the paint. Welton led the way with a dozen rebounds.

Marist wraps up with three of the final games at home, and coach Mike Maker is hoping to get some kind of momentum with that favorable balance of home dates. Marist desperately needs a win to end a long losing streak, and of vital importance, get a positive result before heading to Albany for the MAAC tournament. Saint Peter’s plays Fairfield on Sunday, their final home game before the Peacocks take to the road for the Western New York swing at Niagara and Canisius. Coach John Dunne naturally wants the best seed entering Albany. He emphasized that his team will not scoreboard watch, but rather concentrate on doing what they do best. At this point, that is playing defense.


Possessions: Marist 60, Saint Peter’s 59
Offensive efficiency: Marist 77, Saint Peter’s 120

Four Factors:
eFG%: Marist 37, Saint Peter’s 57
Free throw rate: Marist 37, Saint Peter’s 32
Offensive rebound%: Marist 9, Saint Peter’s 27
Turnover rate: Marist 15. Saint Peter’s 14

What Marist did well: Care for the ball. The turnover rate was one positive to take from this contest.

What Saint Peter’s did well: Just about everything. The Peacocks dominated virtually every one of the Four Factors. Limiting Marist to a nine percent offensive rebound rate was especially impressive.


Final thoughts:
“After the first few minutes, we gave up some wide open layups. I was concerned, but I thought we had good energy and it showed the last 14 minutes of the half. Proud of the guys playing team-first. They do a lot of movement and ball screens, so it comes down to defense. We made free throws, (14-of-16) that is huge. A lot of these games will come down to free throws, so they are so important. A lot of our games are low turnovers. We did have 21 against Canisius and lost in the last minute, but a lot of our games have been low on turnovers. We know all along there's no one in the league we can’t beat and no one can’t beat us if we are not focused. You need tunnel vision to concern yourself on the next opponent.” - Saint Peter’s coach John Dunne

“First of all, I told our team John and I have known each other a long time. Saint Peter's and our league are lucky to have him. They beat us in every phase, they are so tough-minded, offensively and defensively. They have seniors that just play right and unselfish. I got outcoached and have to do a better job, a challenge for me as coach, but I am not happy with our performance tonight. Chazz (Patterson) is the best defender in our league and he does not get enough credit for that. They are just so well prepared. They are disciplined and I don’t care who they play, they will dictate how the game is played. We are still trying to find ourselves. Hopefully we can find a way to get one or two before the tournament and get some confidence. We did play well against Siena, but we need to get one. “ - Marist coach Mike Maker

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