Saint Peter's gives Holloway debut to remember with comeback win in OT

Shaheen Holloway addresses his Saint Peter's team after Peacocks erased 12-point deficit to prevail in overtime to win season opener. (Photo by Jerry Carino/Asbury Park Press)

JERSEY CITY, NJ -- Moments after his hire at Saint Peter's seven months ago, Shaheen Holloway promised the atmosphere inside the Yanitelli Center would be different than what fans had grown accustomed to in the dozen years under John Dunne.

It didn't take long for the New Jersey legend to make good on his promise, one that finally came to fruition Wednesday night.

No disrespect to Dunne, who made magic many times over the years and extracted a lot from a little with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship and CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament title in 2017, but Wednesday's season opener was a contrast from the status quo at Saint Peter's. A raucous home crowd got behind the Peacocks from the opening tip to the final buzzer, not losing faith when visiting Lafayette went up twelve points nearing the seven-minute mark of the second half. The energy grew stronger when Saint Peter's ripped off a 19-6 run to take a brief lead before needing five extra minutes to secure a 93-86 overtime win, one that its new leader may not soon forget.

"I think it means a lot," point guard Davauhnte Turner said after a career night of 25 points, eight assists, six rebounds and zero turnovers. "We never gave up, but we've got a lot of stuff we've got to work on. I definitely feel great winning for such a great coach like this."

Such a feeling defines what Holloway is, and what he has become for this team. An effusively compassionate coach who runs through the same brick wall his players have proven they will tackle head-on for him, the reciprocation should come as no surprise for a program picked tenth of eleven in the MAAC, displaying a collective chip on its shoulder to fire a resilient opening salvo.

"These guys came back," he proudly declared. "They played, they believed, and that's all you can ask for."

"For my first game, it was worth giving them hot dogs out," he quipped, citing a promotional ploy he used earlier in the week to drum up the fan support that eventually made its way into the gym on Kennedy Boulevard affectionately dubbed "The Bubble." "It was great. I'm just proud of these guys, the way they battled the whole night. This is really not about me, it's about these guys. Everybody who played gave us something."

Double-doubles from Cam Jones and freshman KC Ndefo, the latter of whom electrified the home fans with three highlight-reel dunks over the course of the night, offered a glimpse of what lies ahead for a group who may be overlooked now, but is not wasting time making skeptics eat their words.

"This is how it should be at home," Holloway said. "You should take care of your home, and at the end of the day, it's our first win. We can't get crazy or get happy too much. We still have work to do."

So, too, does the head coach, one whose whirlwind offseason gave way to a first night where he ultimately revealed he had no feeling of what to expect before what ultimately played out. However, it is all part of an education on the fly.

"The last three days in practice, I was telling these guys I was juiced, like I wanted to play," Holloway reflected. "I have a different personality, I'm a different animal. I love guys who love to get out there and play, and leading up to today, I had no feeling, which was scary to me. I wasn't nervous, I just didn't have anything. And then when I walked into the gym and I saw the crowd, I was really excited because I know what a good home crowd can do."

"Sometimes you don't know how people are going to respond or react, but at the end of the day, these kids worked hard, and they deserve it. I'm just excited to get the first one. That's the hardest one to get."