Peacocks, Jaspers meet in pivotal MAAC weekend series

 

KC Ndefo and Saint Peter’s return home Friday to face Manhattan as both teams seek to advance themselves heading into second half of MAAC play. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Saint Peter’s returned from a layoff last week to split its pair of contests with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leader and favorite Siena, proving the 20-day absence was not as much a factor as some suspected it might be for Shaheen Holloway and his team of tough, fearless players.

“Even though we had a tough time scoring, our defense is what we hold our hat on,” the Peacocks’ third-year head coach recounted as Saint Peter’s returns home for the first time since December 12 to face Manhattan in a battle of like-minded programs who also share 4-4 MAAC records that look to be improved as the second half of the league slate beckons. “It helped us out and it kept us in both games, so I was happy with our defense, but I wasn’t happy with our offense. I think being off messed up our timing in game situations on the offensive end, but I’m very happy with our defense.”

“As far as the game with Manhattan, it’s going to be a war,” he predicted, citing the pressure defense crafted by his counterpart, Steve Masiello. “Steve does an unbelievable job with those guys, they play extremely hard and they’ve got the big kid down low, (Warren) Williams, he’s a handful. I think Anthony Nelson’s playing great, they got the other guard back who was hurt (Samir Stewart). I think they’re starting to play the way Steve envisioned those guys playing.”

Adding to the subplots this weekend in Jersey City is the aforementioned Nelson, the Jaspers’ leading scorer with a 14-plus point per game average that ranks sixth in the MAAC. Holloway is no stranger to the Harlem native, having recruited him to Seton Hall while still on Kevin Willard’s staff before getting the call to lead the Peacocks.

“I know all about Anthony’s game,” Holloway reiterated, prefacing the challenge that guards Matthew Lee and Daryl Banks III will spearhead in trying to contain Nelson. “I’m a big fan of Anthony Nelson. (He’s a) big guard, smooth, can shoot it, tremendous feel for the game. Now he’s getting an opportunity to play at Manhattan, and I think he’s showing what he can do there. I’m very concerned with him going into this game, because he’s the type of kid that can beat you, scoring-wise and getting people involved. We’ve got to contain him and make sure we understand what we’re getting ourselves into.”

As for Manhattan, winners of three straight after being unable to hold a double-digit lead in its January 8 loss to Quinnipiac, the Jaspers enter the Garden State refocused on the defensive end after yielding less than 49 points per game on average in each of their last three victories, an upswing Masiello credits to an emphasis on conditioning after being on pause at the beginning of the season.

“Coming out of quarantine against Rider and Marist, we were just in horrendous shape,” he recollected. “We just couldn’t play basketball at the Division I level from a conditioning standpoint, and coming out of that Marist series when they just took it to us, we decided to really recommit to conditioning. I didn’t know what it would look like from a basketball standpoint, then I thought we got into shape coming into the Niagara weekend, and we were fortunate to get two wins against a very good team.”

“A big thing of what we do is our conditioning. What shape are we in? Can we play our style? Can we run, can we press, can we create tempo? And I think we’re in shape to do that.”

Manhattan will need its game shape against a physical Saint Peter’s unit that matches its own constant pressure, and this series may not have come at a better time to provide a fair assessment of where the Jaspers stand.

“Obviously, Saint Peter’s is a tremendous team,” Masiello declared. “I have a lot of respect for Sha and the job he’s done. It’s late January, we’ve played eight conference games, so there’s a lot of work to be done. We’ll handle that in practice, games don’t determine our work or what we need to do. Games are a byproduct of our practice habits, but we understand Saint Peter’s, who they are, what they do, and we have to get ready for that opportunity.”