Doug Edert celebrates as Saint Peter’s authors biggest upset of NCAA Tournament, shocking Kentucky in overtime. (Photo by Getty Images)
On numerous occasions leading up to Thursday's NCAA Tournament game against Kentucky, Shaheen Holloway openly discussed how each of his players at Saint Peter’s had a chip on his shoulder. The ebullient coach doubled down on the fearlessness, openly proclaiming that some of the Peacock student-athletes felt as though they could play at Kentucky.
Well, if you can’t be them, beat them instead.
Saint Peter’s did just that Thursday, withstanding haymakers from the bluest of bluebloods and punching back each time, taking down the Wildcats in overtime for the first-ever NCAA Tournament win in program history, an 85-79 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis that also serves as the first tournament win for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference since Siena outlasted Ohio State in 2009, and just the tenth opening-round victory all-time by a No. 15 seed since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
“This is something that these guys understand,” Holloway said of his team and its ability to not cower or wilt under pressure. “No disrespect to anybody, but we weren’t coming down here just to lose. We came down here to fight, and we did.”
“We come from different places,” junior guard Daryl Banks III, a Los Angeles native, said of the common denominator of playing with something to prove. “We had different opportunities set up, maybe we could have gone somewhere else. But Coach believed in us and he brought us in because we knew what we could do. That’s the mentality we have, day in and day out.”
The Peacocks delivered the knockout blow by staying true to themselves, playing their customary brand of unfazed, unintimidated basketball against John Calipari and Kentucky, and doing so without KC Ndefo for all but 91 seconds in the first half after the senior leader picked up two fouls immediately after the opening tip. But as has been standard practice throughout the season, the team played off Holloway’s intense, yet even-keeled temperament, weathering the storm and riding the hot hand of Banks, who led Saint Peter’s with 27 points, scored the Peacocks’ first eight points and tallied 16 in an opening stanza that ended with a 37-all tie going into the intermission.
Kentucky attempted to pull away early in the second half, going up by five before Saint Peter’s (20-11) fought back and ultimately retook the lead on a Jaylen Murray 3-pointer with just over nine minutes remaining in regulation. The seesaw battle continued as the second-seeded Wildcats targeted Ndefo down low with Oscar Tshiebwe, who amassed 30 points and 16 rebounds. A 10-2 Kentucky run gave the juggernaut a 68-62 lead with 4:06 to play in regulation, at which point Holloway called timeout to rally the troops.
“Emotions were very high,” Ndefo admitted. “We were very thrilled, but we came down with a mindset of ‘we’re not losing, and we can beat anybody with hard work and dedication.’ So that’s what we’re doing down here.”
The Peacocks responded with seven unanswered points, with Banks and Hassan Drame layups preceding a Doug Edert 3-pointer that vaulted Saint Peter’s into the lead again, at 69-68, with 86 seconds on the clock. Kentucky answered on the ensuing possession, when after Kellan Grady missed a three, Tshiebwe scooped up the rebound and fed Grady for a second attempt that splashed through the net. Saint Peter’s responded, as Matthew Lee dished to Edert, who got a friendly roll on a game-tying layup to pull the Peacocks level with the Wildcats at 71. Kentucky had one last chance to win in regulation after Calipari eschewed a timeout, but TyTy Washington’s jumper sailed long and wide, prompting an additional five minutes to decide the winner.
“We were in every timeout trying to encourage,” Calipari recalled. “At one point with five minutes to go, one of the guys got on a guy and said, ‘stop, there’s five minutes (left). Just leave it alone, just be positive.’ We were trying to help them get through it. Obviously, we didn’t do the kind of job we needed to.”
Kentucky scored the first four points of the overtime period before Saint Peter’s got back on the board with a Ndefo free throw and an Edert three, the latter knotting the score at 75 apiece. Davion Mintz knocked down a free throw to put the Wildcats ahead again, but it would be the last advantage the favorite would enjoy. A Hassan Drame layup sandwiched four free throws by Banks, giving the Peacocks a five-point lead before Washington drained a straightaway three to bring Kentucky back within two. The Wildcats would not score again, though, as free throws by Lee and Edert — who was fouled after rebounding an errant 3-point try by Grady and finished with his second straight 20-point game — iced the monumental upset.
Saint Peter’s will recuperate Friday before returning to action Saturday in an East Regional second-round matchup against either Murray State or San Francisco, with the winner advancing to the regional semifinals in Philadelphia. The Peacocks are looking to become just the third No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16, joining Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 and Oral Roberts last year, but as they proved tonight, seeds are just a number.
“It’s not about your record,” Holloway reiterated. “It’s not about what school you’re at. It’s whoever is good on that night, and tonight was our night. These guys came in and took down one of the biggest schools in the country. They’re going to remember this moment for the rest of their lives.”
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