By Andrew Hefner (@Ahef_NJ)
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Just one player remains on Saint Peter’s roster from the Cinderella story of 2022, yet head coach Bashir Mason has still worked to create a team around him that understands how to scrap out big wins.
On Saturday afternoon, a struggling 1-5 UMass Lowell team waltzed into Run Baby Run Arena expecting a close matchup with the Peacocks, and a close matchup they got. Both teams went back and forth, trading leads, with each squad showing off its own unique play styles. The game came down to the final sequence, but Saint Peter’s was able to pull the win out after an impressive defensive performance and gritty win over the Riverhawks, 68-66.
The opposing play styles were the key, as the final box score showed shocking comparisons between a fresh and bold new Peacocks team, versus the Pat Duquette-led UMass Lowell group that remained calm and strategic for much of the matchup. Saint Peter’s took 66 shots, hitting on 24 and making 11-of-34 from beyond the arc. In contrast, the Riverhawks took over 20 fewer shots and were clearly more stringent with their shot selection.
“For me, I would like for that number to come down a little bit,” said Mason, “but that's what our team is kind of built on. We’ve got Bryce (Eaton) and TJ (Robinson), our two playmakers, and then we spread those guys, or we put guys around them that can really shoot the ball. Today, that's our strength.”
The Peacocks were, in fact, outrebounded 43-21, but still made a statement on defense with an astonishing 21 steals thanks to a new defensive zone scheme that Mason has been pioneering for his young and transfer-heavy team for this season.
“I'm going against how I teach man-to-man,” explained Mason. “We do want to steal the ball and turn guys over. It’s working for us in that regard, but if we don't do a better job in the paint and rebound the basketball, and games continue to come down to nail-biters like this, you should probably win by a lot more. We’ve got to clean some things up with that.”
The first half was a slow start for both sides, as star Peacocks guard Brent Bland, who has been the focal point of the team so far this season, did not hit a shot until midway through the first to put a stop to a UMass Lowell run that put the Riverhawks ahead. The visitors took advantage of early mistakes from Saint Peter’s, with Texas State transfer Austin Green getting involved on the glass and from the field, as he quickly racked up 10 points and eight rebounds in the first half. Freshman JJ Massaquoi was also an issue for the Peacocks, as the guard picked up 18 points after his impressive 26-point game against Wake Forest earlier in the week. He went 8-for-10 shooting and was a major contributor to UMass Lowell’s 42 points in the paint.
“What our bigs are doing a terrible job of is just fouling or not looking to take a charge or standing near the ground,” Mason said. “So that's why the paint points are that much. We wanted the ball to go there. They got it exactly where we wanted it to go. We just didn't get the stops that we wanted to.”
Even though Mason has a large transfer class to work with, he has still remained incredibly impressed by and supportive of his sole true freshman Robinson, and rightly so, as he had another great afternoon all around.
“I think he's playing really well,” Mason said. “Making plays for us, I thought he singlehandedly in the second half made some plays that kind of gave the guys around him some confidence.”
The New Jersey native finished with 15 points on the afternoon, including a buzzer-beating three to end the first half, and capped off a huge 13-0 Peacocks run that put them in front by ten with another bucket from downtown. By the under-8 media timeout, Saint Peter’s was carrying that 10-point lead, but was quickly humbled by a 13-2 run by the Riverhawks that silenced the crowd in Jersey City.
“The threes came into play, some ill-advised ones,” said Mason on his thoughts about the final few minutes. “I do think in that moment as well, I kept guys out there for too long. I thought we were a little bit tired, and we got a little bit lax and we allowed them to kind of make some plays.”
In the end, though, Bland made it all work out for Mason and the Peacocks as his sixth and the team’s 20th steal of the afternoon resulted in a scoop and score that put Saint Peter’s ahead by three with about a minute remaining in regulation. The Peacocks never looked back, as the teams traded fouls before UMass Lowell’s last-second inbound was unsuccessful.
“I'll take it, love to learn from it,” Mason said. “I think this group right here that I'm coaching, we needed a tough win like this and be able to grind out a game for us to grow up a little bit. So this is a stepping stone for us in the building block that I'm happy we got to experience.”
Saint Peter’s climbs to 2-3 on the season ahead of Dartmouth coming to town next Saturday after a long Thanksgiving week of rest.
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