Shaheen Holloway and Saint Peter’s returned from 20-day layoff with three wins in four games to keep pace in MAAC standings. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
Saint Peter’s was a victim of circumstance after its 2021-opening series at Canisius, one in which the Peacocks were swept by the Golden Griffins. Following Canisius’ COVID pause shortly thereafter, which cost the Griffs their initially scheduled contests at Siena, Saint Peter’s was sidelined as well due to contact tracing protocols. The Peacocks were then shelved longer the following week after a positive test in the Iona program prior to the Gaels hosting Shaheen Holloway’s team at the Hynes Athletics Center. When asked about how he has managed the well-being of his players and coaches, as well as that of his own, Holloway — never one to hold anything back — spoke from the heart once more.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know what to expect for the future,” he began as he recounted the Peacocks’ 20-day hiatus between the second game at Canisius and a 68-62 win at Siena that halted the Saints’ 16-game win streak. “Coming off a 20-day pause, when you have a layoff like that, it’s really hard because you don’t know what to do with your guys in practice to keep their attention. We just tried to keep these guys engaged.”
“It’s very difficult, you just don’t know,” he added with regard to the ubiquitous schedule changes the MAAC has faced and endured. “For us, we were out 20 days, but knock on wood, we haven’t had a positive test yet, but it messed us up. There’s no way to prepare for it, you’ve just got to go with the flow. It sucks for the kids, they work hard all week to get ready for a game and that happens. It’s not good for anyone. It’s very important for the kids’ mental health, but nobody asks about the coaches, our mental health and what we’re going through. For those 20 days, I was extremely messed up just not knowing what’s going to happen next. Just seeing the kids’ faces and knowing there’s nothing you can do to help them, it puts you in a tough spot as their leader.”
Following the split with Siena, though, Saint Peter’s returned to its adopted home court at New Jersey City University this past Friday and Saturday for the first time since December 12, sweeping Manhattan to move to 6-4 in conference play, two wins behind first-place Monmouth on a MAAC leaderboard whose tournament seeding will almost certainly be dictated by wins unless each team is somehow able to play all 20 of its league games.
“I think we got rattled, to tell you the truth,” Holloway assessed as the Peacocks survived a late Manhattan rally Friday to prevail, 59-55, in a physical, gritty showing between a pair of like-minded teams. “I thought we had some careless turnovers down the stretch, but we made some big free throws.”
Saturday, on the heels of Matthew Lee’s offensive spark that came as Holloway revealed he was a gametime decision after not practicing in the days leading up to the back-to-back contests against the Jaspers, Saint Peter’s received contributions from Daryl Banks III and KC Ndefo — the former playing with a heavy heart after a death in his family during the week — to pull away from Manhattan en route to a 68-54 lockdown that saw Anthony Nelson forced into a 3-for-20 shooting night.
“It’s always good to get Daryl going,” Holloway said of Banks’ productivity. “He’s one of our better players. I gotta give the kid a lot of credit, he’s playing with a heavy heart right now. For him, just playing these games and being there, I’ve got a newfound respect for him, because it would be so easy for him to say, ‘Coach, I can’t do it.’”
“Freshmen turn into sophomores, sophomores turn into juniors, juniors turn into seniors, seniors turn into pros,” Holloway said of Ndefo’s maturation, citing a quote from Darryl Jacobs, the former Queens College head coach turned Saint Peter’s broadcast analyst. “On the defensive end, he’s playing out of his mind. His offense is coming around, but right now, people are coming after him. When you’re the defensive player he is right now, people want to get him out of the game because when he’s not in the game, the game changes for us. He’s got to get going mentally, but as far as when he’s out there, he’s going to play 150 (miles per hour) every time.”
Holloway admitted Ndefo did not have a great series against Manhattan, but the beauty of Saint Peter’s as a team is its ability to have enough talent to be able to withstand an off night from one of its focal points. Although not as deep as last year, the Peacocks continue to rely on an ensemble cast that has seen breakouts from Lee, Banks, Fousseyni and Hassan Drame, Doug Edert, Marty Silvera, Tarojae Brake and Noah Kamba on any given night to keep pace with the top of the league. When asked of the significance of getting a sweep over Manhattan to maintain its place in the standings, Holloway — always one to march to the beat of his own drummer, a refreshing quality in a world of coachspeak — offered a classic candid response.
“I’m going to take the fifth on that,” he quipped. “Right now, anytime we get a chance to play — I tell my guys all the time, just be grateful we get an opportunity to play and be out here enjoying this. You just never know. When you think about it right now, we haven’t played anybody.”
“Think about this: This series right here was our first home series since December 12. If that’s not kind of nutty, I don’t know what is, but we’ll take it as we can get it and we’ll just go. I’m not worried about who’s in front of us or who’s behind us, I’m worried about us right now. You’ve just got to wake up and be grateful to live another day, and just take it as it comes.”
Scoring Leaders
1) Isaiah Ross, Iona (22.3 PPG)
2) Deion Hammond, Monmouth (17.5)
3) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (15.4)
4) Kobi Nwandu, Niagara (14.4)
5) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (13.7)
6) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (13.6)
7) George Papas, Monmouth (13.3)
8) Jordan King, Siena (13.3)
9) Manny Camper, Siena (13.2)
T-10) Majesty Brandon, Canisius (12.5)
T-10) Asante Gist, Iona (12.5)
Rebounding Leaders
1) Manny Camper, Siena (10.7 RPG)
2) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (7.5)
3) Warren Williams, Manhattan (7.4)
4) Fousseyni Drame, Saint Peter’s (7.3)
5) Malek Green, Canisius (7.0)
6) Dylan van Eyck, Iona (6.9)
7) Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac (6.6)
8) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (6.5)
9) Seth Pinkney, Quinnipiac (6.4)
10) Jacco Fritz, Canisius (6.2)
Assist Leaders
1) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (4.6 APG)
2) Asante Gist, Iona (4.2)
3) Manny Camper, Siena (3.7)
4) Matthew Lee, Saint Peter’s (3.7)
5) Savion Lewis, Quinnipiac (3.6)
6) Samuel Chaput, Monmouth (3.3)
7) Raheim Sullivan, Marist (3.3)
8) Jacco Fritz, Canisius (3.2)
9) Dylan van Eyck, Iona (2.9)
10) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (2.8)
Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Seth Pinkney, Quinnipiac (.833)
2) Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, Rider (.649)
3) Jackson Stormo, Siena (.643)
4) Jordan Jones, Marist (.602)
5) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (.565)
6) Melik Martin, Monmouth (.529)
7) Isaiah Ross, Iona (.508)
8) Warren Williams, Manhattan (.500)
9) George Papas, Monmouth (.491)
10) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (.486)
Free Throw Percentage Leaders
1) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (.891)
2) Ahamadou Fofana, Canisius (.889)
3) Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac (.875)
4) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (.873)
5) Taj Benning, Fairfield (.864)
6) Asante Gist, Iona (.818)
7) Jordan King, Siena (.800)
8) George Papas, Monmouth (.791)
9) Ricardo Wright, Marist (.780)
10) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (.772)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders
T-1) Jordan Henderson, Canisius (.455)
T-1) George Papas, Monmouth (.455)
3) Donovann Toatley, Monmouth (.435)
4) Brendan McGuire, Quinnipiac (.429)
5) Isaiah Ross, Iona (.424)
6) Asante Gist, Iona (.421)
7) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (.415)
8) Allen Powell, Rider (.413)
9) Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter’s (.397)
10) Melik Martin, Monmouth (.394)
Steal Leaders
1) Berrick JeanLouis, Iona (2.3 SPG)
2) Elijah Buchanan, Manhattan (1.9)
3) Myles Ruth, Monmouth (1.8)
4) Majesty Brandon, Canisius (1.5)
5) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (1.4)
Blocked Shot Leaders
1) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (4.1 BPG)
2) Seth Pinkney, Quinnipiac (2.9)
3) Jordan Jones, Marist (2.3)
4) Warren Williams, Manhattan (1.6)
5) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (1.5)
Power Rankings
1) Siena (8-2, 8-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: Sunday 1/31 at Marist (W 63-50)
Next Game: Wednesday 2/3 vs. Canisius, 7 p.m.
2) Monmouth (8-5, 8-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 2
Last Game: Saturday 1/30 at Niagara (L 83-74)
Next Game: Friday 2/5 at Manhattan, 9 p.m.
3) Saint Peter’s (9-6, 6-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: Saturday 1/30 vs. Manhattan (W 68-54)
Next Game: Wednesday 2/10 at Iona, TBD
4) Marist (9-7, 7-7 MAAC)
Last Week: 5
Last Game: Sunday 1/31 vs. Siena (L 63-50)
Next Game: Friday 2/12 vs. Quinnipiac, 5 p.m.
5) Iona (5-3, 3-1 MAAC)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: Wednesday 12/23 vs. Coppin State (W 85-65)
Next Game: Wednesday 2/10 vs. Saint Peter’s, TBD
6) Canisius (3-3, 3-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 6
Last Game: Saturday 1/2 vs. Saint Peter’s (W 63-60)
Next Game: Wednesday 2/3 at Siena, 7 p.m.
7) Manhattan (5-6, 4-6 MAAC)
Last Week: 7
Last Game: Saturday 1/30 at Saint Peter’s (L 68-54)
Next Game: Friday 2/5 vs. Monmouth, 9 p.m.
8) Niagara (7-9, 6-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Saturday 1/30 vs. Monmouth (W 83-74)
Next Game: Friday 2/12 vs. Siena, 4 p.m.
9) Rider (4-11, 4-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 9
Last Game: Saturday 1/23 vs. Marist (L 76-67)
Next Game: Friday 2/5 vs. Canisius, 5 p.m.
10) Quinnipiac (4-6, 2-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 10
Last Game: Saturday 1/23 vs. Niagara (W 78-69)
Next Game: Sunday 2/7 at Fairfield, TBA
11) Fairfield (3-12, 3-7 MAAC)
Last Week: 11
Last Game: Saturday 1/16 at Marist (W 55-52)
Next Game: Sunday 2/7 vs. Quinnipiac, TBA
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