The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team suffered its toughest defeat of the season to Saint Peter's on Saturday afternoon, 60-57, at the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City. With the victory the Peacocks improve to 6-4 on the season, while the Knights drop their fourth-straight decision to fall to 3-7 overall.
Senior Mike Scott (Philadelphia, PA/Texas Christian) picked up his third double-double of the season as he led the Knights with a game-high 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. He also led FDU with five assists and three steals. Junior Briahn Smith (Detroit, MI/Madison) tied his career high with 13 points, and senior John Galvin (Weston, CT/Weston) chipped in 11.
Leading 57-51 after Scott's basket with 4:35 remaining in the game, the Knights saw the Peacocks score the final nine points.
Jeron Berlin's layup gave the Peacocks the lead for good, 58-57, with 3:19 remaining. Berlin then made one of two free throws to extend Saint Peter's lead to 59-57 with 28 seconds left.
After Scott misfired on a three, the Peacocks went back to the free throw line, and Yvon Raymond only made one of two free throws to leave the door open for the Knights to tie the game on their final possession. However, freshman Mathias Seilund (Dragoer, Denmark/Falkonergaardens Gymnasium)'s three-pointer was blocked with two seconds left, allowing Saint Peter's to escape with the victory.
Saint Peter's led almost the entire first half. After Seilund and Smith scored the first two buckets for the Knights, the Peacocks built an 11-6 lead with 15:20 to go in the first 20 minutes.
For most of the first half, Saint Peter's led anywhere from three to five points. Down 17-12, Smith canned a three to cut the lead to 17-15 with 6:39 remaining in the half.
The Peacocks were able to build their lead back to five, 23-18, on two free throws by Wesley Jenkins with 1:48 left in the half.
The Knights then scored the next five points on Seilund's old-fashion three-point play and two free throws by Galvin to tie the game at 23 with 30 seconds remaining before halftime.
Saint Peter's Nick Leon knocked down a jumper with seven seconds left in the half to put the Peacocks up at the break, 25-23.
The Peacocks opened the second half by scoring six of the first eight points and took their largest lead of the game, 31-25, with 17:59 to go.
Over the next six minutes, FDU went on an 18-4 run to go up, 43-35, with 11:52 remaining. The Knights took their first lead of the game, 33-32, when Scott knocked down a pair of technical foul free throws. Smith then extended the lead to four on the Knights next possession after the technical with a three from the right wing.
Two more free throws by Scott with 7:47 to go in the game kept FDU ahead by eight, 55-47. Wesley Jenkins' layup triggered a game-ending 13-2 run with 6:59 remaining. The Knights failed to score a basket over the final 8:08 of the game.
The Knights did not have a good day shooting from the field as they only shot 26.8 percent (15-for-56). Defensively, they held Saint Peter's to 36.7 percent from the field, including 4-of-18 from three-point range. FDU also forced 14 turnovers, while only turning the ball over nine times. Saint Peter's edged the Knights on the glass, 39-38.
"Give them all the credit," said Head Coach Greg Vetrone. "They did what they had to do at the end to win the game. We let this one get away. "
"We have to regroup. This will be a great learning experience for us, especially our younger guys."
Steven Samuels led Saint Peter's with 13 points, while Jenkins added 10. Belin grabbed 11 rebounds to pace the Peacocks.
The Knights will now have a 15-day layoff before returning to the court on Sunday, Jan. 2 against Lafayette. Tip-off at Stratis Arena is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Hackensack.
