Saint Peter's guard Wesley Jenkins scored a game-high 18 points and teammate Todd Sowell posted his 13th double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Peacocks defeated Canisius College 75-68 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball action Saturday afternoon in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win improved Saint Peter's to 6-19 overall and 3-12 in the MAAC, while the Golden Griffins dropped their fourth straight and fell to 4-21 overall and 2-13 in league play.
For Canisius, freshman Greg Logins (pictured) scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Blue and Gold while fellow freshman Rishawn Johnson matched his career best with 13 points. Junior Bob Bevilacqua set new career highs with 12 points and five rebounds in the loss, while sophomore Frank Turner chipped in 12 points for Canisius, the 37th time in his career he's recorded double figures in the scoring column.
Trailing 16-13 with 12:47 left before halftime, Saint Peter's used a 16-0 run over 4:28 to take a 29-16 lead. That scoring spurt was fueled by four 3-point field goals, with freshman guard Darrell Lampley knocking down three of the four long balls from behind the arc. Saint Peter's shot 44.4 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from long range in the game's first 20 minutes and held a 45-31 lead at the break.
“We let them get up on us early and give them credit, they made their shots,” Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. “We battled back in the second half and got ourselves back in the game, but we shot ourselves in the foot when we needed to make plays. Down the stretch, their guys made plays and we did not.”
The Griffs came out of the locker room after the intermission and went on a 13-5 run to cut Saint Peter's lead to 49-44 after Bevilacqua hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 13:33 left on the clock. The two teams traded baskets for the next six minutes before the Blue and Gold took the lead at 60-58 with 7:03 left to play following a traditional three-point play by Johnson. Jenkins drove the lane and knotted the game at 60-60 moments later, but Canisius was able to regain the lead one last time after Logins laid one off the glass to put Canisius up 66-65 with 2:45 to play.
Sowell gave Saint Peter's the lead for good by draining a pair of free throws with 2:23 remaining, and then the senior forward scored in the paint off a pass by teammate Nick Leon with 1:52 left to give the Peacocks a 69-66 cushion. Saint Peter's was able to secure the win by going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final 55 seconds.
Leon posted 17 points and five rebounds for Saint Peter's, which closed out the game holding a 48-42 advantage on the glass. For Canisius, freshman Tomas Vazquez-Simmons pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds and was also credited with a team-high four blocked shots.
Canisius will return to action Feb. 18, when the team plays host to Iona. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Game Notes: The win allows Saint Peter's to claim the season series between the two schools for the first time since 2004-05 season... Logins is averaging 13.3 points per game in the team's last three home games... Johnson is shooting 55.5 percent from the floor in the Griffs' last three outings... Turner had six assists for Canisius, the 38th time in his career he's led the team in that category... The game featured six ties and 12 lead changes.
