Location: Koessler Athletic Center – Buffalo, N.Y.

Starters:  G - #1 Malcolm McMillan; G - #5 Kassius Robertson, G - #23 Jamal Reynolds, F - #22 Phil Valenti, C - #14 Kevin Bleeker

Game Recap
Saint Peter's had four players score in double-figures, led by junior guard Trevis Whyche and his game-high 16 points off the bench, to lead the visiting Peacocks to a 70-53 win over Canisius Saturday afternoon in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win for Saint Peter's ended the program's six-game losing streak to Canisius and moved the squad to 6-8 overall and 4-1 in MAAC play, while the Golden Griffins dropped their third straight to fall to 7-9 overall and 2-4 in league play.

Wyche added a game-high eight assists and five rebounds to his final stat line, as the Peacocks picked up a win in the Koessler Athletic Center for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Freshman Antown Portley scored 11 points, while Rodney Hawkins and Quadir Welton added 10 points and six rebounds apiece. Saint Peter's shot 51 percent from the field, highlighted by a 65.2 percent effort in the game's second half, and the Peacocks outscored Canisius 34-22 in the paint.

For Canisius, sophomore Kassius Robertson scored a team-high 15 points, while senior Jamal Reynolds added 10 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Jermaine Crumpton chipped in 10 points as Canisius ended the contest shooting a season-low 29.7 percent from the field. 

How It Happened:
• The game started at a very slow pace, with the two teams combining for 21 total points at the under-12 media timeout in the first half. Canisius led 10-9 after Reynolds completed a traditional three-point play with 14:51 left before halftime.
• Reynolds' free-throw at the 14:51 mark would stand as Canisius' last point for 6:05, while Saint Peter's was able to score just six points in that time period to hold a 15-10 lead. Robertson ended the Blue and Gold's scoring drought with a 3-pointer from the wing with 8:42 to make the score 15-13 in favor of the Peacocks.
• Canisius eventually took the lead back at 18-17 with 6:12 left to play in the first half on a jumper by Crumpton. But from there, Saint Peter's outscored Canisius by a 12-2 count over the final 5:50 of the first stanza to take a 29-20 lead into the halftime intermission.
• Canisius went scoreless for a span of 6:10 of game action, spanning both halves, before senior Malcolm McMillan ended that drought with a free-throw at 16:26 left in the game to make the score 32-21 in favor of Saint Peter's.
• Saint Peter's was able to push its lead to as many as 17 points at 49-32 with 10:03 left in the game, but the Blue and Gold fought back with a 15-5 run to make the score 54-47. That 15-5 Canisius run was capped by another traditional three-point play by Reynolds, but Saint Peter's put the game away for good by responding with a 9-2 run over the next 2:25 to make the score 63-49 with 2:44 left on the clock.

Beyond the Box Score:
• Canisius scored just 20 points in the first half, the fewest points in a 20-minute period since the team scored 16 points in the first half at Monmouth Feb. 8, 2015.
• The Griffs were only able to get to the free-throw line 11 times, where the team made eight charity tosses.
• In the Griffs' current three-game losing streak, opponents are shooting 53.8 percent (86-for-160) from the field and 50.9 percent (29-for-57) from behind the 3-point arc.

Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
"We knew coming in this was going to be a challenging game for us. This has been a long week with four games in seven days. Our last three games have been against three teams that are really athletic. We just fell way short today. Give Saint Peter's credit, they made shots and took advantage when we missed our chances."

"We didn't have any real jump today, we looked tired. We wanted to press them and try and speed them up, but we didn't have the legs to do it. This is one of the reasons we keep working to develop our bench. We need guys to be ready to step in and keep us moving. We've played kind of a pro schedule here recently, and we looked like it today."

"I didn't think we would come out and shoot 22 percent in the first half, that's for sure. When our shots were not falling, we decided to try and break them down and get to the basket in an effort to get to the foul line. Obviously, that didn't work either, because we only shot 11 free-throws."

"When you're trying to build a team, there are going to be days like this. We don't like it, but we know we just need to keep working to get better. It is on-the-job training."

Additional Game Notes:
• This was the 74th all-time meeting between these two Jesuit schools, with Canisius holding a 42-32 lead in the series.
• Saint Peter's held a 37-34 advantage on the boards, but only four of those rebounds came off the offensive glass.
• McMillan was credited with four of the Griffs' nine assists, the 16th time this season he's recorded multiple assists in a game.
• Crumpton's two steals in the loss is a new career-high for the sophomore forward.
• Reynolds led all players with nine rebounds. In his 49 career games as a Griff, he has led the team in rebounding 17 times.