JERSEY CITY, N.J. – In a contest featuring a wild finish, St. Peter’s held on to defeat Canisius 65-61 at Yanitelli Center on Thursday night. Three points of emphasis come out of the game:
- Both teams competed. Canisius entered 0-3 in conference while St. Peter’s was 1-2. It hasn’t been easy for either team. Regardless, they went after it in conference “battle-tested” fashion. St. Peter’s had a 16-point lead with just over five minutes to play. On the road and 3-10 on the season, it would have been easy for Canisius to ride out those final minutes. Instead they staged a determined rally that saw them attempt a game-tying three in the final seconds. Not about to lament over the last few minutes, St. Peter’s regrouped defensively for that crucial last possession and forced Harold Washington to launch an off-balance attempt that missed everything. The Peacocks held on for a win, bringing them to .500 in conference.
- John Dunne has some young talent. It has been a learning experience with so many newcomers. At this point the St. Peter’s coach is pleased with their development and daily improvement. Sophomore guard Chris Burke, listed at 6-4 but playing bigger, had nine points and 11 rebounds. “(Burke) just gave us so much energy,” Dunne praised. Freshman guard Lamin Fulton is a player Dunne wants to produce in the scoring column. He’s done just that of late and led St. Peter’s with 14 points.
- Work in progress. Early in the season Dunne wanted to teach his team to stay in games. Now he’s focusing on closing them out. St. Peter’s got the win in a close game but there is significant work to do. “Overall our performance was good,” Dunne said, “but in the last few minutes we didn’t keep people in front of us defensively. We allowed too much penetration by their guards. On offense we made a lot of errors in execution. It’s something we really have to address.”
Canisius was led by Alshwan Hymes with a game-high 15 points. Chris Manhertz of Canisius and St. Peter’s Burke shared rebounding honors with 11 apiece. In a game frequently less than artistic, both teams had 17 turnovers. In the tempo-free TO rate that equals a 23 percent rate for Canisius and 24 percent on the part of St. Peter’s. Bot figures are too high over the 20 percent cutoff.
