For the first time in conference history, the MAAC Tournament Championship game was an all-New Jersey affair in Atlantic City. Saint Peter's faced Monmouth with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at stake. The Peacocks swept the season series, but the Hawks wanted to end their run in the MAAC with a conference tournament win as Monmouth will be transitioning to the CAA next season.
After a hard-fought instant classic, Saint Peter's withstood a late Monmouth charge to win the 2022 MAAC Tournament Championship, 60-54, on Saturday. The Peacocks won their first MAAC Tournament title since 2011.
Monmouth jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead at the 17:11 mark of the first half as Jarvis Vaughan and George Papas picked up a quick three points apiece for the Hawks. The defense for Monmouth stymied Saint Peter's, forcing two early turnovers.
With the Hawks up 11-5, Darryl Banks III got Saint Peter's going converting on a four-point play. All-MAAC Rookie Team guard Jaylen Murray knocked down a jumper for the Peacocks to tie the game at 11. With the offense rolling, Saint Peter's defense went to work as reigning three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo picked up two blocks in a three-possession span. Monmouth, who started fast, went almost four minutes with a point and 0-for-12 from the field over eight minutes.
The game's pace slowed down considerably in the latter part of the first half. Both Monmouth's and Saint Peter's half-court offenses could not get into a groove due to the strong defense from both teams. Both teams began hitting shots as Shavar Reynolds for Monmouth and Doug Edert for Saint Peter's (a friendly roll on a three-pointer) increased the pace of the action.
Down 23-22, Saint Peter's went on a 7-0 run, capped off with a Ndefo alley-oop layup to put the Peacocks out front where they would stay as they took a 29-25 lead into halftime. Edert led Saint Peter's with eight points, while Vaughan had 10 points for Monmouth. Ndefo ended the half with four blocks.
“’I always preach to them that defense wins championships, and this is it,” Holloway said.
The second half started rough for Monmouth as they picked up four team fouls in the first 90 seconds of the half. Reynolds tried to get the Hawks back into it as he scored four quick points. Saint Peter's answered with a three-pointer from Matthew Lee to stretch the Peacock lead to 39-31.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Monmouth center Walker Miller scored six points early in the second half as Saint Peter's turnovers got the Hawks back in the game as the deficit shrunk to 39-37. Both teams combined for 13 fouls (eight for Saint Peter's and five for Monmouth) in the first eight minutes of the half, illustrating how physical the game became in the second half. While the game did get physical, the referees were too tight with the play hence the high foul totals.
Monmouth lost Vaughn at the 10:47 mark of the half after he picked up his fifth foul. The Hawks went almost five minutes without a field goal, but Saint Peter's could not capitalize and pull away as Monmouth kept it close as the Peacocks held a 45-41 lead with 7:15 left in regulation. Saint Peter's went scoreless for over four minutes until Lee hit a three with the shot clock going down. Marcus McClary answered with a three-point play, but Edert went down and hit a driving layup to put the Peacocks up by three.
Ndefo fouled out with 3:31 left in regulation for Saint Peter's, which took the Peacocks' best player off the floor. Fousseyni Drame fouled out about a minute later as Saint Peter's lost their top two rebounders.
Monmouth could not take advantage as Doug Edert hit a three with 45 seconds left to put Saint Peter's up 55-50. Edert knocked down three free throws as Saint Peter's celebrated their fifth MAAC Championship in program history. Edert led the Peacocks with 20 points.
“I remember taking the (Saint Peter’s) job, and everybody telling me it’s a bad job don’t take it,” said Saint Peter's head coach Shaheen Holloway. “I said in my press conference sometimes you just have to bet on yourself and believe in yourself. Every place I ever been that’s what I’ve done as a player and a coach, and everywhere I’ve been I’ve had success because to me the blueprint is just hard work. Hard work … you can’t run away from it. That’s who I am. That’s who my team is.”
Ndefo, the tournament MVP, finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and four blocks, while Banks III scored eight points, including two timely threes in the win.
"This moment is just awesome," Ndefo said. "I'm at a loss for words right now."
Miller led Monmouth with 15 points, all in the second half. Reynolds scored 12 points while leading scorer George Papas struggled as he finished with six points on just 2-of-11 shooting. Monmouth shot just 24 percent and 16 percent from beyond the arc.
“This hurts a lot. As bad as this hurts right now, I’m happy for my brother Shaheen," said Monmouth head coach King Rice. "I want to credit those kids over there. We’ll be alright, we’ve been through this before, we have a very good program at Monmouth.”
MAAC Tournament All-Championship Team
- Jacob Rigoni- Quinnipiac
- Dwight Murray Jr. – Rider
- Walker Miller - Monmouth
- Shavar Reynolds – Monmouth
- Doug Edert – Saint Peter's
- Matt Lee – Saint Peter's
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