LOUDONVILLE, NY – Saint Peter's remains the only team to defeat Siena Basketball in the past year. The Peacocks put together a decisive 18-2 run early in the second half, and held off a late rally, to post a 68-62 victory at the Alumni Recreation Center, and snap the Saints' program record-tying 16-game win streak.
 
The national leader in blocks, KC Ndefo swatted six shots and led five in double figures for Saint Peter's (7-5, 4-3) with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Hassan Drame added 13 points for the Peacocks, who were the last team to defeat Siena (6-1, 6-1) last Feb. 2 in Jersey City.
 
Reigning MAAC Player of the Week Jordan King posted his third straight 20-point performance with a game-high 21 points for the Saints who suffered their first loss in 355 days. Manny Camper added 18 points and nine rebounds for Siena who is now 19-2 over the last full year, with both losses suffered at the hands of Saint Peter's. King and Camper combined to shoot 14-25 from the field including 8-14 from three, while the rest of the team shot just a collective 5-28 (18%) including only 2-12 (17%) from distance.
 
The Saints led by as many as seven in a mostly tight first half in which they harbored a 31-29 lead at the break. The score was knotted at 37-all early in the second half when the Peacocks went on their decisive run.
 
Saint Peter's outscored Siena 18-2 over a 5:46 run to take as much as a 16-point lead at 55-39 with 10:13 to go. The Peacocks held the Saints, who entered play ranked 30^th nationally in field goal percentage (.488), to just 28% (8-29) shooting in the second half and only 36% overall for the game.
 
But Siena wouldn't go down without a fight. The Saints turned the tables and clamped down defensively, holding Saint Peter's scoreless for a whopping 7:46. Meanwhile, Siena chipped away scoring 12 unanswered during the spurt to rally back within four at 55-41 with 2:59 remaining.
 
However, Daryl Banks III converted a four-point play to double the Peacocks' lead on the ensuing possession, and the Saints never got any closer than three thereafter, as the nation's third longest active winning streak came to a close.
 
Reserve Marty Silvera chipped in 12 points for Saint Peter's who was playing for the first time since Jan. 2 following a 20-day COVID-19 pause. Banks III and Matthew Lee rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points apiece for the Peacocks, as the road team won for just the second time in the last 17 meetings between the programs.
 
MAAC Player of the Year Jalen Pickett returned following a three-game absence due to a hamstring injury, and scored eight points while adding seven assists (zero turnovers) in 33 minutes for Siena, who also saw their 16-game home win streak snapped in suffering their first loss in the Capital Region since Mar. 10, 2019.
 
The Saints will look to bounce back and start a new winning streak Saturday when they try to secure a series split with Saint Peter's at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.