Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: St. Peter's versus Seton Hall

by Ray Floriani

NEWARK, NJ - The two teams entered the Monday night game at the Prudential Center with personnel issues. Seton Hall was able to get through theirs en route to a 69-49 win over St.Peter’s.

Pre-Game Shootaround
The Pirates came in averaging a brisk 71 possessions per contest. St.Peter’s, a decidedly more deliberate 63 possessions per. Early in the season a team as Seton Hall may have glowing efficiency numbers due to a mild schedule. That is not the case here as December is two days away and the Pirates have played Temple and a few other formidable teams in the Paradise Jam.

	Efficiencies
	Off.	Def.
St. Peter's	80	95
Seton Hall	96	91

The defense of St.Peter’s is respectable but as was the case a year ago, Coach John Dunne’s club is just struggling to score points. A 24% TO rate and 42% eFG percentage are not exactly helping the cause.

Efficiencies for the game:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
St. Peter's	65	75
Seton Hall	64	108

The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
St. Peter's	35	28	27	23
Seton Hall	46	12	36	8

‘Personnel’ issues dealt with Jeremy Hazell and Wesley Jenkins. Hazell broke his wrist at the Paradise Jam and missed the Pirate losses to Xavier and Clemson. “Jeremy’s injury affected us all ,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “But from a coaching standpoint you make adjustments. The players were devastated. They were not used to playing without him (Hazell). It was like they expected to see him come down and hit a three. It took some adjusting.” A period of practice after the Virgin Islands tournament helped the team adapt to not having Hazell, who was playing outstanding before getting injured. Willard said Hazell will see another specialist Wednesday. If surgery is not required he will be back in five weeks.

Seton Hall Coach Kevin Willard
fields questions from reporters

Wesley Jenkins injured his knee in a Fall pickup game. A torn ACL was feared. It turned out the injury was not as severe and no surgery was needed. Jenkins’ first game was Saturday against LIU. “We probably played him more than we should have,” St.Peter’s coach John Dunne said. “The knee was fine but his game conditioning wasn’t up to par.“ In the LIU game, Jenkins (played 29 minutes scoring 13 points) was needed to pull out the St.Peter’s win. In the Seton Hall game Jenkins logged 20 minutes scoring three points and grabbing a team leading six rebounds. "It’s a game conditioning thing for Wesley,” Dunne said. “He is still rounding into form."

Observations
The pace of the game actually benefited both teams. Entering the game the Hall was a uptempo. With Hazell’s injury the Pirates are more half court or as Willard says, “a grind it out team.” Willard scrapped a few sets and added several new ones during the days between Paradise Jam and St. Peter’s. He’s looking to get more scoring opportunities for Herb Pope, Jordan Theodore and Jeff Robinson.

St.Peter’s should improve offensively but right now without Jenkins at full strength, they struggle to manufacture points. Ryan Bacon, a 6-7 senior forward, was the Peacocks’ only double figure scorer with 13 points. Bacon can score inside but is averaging just over 7 PPG. He is using only 9% of the team’s possessions. The problem here is mostly foul trouble which has saddled his effectiveness in the young season. Without fouling as a problem tonight, Bacon logged 27 minutes and used 14% of the St.Peter’s possessions.

Willard was pleased with the 5 turnovers by Seton Hall which gave them an outstanding TO rate.

To get an offensive spark, Willard brought Theodore off the bench. He discussed the role with the Pirate junior who was happy with it. “Coming into the game Jordan gives us energy and a lift,” Willard said. “Also the defense gets caught off guard with his style.” To Willard, starting is not the big thing. Playing time and contributions are key and Theodore logged 25 minutes, tying Pope and Robinson in that category.

St.Peter’s zoned, 2-3 or 3-2 the whole night. Hall seemed more comfortable attacking (not just settling for jump shots) as the night wore on.

Final Bookkeeping
Hall is 3-3 while St.Peter’s falls to 2-4. Theodore (11) and Robinson (10) led the Hall in scoring.

Saw Brian Nash, former St.Bonaventure and Seton Hall assistant who most recently headed up the St.Francis(NY) program. Nash is going to games and practices these days with an eye on getting back on the sidelines. Hopefully one of the great guys in the game gets his wish.

Pregame Drills at The Rock

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: MAAC Conference Wrapup

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ - Iona edged St.Peter’s on Sunday at Yanitelli Center. The game drew the MAAC regular season to a close. The following is a final regular season tempo free breakdown of the MAAC, with conference games only factored in.

The offensive and defensive efficiencies are subtracted to give us the efficiency margin on the far right. Naturally, a figure in the positive is desired. Pace is the average number of possessions a team uses per game.

		Efficiency			Eff
Team	Record	Off.	Def.	Pace	Mgn
Siena	17-1	109	91	70	18
Fairfield	13-5	103	98	68	5
Iona	12-6	94	90	67	4
St.Peter’s	11-7	91	88	67	3
Niagara	9-9	101	95	69	6
Rider	9-9	95	101	69	-6
Canisius	8-10	96	98	67	-2
Loyola	6-12	96	100	67	-4
Manhattan	4-14	94	99	68	-5
Marist	1-17	85	107	64	-22

Siena, the class of the conference, has the impressive numbers to back it. The defensive numbers in the MAAC are noteworthy especially those of St.Peter’s. The offensive efficiency was not too great in Jersey City but when you hold opponents to an 88 DE you will win games.

Last season Chucky Martin arrived at Marist with th dribble drive motion offense. This season Marist was the most pedestrian team in the conference. Little worked this season for a painfully young Marist squad.

A 9-9 mark is not bad but many expected more of Rider. A quick look shows the defense was too generous and the efficiency margin, one of the poorest in the conference.

Conference tournament is March 5-8 at the Times Union Center in Albany.

Dinneen Hall
St. Peter's College

The St.Peter’s-Iona game was a 59 possession (Iona 56 St. Peter’s 62) contest , with the efficiencies and four factors as follows:

	Off		FTA
	Eff	eFG%	FGA	OReb%	TO%
Iona	88	40	23	18	25
St.Peter’s	77	37	25	25	23

At Stake. A lot, namely third place. The winner would secure third in the MAAC standings. Beyond the pride of a higher finish was the knowledge that tournament favorite Siena would not (possibly) be faced until the final game.

With all that in mind, these two teams got together in an intense, defensive struggle with 7 ties and 4 lead changes, that was not decided until the final possession.

Interestingly Iona ,which took 40% of their attempts from three point range (19 three point attempts of 47 total tries), got the game winning points due to a penetration. Sophomore guard Scott Machado was fouled going to the basket with 5 seconds left and converted both shots. St.Peter’s countered with a drive by Eddie Leon who was stripped of the ball by Iona’s Jermel Jenkins.

One of the discernible differences was in rebounding where St.Peter’s had an edge. That was offset by Iona’s defense. St.Peter’s led 27-24 at the half but shot 7 of 26 (27%) the final twenty minutes. The Gaels were only slightly better at 8 of 22 (36%) but they knocked down three treys (st>peter’s had one) and that slight margin was enough in a very close finish.

Numbers. Jenkins led Iona (21-9 overall) with 13 points. Machado was the other double figure scorer for the Gaels with 10. St.Peter’s (16-13) had two players hit doubles with Ryan Bacon and Wesley Jenkins both scoring 12 points.

The MAAC. St.Peter’s wanted that third seed but what they are getting is not too bad. The Peacocks will face Rider at 2:30 on Saturday in Albany. The two teams split this year and Rider struggled this weekend getting waxed by Siena on Friday and barely surviving Canisius (both at home).

Iona draws Niagara in a 10 pm game on Saturday. Gaels coaches and players all said the right thing but deep down the 10 pm contest is a coaching nightmare. Awaiting is a Niagara team that played fairly well down the stretch.

“We had a tough weekend at Fairfield and St.Peter’s. We finished 12-6 (MAAC) and 21-9 that’s what I’m most proud of.” - Iona coach Kevin Willard

“I’m disappointed we didn’t get the win and finish third but I’m proud of my team. We are playing with passion.” - St. Peter’s coach John Dunne

Kyle Smith (l) and Jermel Jenkins (r) of Iona
interview with Sean Brennan of the Daily News

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Canisius at St. Peter's

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ - Call it "weekend at Yanitelli" or maybe "Jesuit weekend". On Sunday it was back to St.Peter’s. This time a noon men’s game as St.Peter’s edged Canisius 73-72 in overtime. The efficiency and four factors in an 81 possession game (Canisius 81 SPC 80):

			FTM
	ORtg	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Canisius	89	41	41	36	27
St.Peter’s	91	47	19	33	23

In what can be termed an oddity, Canisius eFG% mark equaled the free throw rate. Griffs struggled from the floor shooting 20 of 59 (34%) overall percentage but got to the line for 34 attempts and knocked down 24.

For a team with recent offensive woes, Canisius could not afford to give away over a quarter of their possessions. The committed 22 turnovers for a disaster of a 27% TO RATE (TO%). Granted, I’ve seen worse rates, but in a one possession OT game on the road that 27% jumps right off the sheet.

Frank Turner was the big sorty for Caniusis. St.Peter’s contained the Griffin guard the first half but a senior point guard with his ability will not stay quiet for long. Turner led Canisius with 23 points and had 11 rebounds. The latter mark is indicative of Hustle as Turner is all of 5-10 in height. St.Peter’s coach John Dunne admitted it would be too difficult to stop Turner the entire game. “He (Turner) did a great job using the pick and rolls to split our defenders.” Turner tied the game on a drive going end to end the final eight seconds in regulation.

St.Peter’s was led by Wesley Jenkins with a game high 25 points. Jenkins got St.Peter’s going in overtime as the Peacocks had lost the momentum near the end of regulation.

St.Peter’s missed a few crucial free throws in regulation and overtime. Peacocks shot 11 of 24 from the charity stripe. Dunne has a good outlook on free throws. “I know no player goes up there to miss,” he said. “If they do miss I am more concerned how we defend. Giving up easy shots on defense after a miss is worse than the miss.”

Scoring. Once again Canisius struggled in the scoring column. The last few losses have seen the Griffins putting points on the board a difficult proposition. Prior to today’s game the last three losses have seen Canisius average 54 points per game while shooting 35% from the field. A closer look:

			Off.
Date	Opponent	Score	Eff.
Jan 24	St.Peter’s	68-55	83
Feb 1	Iona	72-53	80
Feb 5	Niagara	66-54	83

Sandwiched among those losses was a January 29th 73-70 win over Niagara. Even in that one the OE was 97. Slightly less than acceptable.

Interesting Cheer. A fan seated behind me did not agree with an official’s call. “hey ref’, she yelled, ‘this is not the Forum’. Interesting since Canisius is from Buffalo and the Forum is in LA. Over 3,000 miles and seemingly a universe apart. Then the association hit. Canisius wears gold uniforms as the LA Lakers do at home. And not knowing Canisius’ home court, Koessler Center, and probably not sure where Canisius is located, the fan used the Forum as reference. That’s why ‘fan’ is short for fanatic.

The call was right. Final possession with two seconds left in OT. St.Peter’s was up three Turner had the ball beyond the arc. Yvon Raymond of St.Peter’s grabbed Turner on a reach in before he could start a shooting motion. It was a two shot (double bonus) foul. Canisius coach Tom Parrotta disagreed. The time between seeing the foul and calling it could be a second which is like an eternity. As the whistle went off Turner was beginning the motion but that whistle was a response to a grab before the shooting motion. The call was right. Turner hit the first, tried to miss the second and banked it in. St.Peter’s was fouled on the inbound and proceeded to miss both shots. The horn went off as a Canisius player was able to secure the rebound.

Coach Dunne's Super Bowl pick. “I’m going with the Colts because I am a Giant fan and Eli Manning’s brother Peyton plays for them. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Saints win because it could a lot for that city that has been through so much.”

Records. Canisius is 11-14, 6-8 in the MAAC. St.Peter’s improves to 14-10, 8-6 in conference.

“We could have folded but we stayed mentally tough. It wasn’t our best game but we a Canisius team with an outstanding point guard and a team that plays hard.” - St.Peter’s coach John Dunne

Frank Turner of Canisius

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Siena at St. Peter's

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ - St.Peter’s saw their five game win streak ended by the leaders of the MAAC, Siena. The Saints earned a hard fought 66-58 victory at the Yanitelli Center on Thursday evening.

In a 71 possession game, the Efficiency and Factors:

	Off		FTA
	Eff	eFG%	FGA	OReb%	TO%
Siena	93	41	21	33	16
St.Peter’s	82	47	5	31	27

St.Peter’s entered the game averaging 65 possessions in MAAC play and sporting an offensive efficiency of 97. Siena forced the Peacocks into a faster pace and a 19 turnover evening. The turnover situation was a very sore point for St.Peter’s coach John Dunne. Turnovers and 41% shooting (credit the Siena defense) largely contributed to St.Peter’s low OE.

Siena was without injured Edwin Ubiles their outstanding 6-7 senior swingman . Picking up the pace on this veteran club were forward Ryan Rossiter, a game high 21 points along with 9 boards. Point guard Ronald Moore, 10 points, 9 assists, 2 turnovers, 40 minutes- this is a typical Moore night. Alex Franklin added 9 points 10 rebounds but muscled his way in the paint for a crucial field goal with just under a minute to play.

For a veteran cast that’s been around, Siena did start a junior (Rossiter) and sophomore forward Owen Wignot.

St.Peter’s attempted almost a quarter of their shots (14 out of 59) beyond the arc. Thus a relatively low FT rate. Peacocks did go 50% (7 of 14) from three but were defended inside shooting 17 of 45 (38%) from two point range.

Wesley Jenkins led St.Peter’s with 13 points while Nick Leon added 12. Ryan Bacon did not get a lot of low post touches (5 of 8 shooting) but scored 11 and added a game high 15 rebounds.

Arguably the game breaker of a stat: Siena held a 20-5 edge in points off turnovers.

Siena travels well and had a few hundred fans. The attendance, mostly St.Peter’s faithful, was 1,609. “It was a great atmosphere,“ Dunne said, “the best atmosphere since our 6 AM game (in November).”

Siena is now 18-4, 11-0 in the MAAC. St.Peter’s is 12-9, 7-4.

“Siena’s 1-2-2 zone is tough. It didn’t turn us over that much but it forced us to stand around and use a lot of clock.” - St.Peter’s coach John Dunne

“I expected a close game. No one blows them (St.Peter’s) out. I expected and we prepared for a close game.”- Siena coach Fran McCaffery

Siena Assistant Coach (and former Villanova Assistant Coach) Mitch Buonoguro

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: At St. Peter's vs Niagara

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ - It took a while and for St.Peter’s it was worth the wait. The Peacocks defeated Niagara 90-86 in two overtimes in a MAAC meeting at Yanitelli Center.

In a mid eighty possession game (Niagara 85, St.Peter’s 83) the efficiencies and four factors:

	Off		FTA
	Eff	eFG%	FGA	OReb%	TO%
Niagara	101	46	23	39	20
St.Peter’s	108	50	36	34	18

Resiliency.
That was the key and again, something that just cannot be measured or accounted for by formula or on a calculator. Niagara forced both overtimes on late three pointers. And on both occasions St.Peter’s kept after it and responded to the challenge. St.Peter’s, in fact, was coming off their worst performance in over a year per coach John Dunne. Following a 23 point loss at Manhattan , Dunne did not label the Niagara game as ‘must win’. Rather, he simply appealed to his team to give it their best effort and the outcome would work itself out.

Big second half, and OTs for marquee players.
Tyrone Lewis of Niagara had 4 points at the half on one of nine shooting. The senior guard exploded after intermission finishing with 27 points. Lewis shot 7 of 20 but was 6 of 14 from three. He shot 6of 10 (60%) from beyond the arc after halftime and sent the game into overtime with a trey with just over a second to play.

Ryan Bacon had no points and was 0 for 1 from the field the first half as Niagara did a good defensive job. The St.Peter’s junior center didn’t force things and let the game come to him. Bacon was instrumental down the stretch and in the extra sessions. He finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists. One key play in the second OT, Bacon tipped a rebound twice and his second effort allowed Wesley Jenkins to secure the loose ball and finish with a dunk.

Both teams had four players in double figures. Niagara was led by Lewis’27 while Nick Leon of St.Peter’s led all scorers with 29 and Jenkins added 27.

Niagara entered the game forcing opponents into a 23% turnover rate. The Purple Eagles employ some full court pressure but even in half court defense, pressure the ball very aggressively. St.Peter’s, with their 18% rate. Did a good job in taking care of the ball.

Free throw rate was a bit inflated as Niagara was in a catch-up fouling mode late in regulation and the 2 Ots. Leon, a guard, shot the games most free throws (12, hitting 11) as Niagara fouled late attempting to get the ball back.

Warriors.
Both teams had three players log 40 or more minutes. Leon led all with 47 minutes. Niagara is 10-8 (3-3 in conference) while St.Peter’s improves to 8-8 (3-3). Niagara scored 45% of their points from three point range. Entering the game coach Joe Mihalich’s club was earning 32% of their points beyond the arc. Clearly a Perimeter Oriented Team as Niagara entered the game shooting 47% on two point field goal attempts.

"To get a win over a great team like Niagara is huge. The biggest thing is our kids kept their heads up when the game got tied and went into overtime(s). Our kids never had their heads down or let up." - Coach John Dunne St.Peter's

Rafael Addison Sighting - Prior to heading to St.Peter’s it was officiating time at Snyder High School in Jersey City. In attendance was former Snyder and Syracuse standout Rafael Addison. Rafael’s daughter Ashley is now playing at Molloy College. Addison coached her several years in AAU ball and took a very keen interest in the girls game. He stays in touch with his former coach Jim Boeheim and is looking forward to catching his alma mater at Rutgers in Wednesday.

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: ESPN's 24 Hours of Basketball, St. Peter's-Monmouth Recap

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, NJ -- A 6 am start, as part of the ESPN marathon, made for a unique setting. Beyond the excitement, all night activities and pre-game breakfast for the students who were absolutely pumped up, was a very good showing on the defensive end by St.Peter’s. St. Peter's and their cross state rival Monmouth University competed in a 63 possession game.

	Offn.
	Eff.
Monmouth	54
St. Peter's	92

The Four Factors:

		FTM
	eFG%	FGA	OReb%	TO%
Monmouth	23	26	30	29
St. Peter's	51	16	29	27

The 6 am hour was forgotten as, immediately after the tip, both clubs engaged with emotion and intensity. The first half saw St.Peter’s leading 27-16. At intermission it was a 33 possession tempo with John Dunne’s club showing their defensive prowess. Turnover rates were rather high. Chalk it up to defense rather than the 6 am tipoff. Effective field goal percentage shows how well St.Peter’s defended. Monmouth started slowly.

	Offn.
	Eff.
Monmouth	49
St. Peter's	82

I didn’t expect the Hawks to post an under 50 in offensive efficiency for the 1st half, but the second half was not much better for the Northeast Conference representatives. St.Peter’s man to man contested the perimeter. 6-8 sophomore Travis Taylor, Monmouth's primary inside threat, was faced by collapsing defenders to the verge of frustration. The Hawks shot 4 of 22 (18%) the first half. On the afternoon -- excuse me morning -- they were 10 of 47 from the field (21%). Taylor led all scorers with 12 points while Wesley Jenkins paced a balanced Peacock attack with 10 points.

Basketball at 6 am is an almost surreal experience. Arriving at just after 5 am to find a charged up, high energy atmosphere. Departing after interviews, around 8:30, I found the campus as quiet as a church, commuters, on their way to work mingled with students on their way to classes. Truly an experience. For players, coaches, fans...all involved.

"We played three emotional games in five days but give St.Peter’s defense credit. They were awfully good.” –Monmouth Coach Dave Calloway

“I’m really excited right now but in a few hours I’ll be tired. I had every alarm in the house go off at 3 am this morning.” – St.Peter’s coach John Dunne