Dancin' again

The mighty Peacocks of my alma mater, St. Peter's U., won their men's basketball conference championship game yesterday, defeating Fairfield (another Jesuit college, from Connecticut). It was every bit the nail-biter I expected it would be. 

Down by 10 points in the second half, the hoopsters from Jersey City went on a tear and found themselves up by 9, only to squander nearly all of that lead with turnovers and missed foul shots. In the end, though, the Peacock defense forced Fairfield into one three-point attempt after another, and they weren't falling. The only way the Stags could get on the board was by stealing the ball in a rudimentary full-court press that St. Peter's surprisingly didn't handle well. 

Fairfield, which had averaged more than 75 points a game prior to the tournament, went 5 for 25 from the three-point arc, shooting 23 for 65 from the field overall, and managed only 63 points to the Peacocks' 68. The St. Peter's forward Corey Washington led all scorers with 24, to go with his 9 rebounds. The Peacocks shot 72 percent in the second half (13 for 18).

St. Peter's took home the league trophy as the 5-seed, defeating numbers 4, 1, and 2, in that order. It is their second conference title in the last three years.

And so it's off to March Madness once again for St. Peter's. Usually when they make the national tourney, they're a sure bet to be eliminated in the first round by beefy men twice their size from some gigantic state university somewhere. But that's what we all said two years ago, when St. Peter's made it all the way to the Elite Eight, taking out Kentucky, Murray State, and Purdue in the process. 

Whatever happens this time around, they have done their fans proud once again with tenacious defense, relentless rebounding, clutch shooting, and true grit. A tip of the hat to head coach Bashir Mason, in only his second year. And to all those Montgomery Street ballers. Way to go.

UPDATE, 3:45 p.m.: They'll be going to Charlotte, N.C. to play Tennessee on Friday. A Sweet 16 matchup against the Oregon Ducks is a mathematical possibility.