If Saint Peter’s wins the MAAC Tournament at Atlantic City next month, don’t be surprised if their bench players are a key to victory.
JERSEY CITY, NJ — Peacocks head coach Bashir Mason has entrusted his bench in games this season, and they have contributed to plenty of the Peacocks’ wins this season, especially at home. That trend continued on Sunday afternoon when the Peacocks’ bench contributed 37 points in the team’s 83-74 victory over the Fairfield Stags (16-11, 8-8 MAAC) at Run Baby Run Arena.
It was good enough for the Peacocks to extend their conference home winning streak to 10 games and keep them in sole possession of second place in the MAAC at 15-9, 12-4, two games behind league leader Merrimack with four games to go in the regular season.
Head Coach Bashir Mason said this about his bench: One of the things we talked about this summer is strength of numbers. We were going to do it by committee. I trust all 13 guys.
Mason has plugged in TJ Robinson late in the first half all season to give the Peacocks a spark. Most times, the Peacocks feed off him when it comes to scoring and defense, which creates the team’s runs.
TJ Robinson (photo courtesy SPU Athletics)
Robinson started his day by engineering a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer and a layup after receiving the ball from reserve Shaedon Simpson, who stole the ball from Ryan Zan. From there, the Peacocks took a 17-9 lead and did not look back after Elijah Perkins completed the run by making two free throws.
On this day, Robinson had to play more minutes than he normally would after Bryce Eaton left the game on a hard foul in the first half. He delivered by leading the Peacocks to 21 points (season high) on 5-of-9 shooting in 25 minutes. He made nine of 10 free throws.
“TJ is a stud,” Mason said. “Ultra-talented. I love his aggressiveness. I have to get him to understand how to play aggressively. He made his free throws and layups. He is playing to his strength. We need him down the stretch.”
Simpson received rare minutes, and he made the most of them by engineering a 13-2 run by hitting a 3-pointer. He finished the game with 12 points and hit six of seven free throws.
Brent Bland, the team’s leading scorer on the year and who had 15 points on the day, hit a couple of 3-pointers in that run, extending the Peacocks’ lead to 30-15. Rarely used Boi Agu contributed by shooting a jumper, making it a 37-23 Peacocks’ lead. Jahki Gupton added nine points off the bench for the Peacocks.
Bland’s day should be more than a footnote. He has been the Peacocks’ consistent scorer this season. He scored double figures in the last eight games. He averaged 13.7 games in that span and 14.3 games overall this season.
“Brent is the epitome of what college basketball should be,” Mason said of his senior star. “What’s missing in college basketball is the four-year player. He’s been with us since his freshman year (going back to the Peacocks’ Elite Eight run). He just competes.”
After Robinson set the tone in putting distance between the Peacocks and Stags, it was only fitting that he finished the first half by hitting both free throws after igniting the Peacocks’ first run of the game. The home team took a 43-23 halftime margin to the locker room, and then raced out to a 61-33 second-half lead.
After the way the bench performed, it will come in handy when the Peacocks go on the road to play Iona (15-12) in New Rochelle on Friday (7 PM, ESPN+), followed by a trip to Albany for a rematch with Siena (18-9) on Sunday (2 PM, ESPN+).
