The St. Peter’s Peacocks added Purdue’s Boilermakers to their string of March Madness upsets on Friday night, becoming the first-ever 15th-seeded team to reach the Elite Eight. The Peacocks, who won Friday’s game 67-64, will now face either UCLA or North Carolina in the East Region final on Sunday.
Saint Peter’s had the fans inside the packed Wells Fargo Center on its side from the opening tip, and the arena erupted when Daryl Banks III tied the game 57-all on a turnaround jumper. He hit a driving layup with 2:17 left that made it 59-57.
With just eight seconds left in the game, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey buried an NBA-distance 3 that pulled Purdue within 65-64 and momentarily shushed the crowd. But Doug Edert, whose wispy mustache and goofy persona earned him a fast-food chicken endorsement deal, sank two free throws to seal the win.
“What they going to say now?” coach Shaheen Holloway said about his team’s doubters, a group whose numbers are dwindling.
Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Saint Peter’s fans made the 93-mile ride south to help pack the Philadelphia arena and give the Peacocks more of an edge than they usually have at their bandbox, known as Run Baby Run Arena. Just 434 fans were listed as the total attendance for Saint Peter’s home opener this season against LIU.
But it wasn’t just St. Peter’s students who were backing the team on Friday night. In recent weeks, basketball fans — yes, even those whose brackets the Peacocks helped bust — have started suddenly rooting for the tiny commuter college in Jersey City, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan.
By now, the Peacocks’ run is etched as the story of the tournament. Saint Peter’s started with a stunner when it knocked off No. 2 seed Kentucky and coach John Calipari. It then advanced to the Sweet 16 with a win over seventh-seeded Murray State.
The Peacocks lived by Holloway’s mantra: “I got guys from New Jersey and New York City. You think we’re scared of anything?”
After the win, the Peacocks hopped the press table and saluted fans in the first few rows. They mobbed each other and hugged and started waving down fans and friends before they gathered at the basket to celebrate — one more time — the biggest win in program history.
Banks led the Peacocks with 14 points, Clarence Rupert scored 11 and Edert had 10. Trevion Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds for Purdue.
