Banks' coast-to-coast layup gives Saint Peter's 75-74 win

Jan 4, 2021, 02:42 am

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Daryl Banks III’s drove the length of the court and laid the ball in as time ran out to give Saint Peter’s a 75-74 victory over Iona in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener on Friday night.

Doug Edert hit a baseline 3-pointer to get the Peacocks within a point with 6.2 seconds left. After Asante Gist missed the front end of a one-and-one, Banks, a true freshman, grabbed the rebound and dribbled down the court, going behind his back to avoid one defender, and put in the winning layup just before the buzzer.

Saint Peter’s trailed by 16 points with just over six minutes left before the Peacocks went on a 16-1 run to cut the Gaels’ lead to 71-70. Mohamed Thiam ended the drought with a straightway 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining.

Banks finished with a career-high 25 points. KC Ndefo added 14 points and nine rebounds and Edert 12 points.

E.J. Crawford scored 24 points for Iona with Isaiah Ross adding 15 points and Thiam 13 points and nine rebounds.

Iona, the four-time defending conference tournament champion, was again without head coach Tim Cluess, absent this season as he monitors an undisclosed health condition. Associate head coach Tra Arnold has served as head coach in Cluess’ absence.