Bees Sting St. Peters 46-42

GSBR took to Newark, stopping off at the famous Hive for the prime time battle between two ReportIt Top 25 teams in St. Benedict's and St. Peter Prep. The battle between the pair of top ten teams did not disappoint the sold out crowd.

St. Benedict’s won the tip and found 6’9” senior Maurice Vassel under the rim. He got fouled and hit both free throws to open the evening 2-0 for the Bees. St. Peter's sophomore Mason Santiago answered with a bucket in transition to get the Marauders on the board and the teams began to settle in their offenses as the quarter neared its midway point with Benedict’s leading 6-2. Chidi Nwigwe ignited the crowd with a dunk to extend the lead to 8-2 at the 4:00 mark. Saint Peter’s found it tough sledding on offense in the first quarter but their tough defense kept the deficit manageable throughout until a David Johnson floater made it 10-2 with a minute to play. St Peter’s, thanks to a set of free throws, cut the lead to 12-6 after a quarter.

Peyton Miller split a pair to start the second for the Marauders and after Nwigwe missed a dunk from a tough angle in transition, St Peters got another layup to cut the game to one score at 12-9. Vassel responded for Benedict’s with an almost frozen-in-time one handed putback and after a triple and one by Tristan Davis, Benedict’s restored their comfortable advantage at 20-11 midway through the second. St Peter’s continued to claw its way back via the foul line and after a layup and set of Nico Pena free throws, they were back to inside five at 21-16. Johnson caught an airball under the basket unguarded on the next Bees possession to make it 23-16 and it brought a timeout from Marauders coach Alex Mirabel. The teams traded baskets down the stretch and the half ended with Saint Benedict’s leading 25-20.

The third started with a Santiago free throw and a Spencer layup to cut the lead to 25-24. A Spencer up and under tipped the sacles with a 27-26 lead for St Peters and Mark Taylor called a timeout to get his Bees in order. A defensive battle ensued for the remainder of the third and Benedict’s led by a slim 31-30 margin.

St Peter’s got a hot start in the fourth after two Miller buckets to take a 35-31 lead with 6:00 to go. The game slowed through the fourth with both teams afraid to make a mistake that could swing the pendulum. After a Marauders basket, Nathan Amoran and Davis both hit threes and the game was tied at 37 with 1:30 to go. Amoran split a pair to return the lead to Benedict's at 38-37 with 1:25 to go and then hit a layup on the next trip up the floor to extend the lead to 40-37 with 39 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, the Marauders missed a layup and Davis hit two freethrows to extend the Bees lead to 42-37. Nico Pena was fouled on a three point attempt with 17 seconds to go and hit two of three to cut the deficit to 42-39. Vassel confidently dropped two free throws to push Benedicts back up to a two possession lead. They needed the shots as Miller landed a banked triple with just seconds left to bring it back to a score at 44-42, but got no closer. Davis iced the game with two free throws and Saint Benedict’s outlasted the Marauders 46-42.

Case Agency Player Of The Game

Nathan Amoran, Saint Benedict's

Teammates scored more points tham Amoran but down the stretch, it was the play of the 6'3" junior, specifically in the final two minutes, at both ends of the floor, that contributed the final stings to the Gray Bees victory.