ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Corey Washington scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half to lead fifth-seeded Saint Peter’s to No. 2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship game on Saturday night. They defeated seeded Fairfield 68-63. , earning the Peacocks an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Washington made 9 of 14 shots from the floor (7 of 8 after halftime), but the Peacocks (19-13) were just 6 of 13 from free throws. The Peacocks got some revenge by dropping their final two games of the regular season to Rider and Quinnipiac. Lost in the first two rounds of the tournament.
He added nine rebounds and blocked four shots.
St. Peter’s has won the past four times with automatic bids to the MAAC Tournament and NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2022 when the Peacocks advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time.
St. Peter’s Roy Clark came off the bench and scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and two 3-pointers.
The Peacocks shot 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the floor in the second half, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
They made 14 of 21 at the foul line.
Caleb Fields paced Fairfield (22-12) with a total of 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Alexis Jena had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Brycen Goodine had 10 points off the bench.
Jena had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead Fairfield to a 32-25 advantage at halftime.
The Stags took a 10-7 lead at the break on Jasper Floyd’s 3-pointer at the 14:10 mark.
Lewis Breachmore’s 3-pointer followed by Jalen Leach’s layup gave Fairfield a 39-29 lead just 2:35 into the second half.
The Stags held the lead until Michael Fuge followed up Brent Brand’s 3-pointer with a bucket, giving the Peacocks a 42-41 lead with 11:30 left.
St. Peter’s led by nine at the 3:47 mark, but Goodin’s layup and hook shot capped off an 8-0 spurt that gave Fairfield a 61-60 lead with 1:19 left.
Washington went 4-for-4 from the foul line, and the Peacocks sank 7 of 8 to keep the Stags at bay.
Fairfield hasn’t won the MAAC championship since 1997.
The Stags held Marist without a basket for nearly 10 minutes in the second half and overcame a nine-point deficit in the semifinals to win 65-61 and advance to the final.
