ATLANTIC CITY — Shaheen Holloway's New Jersey basketball success story continued Saturday afternoon.
The Saint Peter's men's basketball coach watched as the third-seeded Peacocks earned their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2011 with a 60-54 win over fourth-seeded Monmouth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament title game at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
Junior guard Doug Edert scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the final six minutes to propel the Peacocks to the win. Umar Shannon, a Saint Peter's assistant coach, is an Atlantic City High School alumnus.
Holloway took over the Peacocks in 2018. He first rose to prominence as a standout guard at St. Patrick's of Elizabeth in the 1990s, where he was named a McDonald's All-American. Holloway excelled at Seton Hall, leading the Pirates to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2000. As an assistant at Iona and Seton Hall, Holloway proved to be a standout recruiter and top-notch talent developer.
Saint Peter's led the entire second half Saturday, although Monmouth did cut the lead to one point three times in the final six minutes.
During that stretch, Edert made a jumper in the lane, two foul shots and then made a 3-pointer from the left wing with 46 seconds left to put Saint Peter's up five and clinch the win.
KC Ndefo, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, set the defensive tone for Saint Peter's with four blocks and seven rebounds before fouling out with 3 minutes, 31 seconds left. Ndefo was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. The Peacocks also survived 6-7 junior forward Drame Fousseyni (10 rebounds) fouling out with 1 minute, 42 seconds left.
Graduate senior center Walker Miller led Monmouth with 15.
Saturday's game capped the five-day MAAC tournaments. The event is scheduled to return to Boardwalk Hall next year. This was the first year the MAAC tourneys — the women's title game was was held earlier in the day — had a chance to show what they could do in Atlantic City. The pandemic canceled the 2020 tournament shortly after it began. The 2021 tournament was held before few fans because of COVID-19.
"It went," MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor said of the tournament, "so it's a great step forward. It's nice to be in full operation mode again."
There was plenty of energy in Boardwalk Hall on Saturday. For the first time all week, the arena unveiled its famous pipe organ for the national anthem.
The crowd was decidedly pro-Monmouth. Fans of both schools stood for the opening tip. The Hawks fans chanted "Defense! Defense!" in the second half.
Ensor spoke positively about the logistics of Boardwalk Hall, the building's acoustics and Atlantic City's abundance of hotel rooms.
"There will be good word of mouth coming out of this week," Ensor said. "We'll continue to grow the event."
As for Saturday's title game, what made it so compelling is the MAAC is a one-bid league. Only Saturday's winner is headed to the NCAA Tournament.
Both Monmouth ( 21-13) and Saint Peter's (19-11) played with desperation. Who knows when either school will be this close to an NCAA Tournament bid again?
Monmouth is leaving the MAAC at the end of the school year for the Colonial Athletic Association, a higher-level league. Holloway's success at Saint Peter's could lead him to a job at a bigger school.
Points were tough to come by as both teams played physical, tenacious defense. Monmouth shot 12 of 51 from the floor. The Peacocks did only slightly better at 19 for 46.
Edert has a Jersey story of his own. The Nutley resident graduated from Bergen Catholic Hugh School. He was 5 of 10 from the floor and 8 off 9 from the foul line, and that was the difference.
Each team needed one player to get hot. Edert was that man.
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