Taylor leads Saint Peter’s past Monmouth 81-69

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) — Quinn Taylor finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Saint Peter’s pulled away late to beat Monmouth 81-69 on Sunday, moving into first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with the victory.

Monmouth’s Melik Martin sank 1 of 2 free throws to knot the score at 55 with 9:45 left in the game. But Taylor had two layups in a 6-0 run and Saint Peter’s (11-11, 8-5 MAAC) never trailed again, closing the game on a 26-14 run.

Saint Peter’s joined Rider atop the conference standings with Monmouth, Siena and Manhattan all a half-game behind.

Cameron Jones came off the bench to score a season-high 14 for the Peacocks, hitting all eight of his free throws. He added five rebounds and three steals. Freshman Aaron Estrada scored 11 on 4-of-6 shooting.

Deion Hammond scored a career-high 30 points for the Hawks (13-10, 7-5), hitting 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range. Ray Salnave added 13 points but hit only 5 of 17 shots.

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