March 25 (UPI) — The 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s Peacocks kept their Cinderella run alive with a historic 67-64 upset win over the No. 3 seed Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Daryl Banks III scored the tying and go-ahead baskets to push the Peacocks to the brink of the Final Four. Saint Peter’s (22-11), the first No. 15 seed in tournament history to reach the Elite Eight, will face either UCLA or North Carolina in Sunday’s East Region final.
“What they going to say now?” Peacocks head coach Shaheen Holloway said of his team’s doubters.
Banks led the Peacocks with 14 points, while Clarence Rupert recorded 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Doug Edert added 10 points and three rebounds.
Trevion Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Boilermakers (29-8), who were attempting to reach the Elite Eight for the second time in the past three tournaments.
Sasha Stefanovic and Zach Edey each posted 11 points for Purdue, and Mason Gillis had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Boilermakers, who entered the game as 12 1/2-point favorites over the Peacocks, never led by more than six.
In the other early Sweet 16 matchup Friday, the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks held off the fourth-seeded Providence Friars to clinch a spot in the Elite Eight.
With the victory, the Jayhawks (31-6) became the lone No. 1 seed to advance to a regional final. Baylor, Gonzaga and Arizona were all eliminated and fell short of the Elite Eight.
Kansas will play either No. 10 seed Miami or No. 11 Iowa State in the next round.
