By: Jacob Walsh

PHILIDELPHIA, Pa. – The 15th seeded St. Peter’s Peacocks fell to the 8th seeded North Carolina Tarheels on Sunday, March 27th. North Carolina won in a dominant fashion, with a final score of 69-49. N.C. will face rival Duke in the Final Four in a highly anticipated matchup.

The Cinderella team was topped in every team statistic (FG, FG%, 3PT, 3PT %, Rebounds) against N.C., except for free throw percentage. The Tarheels came out swinging in the Elite Eight matchup, outscoring St. Peter’s by 19 points in the first half. St. Peter’s only put up 19 points in that same first half. During the second half, the Peacocks scored 30 points, but it was all for not as N.C. scored 31 more to top the underdogs.

St. Peter’s guard, Doug Edert, has been hyped up throughout the tournament on social media. He played 21 minutes, went 0-5 on Field Goal attempts, 0-3 on Three-Point attempts, and 2-2 on Free Throw attempts.

The St. Peter’s starting guard, KC Ndefo, played a team-high 33 minutes. He led the team in Field Goals (5-13) but did not register any three-point attempts nor free throws. Bench Forward, Fousseyni Drame, led the team in points with 12.

The seeding difference between St. Peter’s and their opponents finally proved its worth after four rounds. The loss was not all in vain as the Peacocks have gained support across the nation through social media. The team also set the record for the highest-seeded team to make into the Elite Eight, marking their place in basketball history.

The success of St. Peter’s didn’t come from just luck, as the team outplayed their lower-seeded opponents in each matchup. The notable victories came against no.2 Kentucky (85-79), no.7 Murray State (70-60), and no.3 Purdue (67-64). This path of the Peacocks was a triumph, beating arguably the best men’s college basketball player (Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky), the team with men’s college basketball’s best record (Murray State; 31-3), and the sport’s best offense (Purdue).

Though this is the end of possibly one of the greatest Cinderella runs, it will never be forgotten. St. Peter’s put themselves on the map not just for their men’s basketball team but their entire NCAA athletic program. Game statistics and information provided by ESPN.

Image Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images