Jeron Belin scored 15 points and Saint Peter's defeated Fairfield 62-48 on Sunday to earn a trip to its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game since 2006.
The Peacocks led the semifinal contest 40-15 at halftime after an 18-1 run to finish the half. Fairfield responded with a 21-2 rally to open the second half, which cut the deficit to 42-36 with 8:05 remaining. The Stags would get no closer.
St. Peter's (19-13), the tournament's No. 4 seed, lost twice to top-seeded Fairfield this season. The Stags (24-7) had lost in the MAAC title game the past two seasons.
Wesley Jenkins added 14 points, Nick Leon had 11 and Ryan Bacon 10 for the Peacocks, who forced 22 turnovers, including 12 steals. Steven Samuels had six takeaways as the Peacocks outscored Fairfield 25-8 on points off turnovers.
Yorel Hawkins scored 17 points to lead Fairfield.
