Saint Peter’s, Quinnipiac & Fairfield Advance to MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship Quarterfinals

Saint Peter’s, Quinnipiac & Fairfield Advance to MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship Quarterfinals

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No. 9 Saint Peter's University - 60 | No. 8 Monmouth University - 58
2018 Men’s Basketball First Round
Times Union Center
Albany, NY
 
No. 9 Saint Peter’s University (13-17) defeated No. 8 Monmouth University (11-20) to advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2018 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship. Graduate guard Nick Griffin converted the game-winning three-pointer to give the Peacocks a 60-58 victory. The Peacocks are set to take on No. 1 Rider University on Friday, March 2, at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

Saint Peter’s Notes:
  • Griffin scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and went 6-of-10 from behind the arc. The Peacocks trailed by one-point with 5.0 seconds left when Griffin knocked down the three-ball from the top of the key. The guard added four rebounds and a block in 32 minutes of play.
  • Junior forward Samuel Idowu registered 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 30 minutes. The forward shot 7-of-13 from the field.
  • They held Monmouth to 33.3-percent shooting from the field and 14.3 percent shooting from three in the second half. The Peacocks erased a 15-point Monmouth lead in the second half en route to the come-from-behind win.
  • The Peacocks improved to (2-2) in their last four MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship games dating to 2016.
  • Tonight’s contest marked the first meeting between Saint Peter’s and Monmouth in the MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship.
Monmouth Notes:
  • Fifth-year senior center Zac Tillman scored a team-high 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and grabbed five rebounds.
  • Senior guard Austin Tilghman tallied nine points, a team-high eight rebounds, and a team-best five assists in 34 minutes of play.
  • The Hawks shot 43.1-percent from the field, and outscored the Peacocks in the paint (34-16).  
No. 7 Quinnipiac University – 67 | No. 10 Siena College – 58   
2018 Men’s Basketball First Round
Times Union Center
Albany, NY
 
No. 7 Quinnipiac University (11-20) advanced to the 2018 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinals after it earned a 67-58 victory over No. 10 Siena College (8-24). The Bobcats will take on No. 2 Canisius College on Friday, March 2, at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN3.
 
Quinnipiac Notes:
  • The Bobcats had three players score in double figures en route to their first round win. Freshman guard Rich Kelly led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Kelly added five rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes of play.
  • Freshman forward Jacob Rigoni tallied 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range. The freshman recorded eight rebounds, which was one shy of his career-high (nine rebounds at Manhattan, Feb. 25, 2018).
  • Senior guard Cameron Young scored 14 points and pulled down 11 for his seventh double-double of the season. Young’s seven double-doubles are tied for the second most in the MAAC this season.
  • The Bobcats shot 50.0-percent from the floor and 42.3-percent from behind the arc, while they limited Siena to 32.3-percent shooting and 20.0-percent from three.
  • The win marked Quinnipiac’s second victory in program history at the MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship.
Siena Notes:  
  • Sophomore guard Khalil Richard scored a team-high 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field and grabbed three rebounds in 36 minutes.
  • Freshman guard Jordan Horn added 10 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes of action.
  • The Saints trailed by as many as 24 points in the game, but cut the Bobcats lead to eight with 1:30 to play in the game.
No. 6 Fairfield University –  71 | No. 11 Marist College – 57   
2018 Men’s Basketball First Round
Times Union Center
Albany, NY
 
 No. 7 Fairfield University (14-15) knocked off No. 11 Marist College (6-24), 71-57, to advance to the 2018 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinals. The Stags will meet No. 3 Niagara University on Saturday, March 3, at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
 
Fairfield Notes:
  • Senior guard Tyler Nelson led all scorers with 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. Nelson was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line and added five assists, four rebounds, and three steals in 37 minutes of play. Nelson converted four three-pointers, to give him a total of 91 on the season, a new single-season program record.
  • Junior forward Jonathan Kasibabu scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and recorded three rebounds.
  • Sophomore guard Ferron Flavors Jr. tallied 10 points and freshman Jesus Cruz pulled down 13 rebounds.
  • The Stags outrebounded the Red Foxes, 45-31. They also outscored Marist, 19-1 in second-chance points.
Marist Notes:
  • Junior guard Brian Parker scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and notched six rebounds, two assists, a steal.
  • Junior guard David Knudsen added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and tallied three rebounds.
  • The Red Foxes shot 40.8-percent from the field.
About the MAAC Basketball Championships:
The 2018 MAAC Basketball Championships take place March 1-5, at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. 16 of the 20 contests are set to air exclusively on ESPN3. The first Men’s Basketball Championship Semifinal game on Sunday, March 4, airs live on ESPN3 at 7 p.m. and will re-air at 11:30 p.m. on ESPNU, tape delayed. The second Men’s Basketball Semifinal airs at 9:30 p.m., live, on ESPNU. For all information on the 2018 MAAC Basketball Championships, visit maacsports.com/basketball. The Men’s Basketball Championship game is set to air on ESPN's main network, ESPN on Monday, March 5 at 7 p.m. Jason Benetti and Jay Bilas will be on the call for the Men’s Championship final. Be sure to follow the conversation on all social media platforms by using #MAACHoops18.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.