EDISON, NJ (Feb. 18, 2023) – Friday night Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men’s basketball results shook up the league standings headlined by a number of upset wins. Highlighting the night was the MAAC Game of the Week on ESPNU, in which Quinnipiac University held off a second-half Siena College comeback to earn a road victory. Also, around the league, Iona University dominated rival Manhattan College, while Canisius College stole a huge road win over Rider University to propel the Gaels into sole possession of first place in the league standings.
 
Canisius (7-18, 5-11 MAAC) – 81 | Rider (14-10, 11-4 MAAC) – 78
Alumni Gymnasium | LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ
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Canisius Recap
Rider Recap
 
In what was the biggest upset of the night, Canisius stormed from behind to earn an 81-78 road win over Rider Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium. The Golden Griffins opened up the day in a three-way last-place tie, while the Broncs were riding the nation’s third-longest winning streak and in a two-way tie for first-place in the MAAC. Rider jumped out to a 32-19 advantage in the first half connecting on 11 out of 13 field goals out of the locker room, before taking a 49-40 lead into the half. Inversely, Canisius outscored Rider 19-8 to open the second half and take its first lead of the game with 12:17 remaining. The Griffs would extend their lead to as many as seven points, before the Broncs would pull to within one point in the final 30 seconds but late free throws would seal the upset win for Canisius. The second straight win for the Griffs improved the team to 5-11 in the MAAC while the results of the night dropped the Broncs into second place at 11-4. Tahj Staveskie scored a team-high 21 points, Jacco Fritz added a career-high 19 points and Tre Dinkins contributed 13 points for Canisius. Dwight Murray, Jr. scored a game-high 26 points, while Mervin James (11), Tariq Ingraham (11), and Allen Powell (10) scored in double figures for Rider.
 
Fairfield (12-14, 8-8 MAAC) – 70 | Marist (8-17, 4-12 MAAC) – 61
McCann Arena | POUGHKEEPSIE NY
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Fairfield Recap
Marist Recap
 
Fairfield defeated Marist, 70-61, in a MAAC matchup at McCann arena on Friday night. The Stags improve to 8-8 in the MAAC and the Red Foxes fall to 4-12 in the MAAC. Marist started the game scoring the first nine points and jumped out to a 23-8 lead after shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor. The Red Foxes would cool down and the Stags would find an answer cutting the deficit to one point at the half and then open the second half with a 9-0 rally to take a 40-32 lead. Fairfield never looked back, taking a lead as high as 13 points and only allowing Marist to get as close as seven down the stretch. The Stags were led in the triumph by Caleb Fields and TJ Long who each scored 21 points and Allan Jeanne-Rose with 11 points. Patrick Gardner scored a team-high 13 points for Marist, followed by Noah Harris and Javon Cooley contributing with 11 points each.
 
Iona (19-7, 12-3 MAAC) – 71 | Manhattan (9-15, 7-8 MAAC) – 60
Hynes Athletic Center | NEW ROCHELLE, NY
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Iona Recap
Manhattan Recap
 
Iona never trailed in a 71-60 win over rival Manhattan in MAAC action at the Hynes Center on Friday night. The Gaels now own the league’s longest active winning streak with their six straight victory, jumping into sole possession of first place with a 12-3 MAAC mark. In the wire-to-wire home win, Iona took a 16-7 lead less than six minutes into the battle and grabbed leads as high as 11 multiple times in the opening frame. A 10-1 rally to open the second half pushed the Gaels ahead by 20 and the top MAAC-squad maintained a double-digit lead throughout with the closest margin being the final score. Walter Clayton Jr. led the way with 23 points, Nelly Junior Joseph added his MAAC-leading 16th double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down 17 rebounds and Daniss Jenkins posted a double-double of his own with 10 points and 10 assists, while Osborn Shema added 10 points in the win. The Jaspers drop to 7-8 in league play and were led in the meeting by Ant Nelson and Josh Roberts who scored 14 points each and Samir Stewart added 12 for Manhattan.
 
Mount St. Mary’s (9-18, 5-11 MAAC) – 70 | Niagara (14-11, 9-7 MAAC) – 66
Knott Arena | EMMITSBURG, MD
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Mount St. Mary’s Recap
Niagara Recap
 
Mount St. Mary's held on for a 70-66 victory over Niagara at Knott Arena on Friday night in MAAC play. The win moves the Mount to 5-11 in league action while the Purple Eagles fall to 9-7. Niagara led early, but Mount St. Mary’s took over the lead at 18-13, before extending its edge to seven at the half. The Mount opened the second half by taking its largest lead of the night at 11 points (37-26) three minutes into the half. The Purple Eagles battled back and used a 10-0 run over a four minute period to tie the meeting at 39-39, only to give up an 11-2 rally by the Mount, which ultimately secured the victory. Jalen Benjamin scored 26 points to lead all scorers and George Tinsley scored 17 points to lead the Mount in the victory. Noah Thomasson led Niagara with 21 points, Joe Kasperzyk tallied a season-high 17 points and Sam Iorio contributed 10 points in the loss.
 
Quinnipiac (18-9, 9-7 MAAC) – 66 | Siena (17-10, 11-5 MAAC) – 63
MVP Arena | ALBANY, NY
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Quinnipiac Recap
Siena Recap
 
Quinnipiac shook off a second half run by Siena, leading to a 66-63 road win in the MAAC Game of the Week on ESPNU, Friday night at MVP Arena. The Bobcats dominated the first 20 minutes of play, outscoring the Saints by +14 (36-22), while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. Siena responded by opening the second half with eight straight points to cut into the deficit, then later in the half, got to within one-possession (48-45) with 8:35 to play. Despite the barrage of early points by the Saints, the Bobcats would counter with an 8-0 run late in the game to go ahead by double-figures once again (56-45). Down the stretch, Siena would pull to within one-point with 8.7 seconds left but Quinnipiac used efficient free throw shooting to come away with the road victory. Four Bobcats ended the night in double-figures with Dezi Jones (12), Matt Balanc (12), Luis Kortright (10) and Paul Otieno (10) leading the way. Jackson Stormo led all scorers with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Andrew Platek added 11 points for the Saints. The Bobcats improve to 9-7 in the MAAC and snapping a three-game skid and avoiding a season sweep by the Saints. Siena falls to 11-5 in conference meetings on the year.
 
The 2022-23 campaign culminates with the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships from March 7-11 at Atlantic City's Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall for the fourth consecutive year. For all information regarding the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on Twitter. For tickets to the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit ticketmaster.com.
 
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 42nd year of competition during the 2022-23 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.