EDISON, NJ (Feb. 6, 2023) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men’s basketball standings have been shaken up following Sunday’s league results, with Rider University taking sole possession of first-place after a road victory against Manhattan College, while Niagara University snuck past Siena College in Albany, knocking the Saints out of first-place for the first time in 2022-23. Additionally, Iona University, Marist College and Mount St. Mary’s University all earned important wins of its own during the opening weekend tilts of February.
Iona (16-7, 9-3 MAAC) – 70 | Fairfield (10-13, 6-7 MAAC) – 61
Leo D. Mahoney Arena | FAIRFIELD, CT
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Iona Recap
Fairfield Recap
Iona held off Fairfield, 70-61, in MAAC men's basketball action at Leo Mahoney Arena on Sunday. The Gales earned their third straight win, improving to 9-3, remaining a half game behind first-place Rider, while the Stags fall for the third consecutive game and sits at 6-7 in the MAAC. Iona led by as many as 12 points in the opening half, then built a lead as large as 21 points in the second half to pick up the road victory and secure the season series sweep over Fairfield. Nelly Junior Joseph and Daniss Jenkins had 18 points apiece, and Walter Clayton Jr. added 13 points to lead the Gaels, while Junior Joseph posted his 11th straight, 14th total double-double of the campaign also adding a career-high 16 rebounds in the contest. Supreme Cook led the Stags with 16 points and Allan Jeanne-Rose finished with 10 points.
Marist (8-14, 4-9 MAAC) – 75 | Canisius (5-17, 3-10 MAAC) – 67
McCann Arena | POUGHKEEPSIE NY
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Marist Recap
Canisius Recap
Marist earned a 75-67 victory over Canisius in a MAAC men's basketball game at McCann Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Red Foxes completed their first regular-season sweep of Canisius since 2007-08 with the win, also breaking a ninth-place tie with the Golden Griffins. Marist improved to 4-9 and Canisius dropped to 3-10 on the season. Patrick Gardner paced the Red Foxes with a game-high 29 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Isaiah Brickner finished with 14 points. Canisius was led by Jordan Henderson who scored a team-high 17 points and Jamir Moultrie chipped in with 16 points.
Mount St. Mary’s (8-16, 4-9 MAAC) – 79 | Quinnipiac (17-7, 8-5 MAAC) – 75
M&T Bank Arena | HAMDEN, CT
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Mount St. Mary’s Recap
Quinnipiac Recap
Mount St. Mary's used a second half comeback to get by Quinnipiac, 79-75 on Sunday afternoon in Hamden, CT. The Mount shot 73 percent (19-of-26) from the field and 50 percent (3-of-6) from three-point land in the second half, outscoring the Bobcats 49-39 over the final 20 minutes. Mount St. Mary’s moves to 4-9 in the MAAC, while Quinnipiac falls to 8-5 in league action. Jalen Benjamin led the Mount with 23 points, Jedy Cordilia added a career high 22 points, Xavier Lipscomb finished with 12 points including a clutch layup and a pair of made free throws with under a minute to play, and Jaylin Gibson added 10 points in the victory. Matt Balanc scored 19 points to lead the Bobcats, surpassing 1,000 career points to become Quinnipiac’s 19th player in Division I program history to reach the milestone. Luis Kortright (17) and Dezi Jones (15) also reached double-figures for Quinnipiac in the defeat.
Niagara (13-9, 8-5 MAAC) – 56 | Siena (15-9, 9-4 MAAC) – 54
MVP Arena | ALBANY, NY
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Niagara Recap
Siena Recap
Niagara erased a 10-point deficit to earn a 56-54 comeback win over Siena Sunday afternoon in MAAC men's basketball action from MVP Arena. The Purple Eagles sit at 8-5 in the conference with their fourth consecutive win and the Saints drop to 9-4 with their second straight defeat. Siena controlled the bulk of the first half, opening up a 10-point lead (24-14) with 2:45 left in the half. Niagara flipped the script in the second half, coming out of the locker room on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 27-27, before taking a one-point lead at 33-32 with 14:04 in the half. In the final moments, both teams struggled at the charity stripe, allowing the Purple Eagles to hold on and clinch the road win. Noah Thomasson led Niagara with a team-high 18 points, followed by Sam Iorio with 12 points. Siena was led by Andrew Platek who posted 18 points and Jackson Stormo chipped in 10 points.
Rider (13-9, 10-3 MAAC) – 67 | Manhattan (8-14, 6-7 MAAC) – 56
Draddy Gymnasium | RIVERDALE, NY
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Rider Recap
Manhattan Recap
Rider led wire-to-wire in a 67-56 road win at Manhattan Sunday afternoon in Riverdale, NY. The Broncs winning streak improved to a MAAC-best seven games and the team takes over first-place in the MAAC at 10-3. The Jaspers (6-7) fall below .500 by way of the defeat in league play. Rider used a 10-0 and 17-3 run to take control of the game in the first half at 23-9. In the second half Manhattan rallied and cut the game to as close as four points on two occasions, but the Jaspers never got any closer and the Broncs held on for the road win. Mervin James and Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson posted double-doubles to lead Rider, with James scoring a game-high 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while Ogemuno-Johnson posted 14 points and 11 rebounds. Dwight Murray Jr., also added 14 points for the Broncs. Samir Stewart and Josh Roberts both tallied 14 points, while Ant Nelson scored 12 points and Nick Brennen had 11 for the Jaspers.
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.