Men's Basketball

Top Two Seeds Claim Wins in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship Presented by Showboat

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 14, 2024) – The 2024 Hercules Tires Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Basketball Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall resumed on Wednesday night with two quarterfinal round games. Both MAAC Connecticut programs in No. 1 Quinnipiac University and No. 2 Fairfield University, scored victories in the round to secure spots in the league’s final four.
 
No. 1 Quinnipiac – 76 | No. 9 Canisius – 52
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
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Top-seeded Quinnipiac used a second-half offensive explosion to knock off Canisius, 76-52 on Wednesday. The Bobcats stormed out to a 12-0 run to open the half and never took their foots off the gas, outscoring the Golden Griffins 42-25 over the final 20 minutes of the game.
 
Quinnipiac Notes and Notables
  • Paul Otieno led the Bobcats with a 19 point, 12 rebound double-double.
  • Matt Balanc chipped in with 17 points
  • Amarri Tice added 13 points and nine rebounds.
  • Savion Lewis was just shy of a double-double, recording 11 assists and eight points.
  • Quinnipiac shot an efficient 49.2 percent from the field, which included going 16-of-30 in the second half of play, and knocking in 6-of-14 triples. 
  • The Bobcats won the rebounding battle, 39-34 and outscored the Griffs by 20 points in the paint (46-26).
  • Quinnipiac moves into the semifinal round for the fourth time ever since joining the MAAC in 2013-14 and will meet the winner of No. 4 Rider/No. 5 Saint Peter’s on Friday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNews.
Canisius Notes and Notables
  • Seven Griffs seen the floor and all seven logged points in the game.
  • Tre Dinkins played all 40 minutes and scored a team-high 17 points.
  • Devean Williams followed with 13 points.
  • Bryce Okpoh pulled down nine rebounds.
No. 2 Fairfield – 68 | No. 7 Iona – 63
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
Fairfield outlasted defending MAAC Champion Iona, 68-63 in a seesaw quarterfinals matchup. In total, the game had 15 ties and nine lead changes. Over the opening 20 minutes of play, neither side led by more than a handful of points and the lead changed hands five times during the first half. The second half was much of the same, with the bulk of the final 20 minutes being a one-possession contest. With a little over five minutes to go, Fairfield took the lead for good and used late free throw shooting to survive and advance.
 
Fairfield Notes and Notables
  • Fairfield had two 20+ scorers, led by 22 from Jalen Leach and 20 from Caleb Fields.
  • Leach was efficient shooting, going 8-of-16 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
  • He also collected eight boards.
  • Fields had seven rebounds, a pair of assists and two steals to go along with his 20.
  • The Stags took care of the glass, winning the rebound war 38-32.
  • Exactly half of Fairfield’s points came from the paint, scoring 34 in the paint.
  • Fairfield returns to the semifinals for the first time since 2021 and awaits the winner of No. 3 Marist/No. 6 Niagara for a date on Friday at 9:00 p.m.
Iona Notes and Notables
  • Iona was led by three players in double figures.
  • Jeremiah Quigley had the team’s best night, scoring a team-high 14 points, hauling in a team-most 10 rebounds and handing out five assists, garnering a double-double.
  • Joel Brown finished with 13 points.
  • Idan Tretout dropped 11 points. 
For all information regarding the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on Twitter.
 
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 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, 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. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.