Men's Basketball

2025 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship Day Two Recap Presented by Bally’s Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 12, 2025) – The 2025 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Basketball Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall resumed on Wednesday evening with two quarterfinal round games. Both top seeds secured victories, with No. 1 Quinnipiac University taking down No. 8 Rider and No. 2 Merrimack College surviving No. 7 Sacred Heart University’s upset bid.
 
No. 1 Quinnipiac – 78 | No. 8 Rider – 64
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
Top-seeded Quinnipiac used a first-half offensive explosion to knock off Rider, 78-64 in their first game of the tournament. The Bobcats took an early lead and held on to a single digit lead until the late stages of half. With 4:14 remaining in the opening frame, Quinnipiac lit up the scoreboard, going on a 14-3 run to end the half and take a commanding 43-27 advantage. The Bobcats kept their foot on the gas in the second half, growing their lead to 21 before cruising to the blowout win.
 
Quinnipiac Notes and Notables
  • The quartet of Amarri Monroe, Paul Otieno, Savion Lewis, and Khaden Bennett combined to score 60 of Quinnipiac’s 78 points.
  • Monroe led the Bobcats with a game-high 23 points and eight rebound.
  • Lewis led the Bobcats with four assists and scored 14 points while picking up a pair of rebounds.
  • Bennett totaled 13 points and collected six rebounds in reserve.
  • Otieno, who ranks second in the conference in double-doubles, was just shy of another one, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine boards, and adding four assists.
  • Additionally, the duo of Alexis Reyes and Jaden Zimmerman scored eight points each.
  • The Bobcats owned the lead for 35:55 compared to just 1:59 for the Broncs.
  • The Bobcats won the rebounding battle, 39-32.
  • Quinnipiac also held an advantage in points off turnovers (10-6), second chance points (16-14), and bench points (15-9).
  • 2025 will be the second consecutive year the Bobcats will play in the semifinals, and the third time over the past four seasons.
  • Quinnipiac awaits the winner of No. 4 Iona/No. 5 Manhattan on Friday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. on ESPNews.
 
Rider Notes and Notables
  • T.J. Weeks Jr. was Rider top player, leading the squad in points (23), rebounds (9), and steals (2).
  • Last night’s hero, Tariq Ingraham logged 18 points, with eight rebounds an assist and a block.
  • Freshman guard Flash Burton contributed 10 points, with three assists, and three rebounds.
  • Rider scored more points in the paint (38-36) and more fast break points (8-3).
 
No. 2 Merrimack – 66 | No. 7 Sacred Heart – 62 (OT)
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
In a battle between the two newest members of the MAAC, Merrimack outlasted Sacred Heart, 66-62 in overtime to secure the win. Despite the Warriors leading for over 35 minutes, the gritty play of the Pioneers kept Sacred Heart in the game over the course of 40 minutes. With just 4:10 to go in the game, Merrimack was up by nine, leading 57-48. The duo of Amiri Stewart and Tanner Thomas combined to score 11 points to Merrimack’s two, powering the Pioneers back into the game. Stewart scored seven points, including the game-tying free-throws to force overtime, while Thomas scored the remaining four. In the overtime period, the Pios scored the first three points, but would not score another basket down the final minutes. Most notably, with .4 left, an offensive foul by Stewart on a drive to the basket forced the final turnover that led to a pair of made free throws from Merrimack’s Matt Becht to seal the win.
 
Merrimack Notes and Notables
  • 62 of the 66 points scored by Merrimack came from the combination of four players which included Becht, Adam “Budd” Clark, Devon Savage, and Bryan Etumnu.
  • Becht scored a game-high of 21 points, hitting five triples and going 4-for-4 from the line, including the game-clinching pair of free throws in overtime.
  • He also added four steals defensively.
  • Savage tallied 15 points, also connecting on five three pointers, while adding six rebounds and two steals.
  • Clark recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists.
  • He also grabbed six rebounds and had three steals.
  • Etumnu also had a double-double finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and blocking three shots defensively.
  • Merrimack’s stingy defense caused 20 turnovers with 14 steals, resulting in 21 points off the turnovers.
  • The Warriors also logged 15 fast break points in the win.
  • Merrimack earns its first ever MAAC postseason win and moves on to the league’s final four.
  • The Warriors will play on Friday at 8:30 p.m. against the advancing team between of No. 3 Marist/No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s.
 
Sacred Heart Notes and Notables
  • The leading scorer for Sacred Heart was Stewart, who’s night ended with 19 points, six rebounds, and a pair of steals.
  • Nyle Ralph-Beyer scored 15 points and snagged three rebounds
  • Anquan Hill posted a 21 rebound, 14 point double-double.
  • Hill’s 21 rebounds were the most in a tournament game in a decade and the third-most in a MAAC Championship game ever.
  • Sacred Heart scored 20 points in the paint, scored 15 second chance points, and the bench contributed 14 points.
 
For all information regarding the 2025 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 13 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 44th year of competition during the 2024-25 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
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