Metro Atlantic Notebook
Port-able
Rider’s Mario Porter is leading the MAAC in scoring at 21.1 points per game. Porter is also the league rebounding leader with 8.6 per game. The senior forward from Irvington, NJ, and his Bronc teammates, recently came off a 72-68 upset of Manhattan in Riverdale. Porter scored 21 points and hauled in 7 boards in the win. Rider next faces Niagara on January 24th.
For Pete’s Sake!
On January 21st, lowly St. Peter’s (2-14) notched their first MAAC victory of the season with a 71-62 upset (for lack of a better word) of 5-11 Canisius. Corien John scored 19 points and Devin Thompson highlighted the rebound column with 15.
Player of the Week
For the second time this season, the MAAC has selected Marist point guard Sean Kennedy as its player of the week. Marist tallied two MAAC victories last week, thanks in part to Kennedy’s 10 points, 9 assists and nine rebounds in a 96-80 win over Iona and a 20 point, 12 assist night in a triumph against Niagara. Kennedy began this week with an 11 point, 7 assist performance in a loss to Manhattan. He the conference’s assist leader with 7.1 per game.
You Gotta Love This Gai . . .Johnson too.
Freshmen Deng Gai (Fairfield) and Jerry Johnson (Rider) were named co-rookies of the week. Gai blocked a conference seasonal high 8 shots in a win against Rider and scored 17 points in a slapping of Loyola. Johnson averaged 14.3 points and 2.3 steals for the Broncs last week. His red-letter moment came in a 72-68 victory over Manhattan when he scored 5 of his 18 points in the last 7 seconds of the game.
Remaining Must See Games This Week
Iona will see if their recovery is for real against Manhattan on January 25th. The game is in New Rochelle, NY. Marist will host Fairfield on the 26th. A good one if you like point guard matchups. Conference assist leader Sean Kennedy versus the Stags’ micro machine Tyqwuan Goode.
