Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Notebook
by Matthew Moll
Parity slips Marist to third
First year head coach Matt Brady was not expected to position his team this season particularly well after the less-than-stellar finish to Dave Magarity’s career. Last year’s team went 6-22 including an O-fer on the road. But so far this season, three wins on the road including a win at conference contender Fairfield have made Marist into a new team. Last season only one Red Fox averaged double-digits in scoring this season three. All these improvements and surprising Marist stood alone at the top of the MAAC standings – that is, before last week.
Two consecutive losses to sub .500 MAAC opponents Iona and St. Peter’s has the standings at a bit of an equilibrium and the Red Foxes in a bit of a tailspin. Double-digit losses lowlighted the week for Marist and a two place drop in the MAAC hierarchy.
Will he return?
Marist’s second leading scorer and leading rebounder, one half of the Will tandem, Will McClurkin has been suspended indefinitely by the university for “violation of institutional and athletic departmental policy.”
The hole left by the 6-9 center so far has been missed. Marist was out rebounded 45-33 in the loss to Iona and rebounded evenly with a below average rebounding St. Peter’s team.
From zero to second in 4.0 games
Four straight wins and the Purple Eagles are a game out of first place. Two weeks ago Niagara was 4-3 and on the downward spiral. Now the Eagles are where they belong; in the hunt.
Juan “Mr. Canada” Mendez continues to make his case for POY as his team surges on his back. The last four games Mendez is averaging 25.2 ppg. and 12.5 rpg. and has recorded four more double-doubles.
Hoopville’s MAAC Player of the Week
Keydren Clark (Jr., St. Peter’s) averaged 28.0 points 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 steals, and 3.5 assists in two wins for the Peacocks.
Hoopville’s MAAC Newcomer of the Week
Jack McClinton (Fr., Siena) averaged 19.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game in MAAC play.
Rider Broncos (12-7 overall, 8-2 MAAC)
Double J, double 20’s: Three straight conference victories helped Rider forget their triple digit blemish named Niagara and allowed the Broncos to focus on being the best team in the MAAC so far this season. A January 22 bout in Buffalo brought a 77-72 win over Canisius followed by two dominating performances over Manhattan and Siena.
Senior Jerry Johnson has been a force of late particularly this week against the MAAC. Johnson hit for 25 in the bounce back game for the Broncos. An 18-7 run by the Broncos put them in the lead at 62-61 with 6:00 remaining in the game. The Broncos withstood the rest of the Golden Griffins efforts to hold on. Junior Edwin Muniz added 19 points and six boards.
The Broncos nearly dropped a 30 spot on the shorthanded Jaspers en route to a 75-46 dismantling of the defending MAAC champs. Johnson went for 21 in the win while Muniz chipped in 16. Manhattan could not find their rhythm managing on 28.6 percent from the field in the first half and were outscored 42-23 in the second half.
Johnson and Muniz each had 15 in the 67-47 victory over Siena. The Broncos broke the game open with a 14-4 run with nine minutes remaining to extend the lead to 16.
The Broncos are now winners of eight of their last 10 games.
Laying the MAAC down: St. Peter’s and Iona up next.
Niagara Purple Eagles (13-6, 8-3)
A game out: Two wins extend the Eagles’ streak to four consecutive victories. The Eagles dominated Siena 74-59 on January 28. Juan Mendez continued his assault on the points and boards going for 25 and 16 for his 11th double-double of the year; his 16 rebounds ties a career high. David Brooks hit a career best seven three-point field goals on his way to 23 points. Joe Mihalich’s club doubled up on the Saints at the half 36-18. Niagara burst out of the gate for the second half with a 14-5 run. Twice Niagara built a 30-point lead before the final buzzer. Siena was obliterated on the glass 52-30 in favor of the birds.
Two late Niagara runs and Loyola’s offensive futility allowed the Purple Eagles to pull away in an 84-73 victory. Mr. Double-Double reeled in 12 caroms and hit for 15 points and added a career high five blocks. Alvin Cruz scored 17 points and seven assists.
Still moving up: Marist then the Saints.
Marist Red Foxes (10-8, 7-3)
OutFoxed: Two successive losses drop the Red Foxes from first to third in MAAC standings. The first of which was a loss at home to Iona 96-85, which snapped a six game winning streak for the Red Foxes. Marist wasted a career night by Jared Jordan who scored 32 points. The Foxes’ shoddy defense permitted six Gaels to get into double figures and the team shot over 43 percent from the floor. Iona went up 31-30 with two minutes to go in the first half and managed to stay in the lead for the remainder of the game. Marist connected on 11 three’s in the loss.
St. Peter’s defeated Marist 71-57 after the Red Foxes could only hit on 7-25 from the field in the first half to build a 26-point lead. Coach Brady and company would get no closer than 12 points before the final result.
Playing catch-up: Niagara and Canisius.
Fairfield Stags (10-9, 7-3)
Split week, split season with Jaspers: The previous five meetings between Canisius and Fairfield have been decided by less than five points, the most recent game nearly quadrupled that total in favor of Fairfield who defeated the Griffins 82-65. Mr. Block Deng Gai scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked five shots to pace the Stags. Twice in the second half the Stags led by 35 points before Canisius minimize the margin in garbage time. Terrance Todd aided the cause with 21 points. The Stags shot 48 percent from the field in the win and turned the ball over just 10 times.
Poor shooting grounded the surging Stags and ended their infantile win streak. The 69-61 score did not suggest the 27 percent performance for Fairfield, but the struggle seized the game for the Jaspers. Gai recorded eight blocks to go along with 16 points for the Stags.
I thought I could be a contender: Loyola then St. Peter’s.
Manhattan Jaspers (10-8, 5-6)
Still in the hunt for now: Without the services of leading scorer Peter Mulligan and phenom CJ Anderson because of violation of team rules Rider put a hurt on the Jaspers 75-46. Deplorable shooting by the Jaspers in the second half (21 percent) lead to 28 percent for the game and the large margin of defeat. Jeff Xavier led Manhattan with 15 points.
A sellout crowd at Draddy Gymnasium saw Mulligan make his comeback with vengeance lighting up the 242nd street stop for 28 points in the 69-61 win. CJ Anderson pitched in 17 points and five boards in the win. The Stags pulled within four with less than a minute to go, but Mulligan iced the game with a lay-up as the Jaspers prevailed.
Xavier’s five three-pointers went to waste as the Jaspers were upset 68-66 by the Saints. Mulligan had a chance to tie the game with 11 ticks left, but his free throws cost the Jaspers the game has his shots were off. Mulligan was given one more shot with 2.2 seconds remaining but his forced attempted was off.
Take the 1 train: Iona and Loyola are next.
St. Peter’s Peacocks (8-10, 4-6)
Better feather presentation: Despite Keydren Clark being below his nation leading average he is finally getting some help and the result so far has been a three game win streak for the Peacocks. St. Peter’s began this week with their first MAAC road win of the season against Loyola 86-66. Terrance Watkins and Clark each scored 20 points to propel the peacocks in unfriendly confines.
Clark scored 19 in the 71-57 trouncing of Marist who was without the services of their starting center. The Peacocks pounced on the opportunity inflating the lead at times to 26 points. A 55 percent shooting display in the opening half set the pace for the game and demoralized the depleted foxes.
Can they keep rolling against the MAAC’s best: Rider and Fairfield.
Iona Gaels (8-12, 4-6)
Thriller ends streak at three: The Gaels collected their fourth MAAC win of the season defeating then first place Marist 96-85. Six Iona players registered double figures in the victory. Steve Burtt lead the twice thrice double digiters with 24. The Gaels were on most of the night hitting on 43.5 percent for the game and collected 18 more rebounds than the Red Foxes in the convincing win.
The Gaels’ winning streak was halted by Canisius with a 90-88 double overtime loss to Canisus. A questionable no call with 5.2 seconds remaining in the first overtime sent the game into its second and extra session. But a third session would be needed; in that extra session the Gaels last lead at 88-86, but would remain scoreless for the last 30 seconds of the game. Greg Jenkins led the Gaels with 29 points. Steve Burrt added 18 points, but he was a pedestrian 3-for-14 from beyond the arc.
Starting anew: Manhattan and a trip to Rider.
Canisius Golden Griffins (6-13, 4-6)
Trounced then time and a half: The Griffins could not recover from a 47-14 halftime deficit and fell to Fairfield 82-65. Mike MacDonald’s team was on the weak end of an imbalanced game shooting 23.1 percent to the Stags’ 54.3 percent and Canisius turned the ball over 13 times to the opponents two. Dewitt Doss led the losing effort with 14.
Doss’ last shot against Iona decided the game and ended a triple overtime marathon. Doss’ 15-footer as time expired vaulted Canisius past Iona 90-88 earning the Griffs only their second win at Iona since 1994-1995. Doss finished with 25 points while Kevin Downey led the team with a career high 27.
Hillary will not be there to pass out: Siena and surprise Marist coming up.
Siena Saints (4-17, 2-8)
Eight game slide, but no more: Poor shooting by both squads made for a dull match-up, but Siena was a bit worse shooting 30 percent to Rider’s 32. A 14-4 run in the second half decided the winner. Freshman Jack McClinton recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
A 16-2 run to start the second half aided the Saints in sinking the defending champs. McClinton scored 18 and Antoine Jordan put up a double-double in the 68-66 upset. Key rebounds late in the game capped the night and ended the winless streak.
A run of a different kind: Canisius and Niagara.
Loyola Greyhounds (3-16, 2-8)
Maybe the new pep band will get them going: Five losses in a row and the Greyhounds are again in the MAAC cellar. Loyola gave up 51 second half points en route to a 86-66 loss to Saint Peter’s. Four minutes of offensive futility would allow the Peacocks to catch fire in the first half and erase an early lead. A 13-2 run and 59 percent shooting from the floor would put the Peacocks permanently in front to extend the losing streak to four. Linton Hinds led with a career-high 18.
The fifth loss of this current losing streak was to second place Niagara 84-73. It took the Purple Eagles until the 8:18 mark to pull away for good compliments of a 9-0 run. Loyola would last lead at 66-65 before Niagara sealed the game. Sean Corrigan led the team with 16 points.
At least they aren’t Savannah State: Fairfield and Manhattan on deck and in the hole.
