Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Notebook
by Matthew Moll
No longer alone at the top
Manhattan’s winning streak was snapped and they are no longer the only team called “a first place team.” The longest winning run under Bobby Gonzalez came to a halt after Marist took a 77-68 win at home over the then-first place Jaspers. Ryan Stilphen paced the Red Foxes with 21.
With the loss, the Jaspers dropped to second place tie with Iona. Then there was other news.
C.J. is out
The Manhattan Jaspers also lost the man who leads them in scoring and rebounding, pre-season All-MAAC selection C.J. Anderson. The sophomore forward was suspended by Manhattan indefinitely for academic reasons.
Anderson’s 18.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game made him one of the most frightening players in the MAAC. His offense accounted for 23.3 percent of the Jaspers’ scoring output and he also averages 3.9 assists per game.
More from in the Kee
Clark’s 27 points against Niagara gave him 2,663 for his career, surpassing Wayman Tisdale for 20th place on the NCAA All-Time scoring list. Clark eyes the Admiral next.
Hoopville’s MAAC Player of the Week
Antoine Jordan, Siena, Sr. – 25.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, including his 1,000th career point
Hoopville’s MAAC Newcomer of the Week
Kenny Hasbrouck, Siena – 12 ppg., 6.0 rpg.
With just over a month left in the regular season here is a review of how the MAAC has fared so far.
Manhattan Jaspers (11-5 Overall, 7-1 MAAC)
Last week: loss at Marist 68-77, win versus Canisius 78-71.
Too soon to anoint: Suddenly the Jaspers are in a tailspin. After losing for the first time in the MAAC and barely sliding past the lowly Golden Griffins, the fortunes of the Jaspers turned for the worse. As mentioned earlier, leading scorer and rebounder C.J. Anderson is suspended indefinitely by the university. The team will now have to depend on Jeff Xavier and Arturo Dubois to supplement the hole in the lineup.
Dubois played large against Canisius with 18 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks in the win. With Anderson out, the Jaspers will have holes on all sides of the ball and in the columns not found in local box scores.
How far will they fall? Jan. 24 Rider, Jan. 27 Fairfield, Jan. 30 Siena.
Iona Gaels (13-3, 7-1)
Last week: win over Fairfield 89-77; win over Loyola 86-68
Six one of fun: Last week, Steve Burtt torched opponents for an average of 28.5 points per game, propelling the Gaels to a five-game winning streak. Burtt also set a school record for free-throws made without a miss (17-17) when he banged out 32 points against Loyola.
Iona was forced to overcome double-digit deficits in three of the last four games (all wins), including the win over Loyola. In the last four games, the Gaels have gotten help for Burtt, scoring over 80 points as a whole. The Gaels are perfect when the offense is working: Iona has a 12-0 record when scoring 70 or more points.
Number one: Jan. 24 at Siena, Jan. 27 at Niagara.
Loyola Greyhounds (11-5, 5-3)
Last week: loss at Iona 86-68, win over Rider 78-76
The turnaround: The Greyhounds’ season continues to improve as more teams in the MAAC see tallies in the loss column via the ‘Hounds. But Loyola’s futility at the hands of Iona remains. The defeat at the hands of Iona was the 11th straight on the road against the Gaels and the 18th loss in the last 19 tries. The win over Rider however, ended a five-game losing streak to the Broncos.
So far this season, Andre Collins cannot be guarded. Collins is averaging 27.4 points per game and nearly five assists as well. Adding to the offense is sophomore Michael Tuck coming on strong of late, now averaging 10.5 points on the season and recording his third double-double of the season against Rider.
Loyola will need more offense from other sources with six of the last 10 games away from the Kennel Club.
Jimmy P: Jan. 24 at the Reitz against Fairfield, at St. Peter;s Jan. 28.
Marist Red Foxes (10-6, 4-4)
Last week: home wins over Manhattan 77-68 and Fairfield 91-72.
.500: Marist slew the mighty Jaspers and hammered the Stags while putting themselves in the MAAC race.
The five straight wins for the Red Foxes have come large in part because of balanced scoring and the three-ball. Jared Jordan, who last week was an assist machine in averaging 11 dimes for the week, is also averaging 15.1 points per game on the season. Will Whittington is averaging 14.8 (hitting eight threes in the win over Fairfield) while Ryan Stilphen (12.6) and James Smith (ditto) round out the double-digit point producers.
The Foxes have five home and five away games to finish the season, setting the stage for a four-team third place race.
Call it seven? Jan. 24 at Loyola, Jan. 27 Manhattan, Jan. 29 Canisius.
Siena Saints (9-7, 4-4)
Last week: wins over St. Peter’s and Canisius
Good week, see you out there: For the first time this season, Siena won two consecutive MAAC games. Senior Antoine Jordan is playing as well as anyone in the MAAC, averaging 18.1 points on the season, shooting over 50 percent from the field and nearly 56 percent from beyond the arc, putting him in the top five nationally in the latter category.
If the Saints intend to keep the momentum, junior David Ryan will need to recover quickly from this weekend’s concussion. Ryan returned to the lineup against Canisius but only managed 14 minutes.
I was way way off: Jan. 24 at Iona, Jan. 28 at Marist.
Saint Peter’s Peacocks (8-9, 4-4)
Last week: Jan. 19 lost 77-69 to Siena, defeated Niagara 79-59.
Streaks are broken: Four straight losses dropped the Peacocks out of first and below .500 for the first time in the conference season before the Peacocks throttled Niagara, ending the streak and pulling even in the win-loss column. The win was a sweep over the defending MAAC champs for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
The week was eventful for KeeKee Clark, who entered the all-time-three-pointers list this week for sixth place (382). But the production by Todd Sowell and Raul Orta will need to improve if the Peacocks intend to contend for second. Sowell is cleaning glass well this season, averaging 9.9 boards per game and has 32 blocks on the season. If Keydren expects to make the most of his last month in his prolific career, he will need to bring his team along.
Kee Kee: Jan. 25 hosting Marist, Jan. 28 versus Loyola.
Fairfield Stags (5-11, 3-5)
Last week: loss at Iona 89-77, loss at Marist 91-72, won at Loyola 80-72.
Coming soon: Senior mainstay Terrance Todd continues to escalate his point average, most recently with a 30 point effort in a loss to Iona that upped his average to 18 per contest. Todd is not the only one elevating his game for the team’s future gain. Freshmen Herbie Allen and Jonathan Han came off the bench to score 16 and 17 points receptively in the loss to Iona. Allen is also shooting 49 percent from beyond the arc.
Perhaps the most welcome performances have come from Geoff Middleton, who is averaging four boards a game, including a seven-rebound effort during the week.
Mobile, active, eventful, lively: Jan. 27 Manhattan and Canisius Jan. 29.
Niagara Purple Eagles (6-11, 3-6)
Last week: win at Canisius 93-84, loss at Rider 70-78, loss at St. Peter’s 79-59.
Could use Juan (Mendez): Already this season, the Eagles have surpassed last season’s total of MAAC losses in a sluggish first half. Last year at this time, the Eagles record mirrored its current try at 6-3, surging into second place. Now the Eagles are on the outside looking in. Niagara is disconnected from a three-team race which was theirs to behold a season ago, and currently are reeling.
Despite having all five starters average in double digits (led by Charron Fisher at 19.4 per game), the Eagles are being outscored by the opposition with 72.8 versus 75.4 points per game. On paper, the Eagles are scoring enough, but are giving up too many unforced possessions. In the last two games, both losses, Joe Mihalich’s club is averaging 17.5 turnovers, including 21 against St. Peter’s.
Five of the Eagles’ remaining contests will be played at the Gallagher Center, with two games against the current top two teams in the MAAC.
Then versus now: hosting Iona on Jan. 27 and Rider on Jan. 29.
Canisius Golden Griffins (4-13, 3-6)
Last week: Loss to Niagara 84-93, loss at Manhattan 71-78, loss at Siena 55-76.
Five not alive: Over the past five games, the Griffins have lost five times and one does not have to be a mathematician to know that Canisius is struggling. The culprit of the struggle: turnovers, which over the last six games the Golden Griffins are averaging 17.2 giveaways a game and 14.3 on the season.
The Griffins’ inability to hold onto the ball may not be as glaring as any individual’s ability to establish an inside presence. The team’s leading rebounder (5.2 rpg) is the generously listed 6’6″ Darnell Wilson, who averages one block per contest.
Canisius has seven games remaining on schedule, all MAAC games and four of which are in Buffalo.
Six and seven or one and two or one and one: Rider and Fairfield.
Rider Broncos (5-11, 1-7)
Last week: def. Niagara 78-70, loss at Loyola 76-78
One for the win column: So far this season, Tommy Dempsey’s team has managed one MAAC win, a game where they had to come from 20 down to scratch for the victory. Rider’s seven MAAC loses have been by an average of 11.9 points, and in those losses the Broncos shot above 50 percent from the field only once. They were also out-rebounded in six of the seven losses by at least five rebounds, and on the season the Broncos are allowing 77.4 points a game while opponents shoot 45.4 percent from the floor.
Sophomore Jason Thompson leads the team in scoring (16.3), rebounds (8.5), and minutes played (33.1). Thompson has also collected a team-high five double-doubles.
Coincidently, the highlight of the season was a loss. The Broncos gave upset-happy Bucknell a scare, taking the Bison down to the final seconds, but ultimately leaving with the worst kind of victory – a moral one with a 56-54 setback.
The Broncos’ conference struggles of late have not been late in games; it is the beginning where Rider cannot develop a rhythm. Rider was down by as many as 20 and 19 in the first halves of the last two match-ups; in both games the Broncos roared back and split the next two comebacks.
Two good halves? Jan. 24 Manhattan, at Jan. 27 Canisius, at Jan. 29 Niagara.
