Ray Floriani is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC conferences. The records listed are up to date, but the analysis is just through Wednesday’s games.
Reader’s Take
Leading Off
A sobering, down to earth thought and time of reflection. Marist College cancelled last Sunday’s game with Fairfield and Monday’s Women’s contest against St. Peter’s. This came following a tragic fire in Poughkeepsie, NY that took the lives of three people, two of them Marist students. In a statement MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor said, “the MAAC member schools share in the grief of the Marist community and offers its condolences to the families of the students who died or were injured in this tragic fire.” Ensor also noted rescheduling of the games will be done later as the conference consults with the involved schools. Our thoughts and prayers are with those victims and their families as well.
The Week That Was
Player of the Week: Scott Machado, Iona, 6’1″, Sr., G – Posted an 11-point, 15-assist, 9-rebound effort in the win over Rider. Machado narrowly missed being Iona’s second triple-double performer in school history. Machado had only two turnovers in that win.
Rookie of the Week: Antoine Mason, Niagara, 6’3″, Fr., G – Averaged 20.5 points, 5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a 1-1 week for Niagara. Mason has led Niagara in scoring the last three games. The highlight, a 22 point effort in the victory over rival Canisius. Standings
Team, MAAC record, overall record
| 1. Iona | 7-2, 15-5 |
| 2. Loyola (MD) | 7-2, 14-4 |
| 3. Manhattan | 7-2, 14-7 |
| 4. Fairfield | 5-3, 10-9 |
| 5. Rider | 5-5, 8-14 |
| 6. Siena | 4-5, 9-10 |
| 7. Niagra | 4-5, 9-12 |
| 8. St. Peter’s | 3-7, 4-17 |
| 9. Marist | 2-6, 7-12 |
| 10. Canisius | 1-8, 4-15 |
Power Rankings
- Iona – Routed Rider and was upset in a close one at Siena. Gaels had a 131 offensive efficiency against Rider and just 93 at Siena. Mike Glover starred in both games. He hit for 21 points, 9 rebounds against Rider and 19 points, 12 boards at Siena. Scott Machado added 16 points, 9 rebounds at Siena as well. Four of Iona’s next five games are on the road.
- Loyola (MD) – Swept home games with Siena and St. Peter’s. Erik Etherly continued his fine inside play. Etherly scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Siena. He followed that up with a 19 point outing in the win over St. Peter’s. Robert Olson added 15 points for the Greyhounds in that game as well. Loyola had a very impressive 61% offensive rebounding percentage in that St. Peter’s game.
- Manhattan – Won at Marist and against Niagara to push the winning streak to five games. Jaspers held Marist to n218 second half points in the 61-44 victory. Three Manhattan players (George Beamon, Michael Alvarado and Rhamel Brown) scored a dozen points. Beamon also added 24 points, shooting 4 of 9 from three, in that win over Niagara.
- Fairfield – Defeated Rider 61-52 and St. Peter’s 75-63. Derek Needham led four double figure scorers against Rider with a 15 point, 6 assist performance. At St. Peter’s, the Stags enjoyed a 44% offensive rebounding percentage. Size was a key as seven foot Ryan Orlander had a 17 point 10 rebound night. Rakim Saners led all scorers with 19 points and also adding 10 boards.
- Rider – lost at Fairfield and Iona before defeating Canisius at home on Sunday. The win snapped a three game losing streak for the broncs. Jeff Jones scored 17 at Iona. Rider raced to a 21 point halftime lead en route to the 89-65 triumph over Canisius. Brandon Penn (25 points, 6 rebounds) and Novar Gadson (22 points 8 rebounds) led the way. Broncs outrebounded Canisius 50-28.
- Siena – Lost to Loyola then stopped a two game losing streak in a big way upsetting Iona. The 65-62 victory at the Times Union Center saw Siena battle back from a 10 point halftime deficit. O. Anosike led the way with a strong 17 point, 15 rebound effort. Seven of those rebounds were on the offensive end. The win avenged a 36 point loss to the Gaels just twenty days earlier.
- Niagara – On the road, defeated Canisius before losing at Manhattan. Antoine Mason starred in both games. Mason scored 22 points with 6 rebounds against Canisius. He added 19 points at Manhattan. Marvin Jordan scored 16 points against Canisius. Offensive efficiency for Niagara went from a 119 against Canisius to a 94 in the Manhattan game.
- St. Peter’s – Lost to Fairfield and at Loyola. Darius Conley was solid both games. He scored 16 points, adding 7 rebounds against Fairfield. Conley then added 12 points, 7 boards at Loyola. Chris Prescott tied Conley for team scoring honors against Fairfield with 16 points. Freshman guard Lamin Fulton, an emerging scorer of late, struggled the two games with 5 points against Fairfield and 8 at Loyola.
- Marist – Lost to Manhattan for the fifth consecutive loss in conference play. Held Manhattan to 97 offensive efficiency but posted only a 70 in the same category. Chavaughn Lewis led the way for the Red Foxes with 11 points, 4 blocked shots. Adam Kemp scored only 2 against Manhattan but pulled down 11 rebounds.
- Canisius – Dropped games against Niagara and at Rider to fall to 1-8 in the MAAC. Griffs have lost three straight conference games. Attack was guard oriented. Alshwan Hymes scored 22 against Niagara. At Rider Harold Washington led the way with 22 points while Gaby Belardo added 19.
Upcoming Schedule
Some games to looks out for in the coming days:
Sunday, January 29:
- Manhattan at Niagara
- Marist at Fairfield
- Siena at Rider
- Loyola at Canisius
- Iona at St. Peter’s
Thursday February 2
- Canisius at Iona
- Marist at Manhattan
Friday February 3
- Niagara at Fairfield
Saturday February 4
- Canisius at Marist
- Iona at Manhattan