Ray Floriani is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC conferences.

Reader’s Take

Opening Tip

• Iona holds a slim lead and finishes the regular season at home with meetings against Fairfield and St. Peter’s. Regardless of how the top four play out, they are all very much in the hunt. Loyola’s final game at Manhattan on Sunday guarantees that a fair amount of scoreboard watching will be in vogue.

Player of the Week

• Scott Machado, Iona, 6’1″, Sr. G – Averaged 14.5 points, 12 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3 steals for the week. The versatile  Machado had 16 points in a win at Rider, hitting all ten of his free throw attempts.

Co-Rookies of the Week

• Chavaughn Lewis, Marist, 6’5″, Fr., G/F – A starter for three weeks now, Lewis has 14 double figure games to his credit. Against Maine, Lewis recorded career highs in points (24), rebounds (9) and assists (5).
• Evan Hymes, Siena, 5’8″, Fr., G – Outstanding in a 21-point, 7-assist showing in the upset of Manhattan. Playing 40 minutes for the 14^th time in 16 games, Hymes averaged 13.5 points per game for the week.

Standings

Team, MAAC record, overall record:

Team Rundown

1. Iona– Won on the road at Rider before coming home to defeat Nevada in the Bracketbusters. Sean Armand led five double figure scorers for the Gaels with 22 points against Rider. Armand was 7 of 13 from three-point range. Against Nevada, a 90-84 victory,  Lamont Jones paced Iona with 18 points. Five Gaels were in double figures and Scott Machado handed out 15 assists.
   

   Michael Glover and Iona Are The Team To Beat In The MAAC Tourney (AP)

2. Loyola – Lost at Marist before defeating Boston University in the Bracketbuster. Shane Walker had a 16-point, 12-rebound night in the losing effort at Marist. A team with a defensive efficiency of 96 during the MAAC season, Loyola allowed Marist a huge 114 rating in their 72-54 loss. Four Greyhounds hit double figures against BU with Robert Olson’s 17 points leading the way. Olson added 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
3. Fairfield – Lost a close Bracketbuster at UW Milwaukee before defeating Marist in conference action. Rakim Sanders paced the Stags against UW Milwaukee with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Derek Needham’s 16 points led the way against Marist. Fairfield held Marist to 12 first half points in the 60-49 triumph.
4. Manhattan – Split its games with a loss at Siena before defeating UNC Wilmington in the Bracketbusters. George Beamon led the way scoring 16 points at Siena and 22 points (with 6 rebounds) against UNC Wilmington. Emmy Andujar added 19 points in the latter game. Andjuar hit 3-of-4 from three-point range and contributed eight rebounds.
5. Rider – Lost three straight with conference setback to Iona before a Bracketbusters loss to Albany. Anthony Myles paced Rider with 21 points against Iona. Rider led at the half by five points before the visiting Gaels drew even and pulled away for a 75-62 decision. At Albany, Jeff Jones led the way for the Broncs with 18 points.
6. Niagara – Defeated Canisius and lost at Vermont in the Bracketbusters. Antoine Mason scored 21 points against Canisius, hitting 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Mason added five rebounds. Mason added 20 points at Vermont while Malcolm Lemmons scored 17. Niagara finishes the MAAC schedule with games at St. Peter’s and Marist.
7. Siena – Had a two-game winning streak, which included a decision over Manhattan, stopped by a Bracketbusters defeat at the hands of Hofstra.  Evan Hymes starred with a 21-point, 7-assist effort against the Jaspers. Hymes struggled with a 6-point, 8-turnover outing at Hofstra. O. D. Anosike came through with a 22-point, 12-rebound performance.
8. Marist – Won the Bracketbusters contest at Maine before dropping a home meeting with Fairfield. Chavaughn Lewis had an outstanding 24-point, 9-rebound, 5-assist performance at Maine. Lewis followed that up with a 19-point, 6-rebound effort against Marist. The 60-49 loss to Fairfield saw the Red Foxes limited to an 82 offensive efficiency. In MAAC play Marist’s offensive efficiency is a 98.
9. St. Peter’s – Losing streak hit five games with a setback at Fairfield and against Hartford in the Bracketbusters. Brandon Hall led the way with nine points at Fairfield as no player on St. Peter’s reached double figures. Darius Conley led the way against Hartford with a 20-point, 9-rebound performance in 34 minutes against Hartford.
10. Canisius – Lost a conference meeting at Niagara before a Bracketbusters win over UMBC. Alshwan Hymes continued his fine play with a 19 points and 6 rebounds at Niagara. Hymes added 23 against UMBC shooting 5-of-11 from three-point range. Chris Manhertz had a strong showing inside with an 11-point, 10-rebound effort.

Schedule

Friday, February 24:

• Fairfield at Iona
• Niagra at St. Peter’s
• Canisius at Manhattan
• Loyola at Rider

Sunday, February 26:

• St. Peter’s at Iona
• Niagara at Marist
• Canisius at Siena
• Fairfield at Rider
• Loyola at Manhattan

End of regular season

rtmsf (3998 Posts)

This entry was posted on Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 3:55 pm by rtmsf and is filed under Checking In On, maac. Tagged: adam kemp, antoine mason, Brandon Penn, canisius, desmond wade, devin price, Dylon Cormier, fairfield, George Beamon, iona, kyle downey, kyle smyth, loyola, manhattan, Manny Thomas, marist, Mike Glover, Niagra, o.d. anosike, rakim sanders, rider, siena, st peter's. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.