Category: MAAC

Quinnipiac 95, Canisius 90: Life Easier When Shots Go In

Tom Moore stood in front of the podium after Friday night’s 95-90 win over Canisius with a smile on his face. Yes, winning is a lot more fun than losing (expert analysis), and the Bobcats are threatening to move into the top half of the MAAC with a 5-4 record, but there was more to it than that.

Quinnipiac shot 58.9% from the field and posted a 66.7 eFG% (8-13 from three-point range), and while there is plenty to work on defensively and 19 turnovers is a bit alarming, having a team that can make shots makes a coach’s life so much less stressful. Moore, of course, could attest to that as much as anyone, because there were many, many nights last season where he stood in front of that same podium and tried to explain why his offense wasn’t working and how hard he and his staff were going to try to fix it.

It was painful to watch, and Moore’s words couldn’t hide how difficult to coach it was on a daily basis, which isn’t meant to disrespect his team, which obviously included talented senior Gio McLean, but it just wasn’t working.

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Siena 63, Fairfield 54: No Clareth, But Defense Real Story

Just six weeks ago, Nico Clareth almost single-handedly buried Fairfield at the Times Union Center, leading a 27-4 first-half run, and then when the Stags had somewhat amazingly come all the way back to tie it, hit a few more big shots to make sure Siena held on 80-73.

In all, the talented Clareth finished with a career-high 33 points, and it seemed like both the sophomore who was a MAAC All-Rookie selection a year ago and the team had turned a corner after a tough start.

Then Siena lost six of its next seven games, and Clareth scored just 24 in the last three.

After that, Jimmy Patsos played him just 17 minutes against Saint Peter’s, but the Saints won. Then, he was in and out quickly against Quinnipiac and Siena won again. Soon after, Clareth decided to take a leave of absence from the team, just in time for the return game with Fairfield at Webster Bank Arena.

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Canisius 86, Fairfield 72: Griffs Might Have Staying Power

Canisius could have been forgiven for being blown out by Iona. They weren’t the first, and surely aren’t the last – even if the Gaels do not quite look like their dominant selves this season – to be buried in a flurry of three-pointers at the Hynes Center.

First-year coach, team picked closer to the bottom of the MAAC than the top. Not that big a deal, right?
But Reggie Witherspoon and the Golden Griffins left New Rochelle Sunday night with a bad taste in their mouths. Despite the coaching change, they’re a largely veteran outfit and despite what the experts or anybody else thinks, feel they’re a contender for the MAAC title.

Tuesday night, they set out to prove it, and – despite digging an early 8-0 hole – were dominant in almost facet in rolling to a 86-72 victory at Webster Bank Arena.

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Iona 98, Canisius 75: Enter Schadrac Casimir, Not A Moment Too Soon

Schadrac Casimir made his first start in more than 13 months Sunday with Jon Severe still ailing from a couple of different minor injuries. But he lasted only 2:47 as with Canisius out to a 10-2 start, Iona coach Tim Cluess called time out and immediately went to Severe.

“The group that started had a couple of little breakdowns right at the get-go, and he was one of the guys,” Cluess said. “He really responded well, he didn’t sulk about it, and came back ready to play.”

It wasn’t a huge surprise, although Casimir was the 2014-15 MAAC Rookie of the Year, after missing almost all of last year and having to undergo three surgeries (because of two hip labrums), the stats indicate he hasn’t been the same since. In five MAAC games before Sunday’s, Casimir had a total of 21 points, with no more than 7 in any of them. Even worse, Iona – which has never has anywhere close to a losing conference record under Cluess (seventh season) – came in at 2-3, two games behind their red-hot opponent.

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Rider 73, Marist 62: Broncs Back To Top Of MAAC

Rider was locked a road battle at Marist Friday night, which wasn’t totally unexpected, road games are always difficult in conference, and although the Red Foxes have been in rebuilding mode for a couple of years now, they had picked off a few teams in MAAC play and were already 2-0 in conference this season.

Then, suddenly, it wasn’t a game. You looked up and Rider had a double digit lead and was on its way to a 73-62 road win. There wasn’t a huge run (Stevie Jordan and Jimmie Taylor did hit big three-pointers), but the Broncs outscored Marist 24-11 in the final 8:30 to slowly get away.

Indeed, it is playing much, much faster (more on that below), there isn’t much flashy about Rider. Taylor leads the team averaging 13.6 points per game, but their two biggest assets are their consistency and defense, two things that aren’t exactly going to grab headlines outside of central New Jersey.

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