It was a good day to be a Marist fan. The Red Foxes gave their fans and seniors an afternoon to remember as their offense exploded in a 103-72 romp of Quinnipiac on senior day at McCann Arena. Continue reading “Marist 103, Quinnipiac 72”
Last night after a thrilling 80-77 overtime victory over Iona at Draddy Gymnasium Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello addressed reporters and let everyone know that he thought the MAAC wasn’t a 1-bid league. Continue reading “Why The MAAC Is A One-Bid League”
Quinnipiac announced Friday afternoon that guard Umar Shannon will undergo season-ending surgery on his left knee this coming Wednesday. The graduate transfer from Saint Francis University was averaging 14.3 points and 2.3 assists per game this year for the Bobcats.
The addition of Shannon has been vital to Quinnipiac’s success this season. Shannon earned a redshirt year in 2011 after tearing his ACL in practice following the Red Flash’s season opener against VCU. The injury required surgery on the same knee he will have repaired next week.
After graduating from SFU last year, Shannon received interest from a number of schools, but chose to use his final year of eligibility at Quinnipiac. He is the team’s third leading scorer this year behind Ike Azotam and Zaid Hearst, and has repeatedly come through in the clutch.
Two of Shannon’s biggest moments of the season came on game-winning buzzer-beaters against Hampton and Niagara. He has continually been the go-to guy in end-game situations, but now it will be up to coach Tom Moore to find a way to fill the void.
Most of Shannon’s lost minutes will likely be shared between guards Evan Conti and James Ford. Freshman Kasim Chandler, who has been sidelined with a broken toe for the last eight games, would also be projected to take over some of those minutes upon his return.
Conti was a regular starter last season, but saw his playing time diminish this year, largely due to Shannon transferring in. Since receiving more consistent playing time at the end of January, Conti is averaging 8.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game over 11 contests.
Ford is averaging 4.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season, but fills the role of 3-point specialist which Shannon had filled this year. However, Ford missed the recent trip to Buffalo with a mild head injury before going 0-2 from the field in just five minutes against Siena in the team’s last contest. Shannon has made nearly twice as many 3-pointers as any other player on the team, and Ford is a 40% shooter from behind the arc.
Shannon finishes his career with 1,307 points over his time with the Bobcats and Red Flash.
Vincent Simone will be chronicling Quinnipiac’s move to the MAAC and helping cover the conference this season for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow him on Twitter @VTSimone.
In his first season as head coach, Jeff Bower has seen his Red Foxes swing from their lowest point to making a run at the fifth seed in the MAAC over the final weekend. Continue reading “How Marist Turned Things Around In The MAAC”
On Friday night against Marist, Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson and the Stags will honor lone senior Mo Barrow.
Continue reading “Fairfield’s Johnson on Senior Mo Barrow’s Legacy”
Considering the Iona Gaels’ struggles during non-conference play, they didn’t appear to be a team that would run away from the pack in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Continue reading “Shared Success Rewarding For Iona Gaels”
The ball finally bounced the Saints’ way late as Siena snapped Quinnipiac’s seven-game winning streak and extended their own streak to three with a gutsy 72-70 victory Thursday night at the TD Bank Sports Center.
Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello will honor one of the best tandems on Sunday in the team’s final home game at Draddy Gymnasium. Continue reading “Manhattan’s Masiello on his Senior Class”
Niagara has lost eight in a row, but under first year head coach Chris Casey the progress has started to come along even if the wins haven’t. Continue reading “Niagara’s Chris Casey Still Looking for Breakthrough”
Last season the coaches and administrators around the league anonymously participated with me in a poll to judge on the top three candidates each for Player of the Year before the season’s final weekend. Continue reading “Previewing the MAAC Awards Race”
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