Category: MAAC

MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor on Springfield and Conference’s Future

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and their fans will descend once again on Springfield, Massachusetts to determine basketball champions at the MassMutual Center. Continue reading “MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor on Springfield and Conference’s Future” →

Iona Looking for Momentum to End the Regular Season

For a team that has seemed to find different ways to lose over the past six games, the Gaels are still within striking distance of a solid position for MAAC Tournament play.

Entering this final regular season weekend the Gaels could start anywhere from second seed to seventh seed when the MAAC Tournament tips off in Springfield. Iona head coach Tim Cluess said that his message throughout this stretch has been to keep his players heads up as they get ready for the stretch run.

“We’re right there in games,” Cluess said. “We have to learn how to finish off games better and get better in different areas. We have as good a chance as any when the playoffs come.”

The Gaels have endured a difficult stretch where they have lost six of their last seven games, all by three points or less.

“It hasn’t been one thing that you can put your finger on,” Cluess said of the close losses. “I think our biggest thing is the last couple of games our guys are almost trying to do more than they need to do to try to win so it leads to a mistake.”

“A guy late in the game goes for a steal when all he had to do was be solid. I think he went for the steal because he wants to win so badly that he tried to do something he normally doesn’t do and it ends up biting us again. I’m not faulting my guys they’re playing with a ton of effort. We just have to keep our heads late and just try to execute a little bit better and hope luck changes a little bit.”

Luck has not been on the Gaels side during this recent stretch of close losses. Marist’s Chavaughn Lewis hit a desparation shot to tie Iona in overtime and eventually prevailed 105-104 in double overtime. Fairfield’s Derek Needham and Indiana State’s Jake Odum got found separation to make open three pointers late to give their teams victories of 66-64 and 65-64 respectively over the Gaels.

“One game it’s foul shots the other game it’s a 70-footer, another game is ball bouncing off a missed shot that comes flying out to the three point line, another game it’s someone being run into on a three point shot, so it’s just basketball plays,” Cluess said. “We’re getting good offensive sets when we get the ball and for the most part we’re playing good defense but did we get the offensive rebound or they get it.”

“We lost two games on foul shot box outs and we practice that all the time but reality is their kid is bigger, stronger and the ball bounced longer. If the ball doesn’t bounce as long we’ve got the ball, game’s over so it’s a combination of a lot of things and it’s all coming down to the last 60 seconds but we’re not losing the game in those 60 seconds.”

Iona has lost six of their last seven road games and are 6-12 in road combined with neutral court games this season.

“We shot the ball extremely poor on the year on the road,” Cluess said. “There’s a reason you’re losing close games it’s not just the last play. We were 2 for 16 from three in the Indiana State game so had we made a few shots, you’re not even talking about the last play of the game.”

“Our guys have to do what they’re supposed to do. They’ve got to put the ball in the basket a little bit and I think the guys are working at it pretty hard. They’re getting to the gym and they’re doing all the right things so I can’t ask for more of them I just want them to keep staying with it and keep working hard. I believe luck can change very quickly.”

The Gaels have a chance to break through with their final two home games against Loyola (MD) and Siena, two teams they beat on the road earlier this season. Cluess said he’s worried that during the losing skid the offense has been getting too stagnant at times, playing too much one on one basketball.

“Offensively I think we’re getting too stagnant and we need to share the ball better,” Cluess said. “We haven’t had the assists that we’re accustomed to having and that’s twofold. One because we’re not making shots off the pass and also because I don’t think we’re a passing it as well as we were passing it earlier in the year.”

“I think what happens is because we’re not making shots certain guys want to take the game over themselves and try to put more on their back and when that happens other guys start standing around so it’s kind of a situation that we have to work ourselves out of a little bit at a time.”

The Gaels luck could change quickly if junior Tre Bowman gets healthy and back in midseason form. Bowman, who has started 16 games this season, has been struggling his last two games back after missing one game due to injury. Cluess said on Wednesday that Bowman had his best practice in a few weeks and he hopes that the junior can get back on track and become another weapon in his arsenal again.

“I think we need him,” Cluess said. “He’s the guy who probably needs to get back to where he was prior to [his injury] in order for us to do anything here in the stretch drive.”

Cluess and his staff have had to continually adjust their roster throughout the year with the influx of injuries and illnesses.

“It’s been a season of tinkering because of all the injuries and illnesses that have effected our team but that’s no excuse,” Cluess said. “When you have a new team and they’re still trying to learn understand what you’re doing and then you have to tinker with it.”

“I think our guys are working at it very hard. That’s why we’ve been in the games lately even though we have not been playing well or shooting well but we’ve still managed to stay in games I think because we’ve been improved defensively and the guys are just playing with more of a passion.”

Iona closes out their home schedule this weekend with their final two home games and a chance to send off seniors MoMo Jones, Taaj Ridley, Nyandigisi Moikobu and Curtis Dennis with victories.

“They’re the reason we’ve been able to do what we have done the last couple of years here and they’ve given us the opportunity to put Iona back on the map,” Cluess said. “I’d like to see them to get back in a groove and go out the way they should go out, fighting and with a chance to win another tournament.”

Cluess said Moikobu may be back this weekend off of another injury, they are hopeful he will return to the rotation. Senior Curtis Dennis, who has been playing with torn cartilage in his knee, could also see some time this weekend.

“They’ve been very good leaders to all the new guys that have come here,” Cluess said. “They’ve left a mark on Iona and hopefully have some more left in them.”

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo.

Previewing the Final Weekend of MAAC Play

Teams have a lot to play for this weekend as almost every team in the league can move at least one spot in the standings with wins this weekend.

Niagara cannot win the league on Thursday night. For them to win the top overall seed by Friday they would need to beat Rider Thursday, get a Canisius win over St. Peter’s Thursday and a Marist win at Siena Friday.

However there is at least one scenario where the MAAC could head to a coin flip to decide the top overall seed. If Loyola (MD) ties with Niagara on Sunday at a 13-5 record, Loyola going 2-0 and Niagara dropping their final game to St. Peter’s then their tiebreaker would be broken by whether or not St. Peter’s or Marist finishes higher in the standings. If St. Peter’s finishes higher Loyola would be the top seed, if it was Marist then Niagara would be top seed but if they tie then the top seed would be determined by a coin flip.

MAAC Associate Commissioner Ken Taylor said that four teams are still in contention for the top seed: Niagara, Loyola (MD), Canisius and Rider. The Golden Griffins could get there in a scenario where there is a three-way tie. If Rider, Loyola and Niagara finish at 12-6, then they would finish in that order due to tiebreakers against each other. Canisius can also win in a tiebreaker format but there are many scenarios with just 10 conference games remaining.

“We were laughing at the possibility of a crazy tie, four or five or six way tie,” Taylor said. “A couple of weeks ago we were playing it out and we thought we had a fairly realistic set of results that had a four way tie for first.”

Iona and Fairfield, with victories on Friday, will assure themselves a top six finish and Manhattan will clinch the seventh seed. There is still a possibility for a five way tie for second place in the league with 11-7 which would favor either Iona or Canisius depending on the Rider at Canisius contest Sunday.

The teams locked in for the bottom three seeds in Marist, Siena and St. Peter’s will likely figure into the mix for tiebreaking purposes under some scenarios.

Niagara is sitting in the drivers seat for the regular season title. The Purple Eagles can clinch the title with a win and a Loyola loss or a victory and some help from Canisius and Marist would give Niagara their first regular season championship since the 2004-05 season.

“It would be incredible,” head coach Joe Mihalich said to win a regular season title. “It’s why you lace them up. It’s everybody’s goal to win the regular season championship but then it’s everybody’s goal to win the league championship. We’ve got one more week and then everybody in the league is going to be 0-0 again.”

The Purple Eagles have separated themselves from the league with a 7-2 road record and an 8-2 record in games decided by four points or less.

“I didn’t think anybody could win that many on the road, let alone us,” Mihalich said. “It’s something we’re really proud of but at the same time this is one of those leagues where it doesn’t matter if you’re home and that’s the proof of it.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re home or away. You better come to play or else you’re not going to win.”

However, Rider might be the team that can surprisingly control its own destiny as they travel up to Buffalo. The Broncs can finish anywhere from first to seventh in the final standings. They have the chance to be the only team to sweep Niagara this season on Thursday.

Rider head coach Kevin Baggett said that his team, that has won five of their last six, is starting to come together at the right time.

“I just think our team is starting to peak at the right time,” Baggett said. “I think there’s any number of guys on our team that can step up and have good games for us. I think overall defensively we’ve done a good job for the most part, it’s like what you and I talked about at the beginning of the year.”

“If we defend the way that I had hoped we would, and we still need to get better at it, we would give ourselves a chance to be in the mix at the end of the year. A lot of credit has to go to these guys for buying in and doing the things that we’re asking them therefore that’s why we are where we are at this point.”

Rider ranks third in defensive efficiency in the conference, behind Fairfield and Manhattan. They will look to keep the game in the high 60s again, trying to repeat the effort of their 72-69 win in their last meeting.

“Those guys want to get up and down, they want it to be a high scoring game,” Baggett said. “We certainly want to keep it in the 60s.”

“We’re not going to stop those guys [Mason and Juan’ya Green] but we have to try and contain them as much as possible. Last game here Ameen Tanksley went for his career-high, they have a lot of weapons. We have to be able to keep the ball in front of us and limit them to one shot opportunities and then we got to come down and we have to go inside and be efficient in the way we’re trying to score.”

Baggett said that seeding will be in the back of his mind while he gets the team focused on this trip.

“If you come away with a split i’d be happy,” Baggett said. “I know this is a tough road swing like it’s been in the past. You go to Niagara and it’s going to be a tough battle. We normally split we win here they win there.”

“You used to be able to count on that Canisius trip for the most part and we lost down there a couple years ago but you always felt good going down there that you had a really good chance of winning but those chances have gotten reduced. That’s a tribute to Jim Baron and what he’s doing with that program.”

Rider amy be without freshman Zedric Sadler whose status for the trip is uncertain because of a suspension for violation of team rules that began with the BracketBuster.

While those two are playing each other to battle in the top of the standings, Fairfield will travel to Manhattan as one of these two teams is on the border of playing on Friday night.

Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said seeding will be on the back of his mind this weekend but their focus will be on their road trip to Manhattan and Marist.

“I think Niagara is probably safe at number one but not at 100%,” Johnson said. “I think everything else is up for grabs as we go into this last weekend so I think everybody has an eye definitely on who they’re playing and then another eye on how everything else goes within the league.”

“There’s a million different ways it could turn out or it seems that way. I think the best thing for us to do is to focus on Manhattan and come up for air Sunday after our game.”

One game they will have to have is Friday night at Manhattan to avoid a series sweep. Fairfield, after postponing the game twice due to snow, fell 62-40 at Alumni Hall. The season-low in points was their first game without Desmond Wade, who they will have back for this final regular season weekend.

Siena can hold on to the eighth seed for the tournament with a win over Marist on Friday night. A win would guarantee they would be playing in the 8 vs 9 seed game in the first round. For a team that has lost players with injuries throughout the season, head coach Mitch Buonaguro has had to ease up on practices for his team.

“Last week we were practicing with coaches we were really down in numbers,” Buonaguro said. “We have to practice less, we have to be careful. If we get another guy injured we’re really in trouble.”

“I’ve really got to monitor the practices I got to be more concise with what we’re doing don’t run them into the ground and we have a really tough weekend coming up Marist is playing really well and so is Iona. We’ve got to have everybody ready, everybody available.”

They will likely have Evan Hymes back from a sprained ankle but will likely be without Rahkeem Brookins due to his ongoing back issues. However, the Saints need to get sophomore Rob Poole going to make a late season run. Poole, who missed four games with the flu and losing 12 pounds in the process, has not been the same player since.

“Right before the flu he was playing his best basketball,” Buonaguro said. “Being out the two weeks and losing weight, he lost 12 pounds so that led to some stamina issues.”

“The other issue is teams in the league are locking in to him. He’s a guy the other team knows has to score for us to win so especially with Brookins out, they’re really locking into him. Teams are putting a really quick guy on him and rob’s game right now is more coming off screens although he played the point in overtime and did a nice job.”

They will need Poole to catch and make shots and have him give the similar effort that he did against Iona earlier this year when he made four three pointers, but the Saints fell short at home to the Gaels 66-62.

“We can compete with anyone in the league,” Buonaguro said taking away from the Iona loss at home. “Iona is certainly one of the most talented teams in the league,  right there with them with a minute to go.”

“Sunday we were down eight with 57 seconds and we won the game maybe that bodes well in terms of confidence. Every game we play with the state of our team is going to be close. Any game now for Siena, especially if Brookins doesn’t play, is going to be close. We have to make sure we defend every game and get enough points to win.”

Marist has plenty to play for this weekend and they can help Niagara win the league title with a win over Siena Friday night. That to go with the positive momentum the program has built since Saturday’s 112-74 win over VMI for BracketBusters.

“We think we’re a really good transition team,” Marist head coach Chuck Martin said. “One of the challenges of the MAAC is a lot of teams they play different styles. We don’t really get an opportunity to get up and down as much as we like in league play.”

Senior Devin Price returned scoring 20 points in just under 20 minutes of action; however, Martin said he would stick with a lineup of Isaiah Morton, T.J. Curry, Chavaughn Lewis, Jay Bowie and Adam Kemp and play Price off the bench.

The Red Foxes now have junior Jay Bowie and Price healthy to combat Siena and Fairfield, both were out for their losses to the two teams earlier this year. Martin said he would consider double teaming senior O.D. Anosike often on Friday night, who went for 20 points and 21 rebounds against Marist the last time out.

“I think [Bowie] just does a better job of doubling and when to double and when not to double,” Martin said. “We may do some different things, we may run different guys at O.D. at different angles where people usually have one guy double I may change it as the game goes along.”

“We’ll throw some different looks at him and see how he handles it.”

With a two wins in Buffalo St. Peter’s may avoid their second straight 10th place finish in conference play. The Peacocks are 9-18 overall and despite their 3-13 record in conference, head coach John Dunne said that this team is playing a lot better than the team last year.

“There’s no question we’re much better,” Dunne said. “If you look at our team from last year we were not very competitive at all game in and game out. This year we’re much improved, we’re much more competitive.”

“I want to win now a couple more games, try and put a good showing in the tournament just for our seniors because at the end of the day these guys have not quit, they’ve had great spirit throughout the season even though at times this year it was very challenging for us I really like to see them rewarded for their hard work. Other teams can’t look at us and just say that’s a victory I think they have to work very hard to beat us where last year I think we just weren’t as competitive.”

The Peacocks hold a victory over Iona in hand which may be the difference if they end up tied with Siena for the final spot in the standings. If the two end up tied and Iona finishes better than Canisius in the standings, the Peacocks would earn the tiebreaker over Siena.

Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo.