MAAC Picks up Four Wins in ESPNU BracketBusters
MAAC Sports
Edison, N.J. - The MAAC earned four wins during the eighth annual ESPNU BracketBusters.
On Friday, Scott Machado scored 17 points as Iona beat William & Mary, 69-53. Jonathan Huffman and Alejo Rodriguez added 12 points apiece for the Gaels. Machado and Huffman also hit three 3-pointers apiece for the Gaels, who tied a season high by sinking nine 3-pointers out of 21 attempts (42.9 percent). The Tribe led 17-13 just under nine minutes into the opening half after a pair of Quinn McDowell free throws, but went scoreless for a near six-minute span. The Gaels put together a 23-6 run into halftime and never trailed again. They led by 13 at the break and outscored the Tribe 33-30 in the second half.
On Saturday afternoon, Manhattan opened with a 20-0 run and stormed past Towson, 78-62, at Draddy Gymnasium. Senior forward Brandon Adams contributed a career-high 18 points, along with a game-high eight rebounds in Manhattan's 10th victory of the year. The Jaspers shot 53 percent from the field and dished out 22 assists, the most assists in over two years. Junior guard Rico Pickett had 11 points at halftime and finished with 17 points and five assists. It was Pickett's 23rd straight game scoring double-figures. Senior guard Darryl Crawford finished with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Andrew Gabriel had one of his best games of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds to assist in the Jaspers' third win in the last five games. Gabriel shot 6-for-9 (.667) from the field and had a block.
Canisius senior guard Frank Turner scored 16 points and matched a career-high with 13 assists for his ninth career double-double to help lead the Golden Griffins to a 70-66 win over James Madison Saturday night in the Koessler Athletic Center. Junior forward Greg Logins returned to the lineup after missing last weekend's game against Siena to record 15 points off the bench to go with eight rebounds, while junior Julius Coles chipped in 12 points for the Griffs. For the night, Canisius shot 43.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from 3-point range while outscoring James Madison by a 19-14 count in points off turnovers. Canisius, which did not make a field goal in the game's final 4:31, was able to seal the win by hitting four free throws in the closing 1:04.
Anthony Nelson scored eight straight points in the final minutes for Niagara, helping the Purple Eagles overtake Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 85-79. Niagara trailed 72-68 with 4:30 remaining when Nelson accounted for all of the Eagles' points during an 8-2 run that put them on top for good, 76-74, with 1:58 left. Bilal Benn followed with a 3-point play to extend the lead to 79-74. Tyrone Lewis led Niagara with 23 points and five rebounds. He is two rebounds away from becoming the first player in MAAC history with 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 200 steals. Benn added 19 points, and Nelson finished with 14 points and nine assists. Niagara has now won four-straight ESPNU BracketBusters contests.
The MAAC had a couple of games decided by just one point, and a pair of games that were forced into overtime. New Hampshire's Tyrone Conley made his only basket of the afternoon after 10 straight misfires with 0.7 ticks remaining to lead the Wildcats to a 61-60 win over at Reitz Arena. Jamal Barney led Loyola with 16 points in his first double-figure scoring outing since January 8. Seniors Jawaan Wright and Brett Harvey collected 10 points, as did Brian Rudolph, who was perfect from the field (3-3) and added three assists without a turnover.
Freshman guard Devin Price scored a career-high 18 points, but Marist suffered a 66-65 defeat at UC Irvine. The Red Foxes hit a season-high 13 three-pointers in the contest in 24 attempts, as they shot .542 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Daye Kaba added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Dejuan Goodwin and freshman guard Candon Rusin added 10 points apiece.
The University at Buffalo's Sean Smiley hit a 17-foot jumper from the right wing at the buzzer in overtime, handing Saint Peter's a 77-75 loss. Nick Leon had hit a shot with less than a second to play in regulation to tie the game at 63 and send it to overtime. Leon finished with a game-high 25 points for the Peacocks. Wesley Jenkins added 12 points, while Ryan Bacon scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Despite a career-high 38 point, six assist, six rebound performance by senior Ryan Thompson, Rider lost in overtime at Hofstra, 92-89. Hofstra led 75-71 with 1:04 to go in regulation, before two free throws by Thompson and a steal by Novar Gadson. Gadson then sent the game into overtime at 75-75 on a layup with 43 seconds left. Gadson tied it for the 10th and final time on another layup with 3:39 left in overtime, before Hofstra's Nathaniel Lester scored four straight. Gadson finished with 16 points for Rider.
In other action, Shelvin Mack scored 23 points and Gordon Hayward produced his fourth straight double-double, leading No. 18 Butler to its 17th consecutive victory, 70-53. Clarence Jackson scored a game-high 24 points in a losing effort for the Saints. Jackson and Ryan Rossiter, with 10 points and nine rebounds, were the only Siena players to reach double figures.
Colin Nickerson came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points while Anthony Johnson tallied his 13th double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Stags fell to the University of Vermont, 77-67. After the Stags got within a point, 58-57, on a three-point play by Nickerson with 4:49 remaining, the Catamounts went on an 11-0 run. A dunk by Marqus Blakley made it 69-57 with 2:16 left. Derek Needham had 15 points for Fairfield.